Favourites for the Oldest Olympic Games Events and its Mythical Origins
On 26 July, Paris plays host to the first events of the XXXIII Olympiad. Some 10,500 athletes plan to descend on the French capital to battle for a place on the podium across 329 events. Guaranteed to be one of the biggest events of the summer, if not the outright biggest, the very existence of the Olympic Games is quite awe-inspiring.
Hailing back to the days of the ancient Greeks, the Olympic Games began under what we’d now deem to be mythical context, survived invasions and a complete overhaul of nations, and is now a colossal global event that comes around every four years. In 2024, it returns again, with some ancient sports retaining a place on the schedule.
In honour of the great god Zeus
Source: Pixabay
The Olympic Games are regularly cited as being forged in mythology, with the most common theme being the staging of athletic competitions to honour Zeus. The name itself comes from where they were held, Olympia. While a key part of real world ancient Greek society, Olympia also held a mythical or religious significance. It’s said that Idaios Daktylos Herakles staged the games in honour of Zeus for helping to conquer Elis in the war with Augeas.
Zeus was the ruler of Olympus, which was situated atop Mount Olympus far to the north of ancient Olympia. Still, there was a tremendous amount of reverence for Zeus here. It’s because of devout cities like Olympia that Zeus has prevailed to this day as a well-known mythical figure. Even now, we know him as an almighty ruler of gods, defeater of Cronus, and gatekeeper of the heavenly realm of the deities.
He remains entrenched in pop culture now, and is a big reason as to why the Gates of Olympus slot is so popular. Naturally, the high volatility, 96.5 per cent RTP, and 5,000x top prize are also key to the slot’s fame. However, for slots to become popular, they need to garner clicks, and who better to command a click than the mighty Zeus? Being for Zeus was also the main driver of the appeal of the early Games in Olympia.
Most ancient events still contested today
Source: Pexels
In the ancient days of the Olympics, horse, chariot, and mule-cart races were staples of the events, with mastery over the mount and cart being coveted in the millennium ending the Before the Common Era chapter in history. Before them, though, foot races, the pentathlon, wrestling, and boxing were the early centrepiece events that we know of today.
Dolichos was the third foot race added and upped the demand significantly. Added for the 15th Olympiad, the ancient marathon tracked some three miles, or 4.828 km. Today, we have the 5,000m event, which the early favourite isn’t expected to attend. Spain’s Mohamed Katir was banned in February 2024, clearing the path for Uganda’s dynamic duo, Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo. They appear to be the favourites now.
In events that have increasingly led to big-money professional deals, the boxing will also be of keen interest. At the time of writing, the final field wasn’t fully announced, but Team GB fans know of a handful of stars who have already booked a place. Lewis Richardson, Rosie Eccles, Chantelle Reid, Charley Davison, and Pat Brown have high hopes for medals this year, but the nation’s most hotly-anticipated entrant looks to be super heavyweight Delicious Orie, who won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth and 2023 European Games.
An ancient Greek event that now connects the world, while it’s not staged for the great god Zeus anymore, athletes continue to battle in some of its oldest events to claim some honour for their own nations.