Classical Olympics vs. Modern Olympics; Athletics Essay

Classical Olympics vs. Modern Olympics; Athletics
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Classical Olympics vs. Modern Olympics; Athletics
Introduction
Olympics is one of the fields in sports which has been vital since the past. The activity and sports always bring people together of different diversities in terms of gender, race, nationality, and cultural backgrounds to engage in various competitions in the world's eminent sports exhibition. Entirely, the Olympics have contributed to the social and economic aspects, but the Olympics have also been the foundation of religious and political elements in various ways, such as enhancing foreign policies and creating unity among the people of different countries. Olympics began in Greece dating back to 776BC, with the function primarily taken as a religious function among the people (Crowther, 1999). However, the changes in time and dynamicity in various aspects of life from one generation to another, the modern-day Olympics began in 1896 by a young man by the name Baron Pierre de Coubertin. The pioneer of the modern Olympics had the objective of encompassing the ancient Olympics and bring it to an international level where all the people globally could engage. In either way, current and the ancient Olympics especially, marathons have brought together many spectators to the event. However, there exists a great difference in marathons, especially between the modern-day Olympics and the classical Olympics. However, the two distinct periods in marathon sports have similarities.
Differences
First, there is a big difference between the ancient Olympic and the modern Olympics, especially in the purpose and agenda of marathon competition. In the ancient marathon competition, it was performed as a way of honoring the God of Zeus. In addition, the game was made significant as its enhanced peace and unity. According to Cartledge (2000), "An Olympic truce was created so that there would be no wars during the games which brought peace." On the other hand, the modern Olympic had a similar objective, but the geographical inclination was based internationally. The founder Baron Pierre de Coubertin fostered marathons and other games in enhancing international harmony. Cartledge (2000) argues that Baron Pierre de Coubertin, "educated French aristocrat he looked back to the ancient Greek Olympic Games for inspiration, believing fondly that that was exactly what they too had done, and why they had been founded." The ancient Olympics always used the competition as a way of preserving religious traditions, peace, and unity since during that era; there were a high prevalence and frequent wars. Steinbach (2016) argues that "Competitions were connected with the religious calendar, so events were tied into the greater culture. In this way, the Olympics served as religious festivals as well, broadcasting Greek culture and ideals to competitors from near and far." However, the modern Olympics is more integrated into more economic aspects rather than the religious aspect. Nowadays, internationalizing Olympics attracted people from different areas, thus enhancing competition (Spivey, 2012). Therefore, modern marathons are always held for the essence of monetary gains.
Another great difference between the classical Olympic and the modern Olympics is the conduct of the athletes during marathons. The greatest physical attribute difference noted is that the ancient athletes always competed naked during the marathons while the current athletes always wear clothes so that they can compete. In ancient times, it was more tamed within the religious aspects; thus, running naked was a normal cultural activity while the preset athlete competes for personal gains. Furthermore, the model of rewarding the athletes is very different in the ancient and modern Olympics. In the classical Olympics, the mode of selection was based on professional athletes. However, in the modern Olympics, the policy of the competition allows the armature athletes to compete as a way of tutoring them to become professionals. In addition, the ancient athletes were different since the training ethics allowed them to train beyond their limits (Kotynski, 2006). While it was a mandatory activity for every athlete, the modern Olympics training ethics depends on the athlete's schedule since the efforts of the athlete will determine the output during competition. According to Carpenter (2004) on Classical Olympic, "First of all, victors profited royally from their wins. They were presented with oxen, generous pensions, huge cash prizes, and even slaves. By the early sixth century B.C., Athens awarded victors 500 drachmas-the equivalents of $700,000 today. The money was a form of insurance as well as a reward for a job well done". This is different from the modern Olympics since the athlete is paid indirectly due to their efforts in participating in the competition. Modern-day athletes are always paid through sponsorships.
Moreover, the aspect of gender creates a distinctive difference between the Classical Olympic and the modern Olympic (Spivey, 2012). In the Classical Olympics, though women were allowed to train in athletic activities, men were the only people to participate in the activity, while the women were exempted from such competition since it was scary and linked to cultural grounds (Kotynski, 2006). On the contrary, in the modern Olympics, both men and women are allowed to compete, and they are involved in various activities in the Olympics, such as marathons. Therefore, all these differences indicate that there is a big shift between the Classical Olympic and the modern Olympic due to different external factors and forces of nature. When it comes to attendance in games such as marathons, the ancient Olympic was very strict to the attendance groups. In regards to this, the married people were excepted from involving themselves in any of the activities, be it spectating the activity. However, the modern Olympics has no limits on attendance be it, married people, regardless of their gender, race, culture, just to mention a few (Tames,...