HC In Search of History – The First Olympics: Blood, Honor and Glory (1997)
English | Documentary | Size: 756 MB
In Search of History journeys 2,000 years from ancient times to the present, taking a closer look at the events, places, and hidden mysteries that have puzzled and inspired historians and experts across the ages. The First Olympics: Olympia, where every four years Greek city-states set aside differences and laid down arms to compete in these peaceful games established to honor Zeus.
It was perhaps the greatest spectacle in the ancient world. Starting in 776 BC, and every four years thereafter, the greatest warriors of the city-states of Greece would journey to Olympia to engage in a massive festival featuring contests of strength and speed. Travel back in time to ancient Greece and witness the extravagant debauchery and raw competition of the first Olympic Games. The early Olympic Games were wild contests where athletes gave their blood, and sometimes even their lives, to emerge the best and avoid defeat.
In the frenzied atmosphere of the Olympics, the contestants and observers lived in a state of Bacchanalian excess reciting poetry, dancing to the lyre, and offering sacrifices to the gods. But the focus was the contests in boxing, wrestling, and races on foot and in chariot. The winners were bathed in olive oil and celebrated. The losers emerged physically and mentally beaten if they survived!
Athletes were idols, revered for their perfect, almost godlike physiques and physical makeup. They were also revered for their fearlessness and courage during competition, which at times was almost suicidal. Bloody boxing matches, chariot races where usually only a few would make it to the finish, and an early form of no-holds-barred fighting called Pankration were the order of the day inside the bloodied arena.
The blood and honor of the ancient Olympics come to life in this thrilling program. Visit Olympia and see the ruins of the ancient town and stadium that hosted these contests. Hear accounts of some of the greatest struggles, preserved forever by ancient writers, and learn from leading scholars the essential role this epic festival and its bloody contests played in Ancient Greece.
A Greystone Communications, Inc. for The History Channel/A&E Television Networks
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