{"id":1588,"date":"2021-06-23T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-23T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/5-ways-the-ancient-olympics-differ-from-the-modern-games\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T11:53:51","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T18:53:51","slug":"modern-versus-ancient-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/modern-versus-ancient-olympics\/","title":{"rendered":"5 ways the ancient Olympics differ from the modern games"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3499-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3499-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"5 ways the ancient Olympics differ from the modern games\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Only Greek men competed in the ancient Olympic games whereas the modern games include women athletes and athletes from many countries. (Composite: Dennis Lan. Image Sources: iStock; Wikimedia Commons\/tompagenet.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=arts-and-culture\">Arts and Culture<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>5 ways the ancient Olympics differ from the modern games<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Now an international competition focused primarily on athleticism, the Olympic games have evolved considerably from their roots in ancient Greece.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Darrin S. Joy<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">June 23, 2021<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 4.0350274 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>The modern Olympic Games differ significantly from the original competitions of ancient Greece. Read on to learn some of the fundamental changes instituted over the centuries.<\/p>\n<h2>1. The naked truth<\/h2>\n<p>Ancient Olympians competed in the nude. In fact, the roots of the word \u201cgymnasium\u201d rest in two Greek terms meaning \u201cnaked\u201d and \u201cplace.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>2. Beyond physical training<\/h2>\n<p>The athletes of yore exercised not only their bodies, but their minds, including discussions of philosophy in their efforts. (USC commemorates this mind-body philosophy today with a Greek motto emblazoned on an archway near the athletic fields: \u201cA healthy mind in a healthy body.\u201d)<\/p>\n<h2>3. No holds barred<\/h2>\n<p>Whereas modern Olympic boxing, wrestling and martial arts adhere to strict rules, the pankration (pronounced \u201cpan-KRAH-tee-own\u201d) combined wrestling and boxing, and allowed nearly any move other than biting and eye-gouging.<\/p>\n<h2>4. A religious experience<\/h2>\n<p>The ancient game venue featured a plethora of temples dedicated to the ancient gods, including one that held one of the wonders of the world, a giant statue of Zeus made of wood, ivory and gold.<\/p>\n<h2>5. No girls allowed<\/h2>\n<p>In the ancient Olympics, only Greek men could compete. The modern Olympics feature both men and women international athletes \u2014 good news for competitors such as champion beach volleyball player (and USC Dornsife political science major) Tina Graudina.<\/p>\n<p>Watch the video below to learn more.<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/N6a-wHATBVI\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><strong>Dornsife Dialogues<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On June 25, a special <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/dornsifedialogues\">Dornsife Dialogues<\/a>\u00a0event, \u201cOlympic training during a pandemic \u2014 and how the Games have changed since 776 B.C.,\u201d took a deeper look at the similarities and differences between the modern and ancient Olympic games as well as what it\u2019s like to train during a pandemic.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/hist\/\">History<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/arch\/\">archaeology<\/a> major Sean Silvia, host of \u201cDoor to Dornsife\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCU28vdlyG1J_0sKdgXEd2mg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Archaeologists Anonymous<\/a>,\u201d interviewed Graudina, <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/cf\/clas\/clas_faculty_display.cfm?Person_ID=1003238\">Vincent Farenga<\/a>, professor of <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/clas\/\">classics<\/a> and comparative literature, and <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/cf\/clas\/clas_faculty_display.cfm?Person_ID=1006590\">Lucas Herchenroeder<\/a>, associate professor (teaching) of classics. Watch <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/ccrddD9yLg8\">the recording<\/a> of the event on the <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/youtube\">USC Dornsife YouTube channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/ancient-greek-modern-olympic-no-fan\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >What would the ancient Greeks think of an Olympics with no\u00a0fans?<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/romans-at-armageddon\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >First Roman military amphitheater discovered in Israel\u2019s Armageddon<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/ancient-rome-immigration-policy\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Immigration: How ancient Rome dealt with barbarians at the gate<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Games of the XXXII Olympiad take place in Tokyo this summer. Now an international competition focused primarily on athleticism, the games have evolved considerably from their roots in ancient Greece. <strong>[1\u00be min read]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":1591,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[178,71,330,91],"class_list":["post-1588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-culture","tag-classics","tag-history","tag-olympics","tag-video"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>5 ways the ancient Olympics differ from the modern games<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The ancient Olympics of Greece differed considerably from the modern international games, which focus on athleticism.\" 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