What would a modern athlete find strange about the organisation of the ancient Olympics?

The first 200 words of this essay...

Classical Civilisation Coursework

Q. What would a modern athlete find strange about the organisation of the ancient Olympics?

A modern day athlete would find many things strange about the ancient Olympics and I will try and highlight theses during this piece of coursework.

The preparation of the ancient Olympics varies in many ways to that of the modern Olympics. What we have to understand is that nowadays-modern athletes are considered professional and this is their job. Whereas during the ancient era athletes would use athletics as a chance to gain respect and to be fit for war which was ongoing in all of ancient Greece. A modern athlete would find strange that the ancient games where held for Greeks only and that no person outside of Greece was allowed to compete.

Athletics were a key part of education in ancient Greece. Many Greeks believed that developing the body was equally important as improving the mind for overall health. Also, regular exercise was important in a society where men were always needed for military service.

This picture shows the athletes training for the javelin event in the ancient Olympics. Javelins would be used in warfare as