Wednesday, June 17, 2015
The Olympic Games are something we are all familiar with, we watch
these seasonal games every two years as they move from city to city
around the globe–and today we visited where it all began. From the
8th century BC to the 4th century AD the Olympic Games were held every
four years in Olympia, uniting people throughout Greece for this one
event.
After wandering around the ancient ruins we found the original Olympic
Stadium. As we stood there, we began to imagine the uneven and dry
piece of land before us trembling from the feet of over 45,000
spectators awaiting the athletes to perform on the greatest stage of
this era. We imagined runners making their Olympic debuts; imagined
the nerves building up within each athlete–each wanting to bring
honor to their families and polis. All of their years of training came
down to this one day.
The runners made their way to their marks, and moments later they were
off. It was a tight race from the beginning to the finish line,
probably the closest race ever held in Olympia. Each runner pushed his
competitors to be their best, to finish the lap, and push through the
90 degree heat.
Just like those athletes, we also ran this same race–we ran under the
same sun, on the same dirt as people who had once lived here 3,000
years ago. This experience has allowed us to see beyond the textbook
and the ruins that are in front of us, and in our own way experience
the Ancient Greek Olympics while making memories that will last a life
time.
Eric & Sam