Here are some sports that were played during the Greek period:
Running was the first event to be included in the Olympic Games. Athletes ran up and down a 192 metre track in the stadium. Before the race, the competitors lined up along a stone starting block. If anyone tried to get a head start, they were disqualified and beaten for cheating. The toughest running race was called the Hoplitodromos. In this event, runners competed wearing armour and carrying a shield. These could weigh up to 25kg!
In this event, athletes would compete to throw a stone or metal discus as far as they could. The discus was much larger and flatter than the ones we use today and probably weighed almost twice as much.
Ancient javelins were sharpened wooden sticks, sometimes with a metal point on the end. Athletes could make them fly further by winding a leather band around the javelin. This would unravel as the javelin was thrown, making it spin in the air.
The ancient long jump was very different from the one we have today. There was no runup and jumpers propelled themselves by swinging weights called halteres in their arms. The athletes would be accompanied by a man playing the flute. They would use the rhythm of the music to time their jump and the swinging of the weights.
Like today's games, the ancient Olympics included boxing and wrestling. However, they were a lot more violent! The toughest event was the pankration. This was a wrestling match with hardly any rules. The only things competitors couldn’t do were bite or poke people in the eye. Some wrestlers were even killed! Boxing was tough too. The fighters wore leather gloves and a boxer was allowed to keep hitting his opponent even after he'd knocked him to the ground!
There were horse races and chariot races in the ancient Olympic Games. These events took place on a race track called a hippodrome. There were no seats, so spectators watched from the sides of the surrounding hills. Competitors raced around 12 laps of the track. The most dangerous places were the turning posts at either end, because riders wanted to get the best line for the corner. However, it was the owners of the horses that were considered the winners, not the jockeys.