Origin of the Olympic Games
Saturday August 7, 2004
The mythology of the origins of the Olympic Games is explained in one of the poems written to commemorate an Olympian victory. The poem is known as Pindar's First Olympian, which Gregory Nagy interprets. Nagy says that all the panhellenic games had foundation myths in which the games were started as compensation for deaths:
Olympic Games Resources
- The Olympics were started by Pelops to compensate for killing Oinamaos in the chariot race -- or alternately by Hercules for killing his great-grandfather Pelops.
- Apollo started the Pythian Games to compensate for killing the Python.
- The hero Sisyphus started the Isthmian Games as compensation for killing Palaimon (Melikertes)
- The Nemean Games were established by the heroes of the Seven Against Thebes in compensation for the snake-bite death of Opheltes.
Olympic Games Resources
Comments
why cant yu back this information u????
why cant you back this information up????
What do you mean? Did you look at the cited article or Pindar’s 1st Olympian?
YEA WHY CANT YOU BACK IT UP!!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is backed up. I don’t know what you guys are talking about. Did you try to read it? Was it confusing? The blog was put online in 2004 and the article it refers to may go offline sometime soon, so if you want to see the reference, you should read it soon.