古今奧運(yùn)會：相同抑或不同？

Differences

Time Place

The ancient Games were always held in Olympia， Greece. Although it was staged1) from 776B.C. to 393 A.D.， it took 1，503 years for the modern Olympics to return. The first modern Olympics were held in Athens， Greece， in 1896， and then they moved around to different sites every four years.

Original Thought

The ancient Olympic Games were held as a religious festival to honor2) Zeus， the father of the Greek gods and goddesses. A hundred oxen were typically given as a sacrifice3). However， Frenchman Pierre baron De Coubertin， who helped revive4) the Olympic Games in the nineteenth century， thought that they featured5) the international competition of athletes.

No Women Fewer Athletes

The ancient Olympic Games were only open to male Greek citizens of Greek city-states6). The women were forbidden to compete in or even watch the games. Any woman discovered there could be thrown off a cliff7)!

While The Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002 featured 2，600 athletes from 77 countries， only a few hundred athletes took part in the ancient games.

Nudity8) at the Ancient Games

Nudity at the ancient Games? There are two stories relating to this question. One story states that， in 720 B.C.， a runner first ran naked when he lost his shorts in the race. Another story is that it was the Spartans9) who introduced nudity to the ancient Olympic Games as it was a Spartan tradition. It was widely believed that wearing clothes slowed an athlete down! So， by the late 8th Century athletes wore nothing， not even shoes， in any of the races.

The Games

There were fewer events (boxing， chariot10) racing， riding， running and pentathlon) at the ancient Olympic Games.

No team games: In ancient Greece， each athlete competed on his own.

No water sports: Despite miles and miles of beautiful coastline， water sports such as swimming were never a part of the ancient Olympic Games.

No world records: No measurements were recorded of the length of a jump. Likewise11)， no times were kept for the running events. Winners' names might be recorded， however.

Similarities

In fact， like the modern Olympics， nationalism12)， commerce13) and sports were also closely related in the ancient Olympic Games.

Bring Glory to One's Hometown

Like modern Olympics， winning athletes were heroes who put their hometowns on the map. Once a winner defended his city by saying that he entered seven chariots in the Olympics. This high number of entries made the winner's hometown look very wealthy and powerful.

An Occasion14) to Assemble15)

Ancient Olympic Games was an occasion for citizens of scattered16) Greek city-states to assemble. At the Games they discussed important political issues and even formed political unions.

Control of the ancient Games brought with it prestige17)， economic advantages and political influence.

Winners Will Become Celebrities18)

Nowadays， athletes' uniforms and equipment bear the trademarks. And some Olympic winners even become celebrities， as TV shows and labels cash in on19) their fame. The ancient Olympic winners were celebrities of their cities， too. They could receive a free meal every day for the rest of their lives， or front-row seats at the theater and other public festivals. A winner could also have a statue of himself set up at Olympia.

Who Violates20) the Rules Will Be Punished

It was the custom for ancient athletes， their fathers and their brothers， as well as their trainers， to swear an oath21) upon slices of boar's flesh that in nothing would they sin22) against the Olympic games. An oath was also taken by those who examine and judge the athletes that they would decide fairly and without taking bribes23). Anyone who violated the rules was fined by the judges.

Statues of athletes who had been caught cheating or bribing were set up along the road to the stadium， in order to warn against dishonesty.

事實(shí)上，正如現(xiàn)代奧運(yùn)會一樣，在古代奧運(yùn)會上，民族主義、商業(yè)與運(yùn)動也是緊密相連的。

為家鄉(xiāng)贏得榮譽(yù)

和現(xiàn)代奧運(yùn)會一樣，獲勝的運(yùn)動員是英雄，他們使自己的家鄉(xiāng)在地圖上得以凸顯。曾經(jīng)有一名獲勝者講述自己參加了七次奧運(yùn)戰(zhàn)車比賽，以此捍衛(wèi)了自己的城市，多次參加比賽會使獲勝者的家鄉(xiāng)看上去非常富裕、很有實(shí)力。

聚集的盛會

古代奧運(yùn)會對于分散的古希臘城邦的公民們來說是一場聚集在一起的盛會。在運(yùn)動會上，他們會討論重要的政治問題，甚至還會組成政治聯(lián)盟。

舉辦古代奧運(yùn)會可以提高聲望，獲取經(jīng)濟(jì)利益，產(chǎn)生政治影響。

冠軍將成為名人

如今，運(yùn)動員身上的制服以及他們使用的設(shè)備上都印有商標(biāo)。一些奧運(yùn)會冠軍甚至成為了名人，電視節(jié)目和商標(biāo)都利用他們的名氣賺錢。古代奧運(yùn)會的冠軍也是他們所在城市的名人。在他們的后半輩子里，每天都可以獲得一頓免費(fèi)的飯菜，或者獲得劇院和其他公共節(jié)日典禮的前排座位。獲勝者還可以在奧林匹亞擁有一座自己的雕像。

違規(guī)者將受到嚴(yán)懲

古代運(yùn)動員和他們的父親、兄弟、以及教練要對著公豬肉片發(fā)誓，說他們絕不會違反奧運(yùn)會的規(guī)則。那些運(yùn)動員的體檢人員和裁判也要發(fā)誓他們會公平判定，不會接受賄賂。任何違規(guī)者都會被裁判處以罰款。

人們將有作弊或賄賂行為的運(yùn)動員的雕像矗立在通往露天運(yùn)動場的道路兩邊，以此來警示不誠實(shí)的行為。