The Greeks invented athletic

contests and held them in

honour of their gods. The

Isthmos game were staged

every two years at the

Isthmos of Corinth. The

Pythian games took place

every four years near Delphi.

The most famous games

held at Olympia, South-

West of Greece, which took

place every four years.

Origin of OlympicsThe Olympic Games were a series of athletic

competitions among representatives of city-

states and one of the Panhellenic Games of

Ancient Greece. They were held in honor

of Zeus, and the Greeks gave them

a mythological origin. Historical records indicate

that they began in 950-776 BC in Olympia. They

continued to be celebrated when Greece came

under Roman Rule. The games were held every

four years, or Olympiad, which became a unit of

time in historical chronologies.

The Greeks took the Olympic games quite

seriously. Nearly all the ancient Greek

cities sent teams to participate in the

ancient Greek Olympics.

If two or more Greek city-states happen to

be at war with each other when the game

date arrived, war was halted for the

duration of the games.

Everyone wanted their city-state to win!

No women were allowed to watch the games and

only Greek nationals could participate.

One of the ancient wonders was a statue of Zeus at

Olympia, made of gold and ivory by a Greek sculptor

Pheidias.

Athletic competitionbecame so important tothe Greeks that theOlympic festivals were apeaceful influence on thewarlike city-states.Sparta was famous for thestrict military training ofits citizens. But it wouldwait until the Games wereover before sendingfighters into battle. Othercities followed thisexample.

TRADITIONAL INDIAN SPORTS

Kabaddi

The game is about 4000 years old

originated in Rural India. It is a team

sport, which requires both skill and power

and combines the characteristics of

Wrestling and Rugby. It was originally

meant to develop self defense. In Kabaddi

two teams compete with each other

consisting of twelve players in each team.

Kabaddi in Rural India

.

Kho - KhoKho – Kho is one of the oldest forms of

outdoor sports dating back to prehistoric

India. Each team consists of twelve

players. The first Kho-Kho tournaments

were organised in 1914 and the first

National Championship was held in 1959.

The game is now played at various levels,

from schools to the National team. Kho-

Kho was included as demonstration sport

at the Berlin 1936 Olympic games.