INTERESTING FACTS

ABOUT THE FAMOUS GAMES of ANCIENT GREECE!

by

Gail SkrobackHennessey

1. In ancient Greece, unmarried women participated in their own games. Held ever 4 years, the event was held to honor Zeus' wife, Hera. The event was a running event. In 1900, women were first allowed to participate in the famous modern games.

2. The original games were a religious activity to honor the ancient Greek god, Zeus.

3. In 1900, the first TEAM sport of the modern games was added. It was football.

4.The city of London, England, has the record for hosting the Olympic Games. The city has hosted THREE times!

5.In total, the United States has hosted the most games. The USA has hosted FOURWinter Games and FOUR Summer Games.

6. The motto of the Olympic Games is in Latin."Citius,Altius, Fortius" means "Swifter, Higher, Stronger".

7. A baker named Coroebus was the first record winner of an olympic competition. The year was 776BC. He competed in a running event.

8.In 2012, both softball and baseball were dropped from the games. Wrestling, one of the original sports from the games in ancient Greece, has been dropped from the 2020 Olympics.

9. Tug-of-War, Croquet and lacrosse were once sports in the famous games.

10. The Caribbean nation of Jamaica sent a bobsled team to the 1988 Winter games in Calgary, Alberta, Canada!

11. In 2012, Saudi Arabia allowed two women to compete(judo and 80m running competition). It was the first time women from Saudi Arabia were allowed to compete.The Olympic committee said the male teams from Saudi Arabia would be disqualified if females were banned. The issue was gender discrimination.

12. Women made history at the 2014 Winter Games when they were allowed to compete for the first time inski jumping. Men have been doing the event since 1924.

13. The Country of Brazil is the largest country on the continent of South America. It is also the 5th largest country in the world. The 2016 Summer Olympics, were held inRio De Janeiro, Brazil. It wasthe very first time the famous games were held in a country on the continent of South America.

14. At the 2016 games, a group of between 5-10 athletes competed for the first time under the official flag of the olympics.They were athletes that had been forced from their countries and are called refugees.

15.The 2018 Winter Games will be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The mascot is called Soohorang and is a tiger.

Extension Activities:

1. Pretend you are an Olympic athlete.In which sport would you be competing? Write a diary entry about your event. How did you feel? What did you see? Did you win? Etc.

2. List THREE important character traits needed to be an Olympic athlete. List three personal characteristics you believe are most positive about you. Give an example to support each of the three characteristics.

3. Illustrate one of the Fun Facts and include a statement in complete sentences describing the illustration.

4. Using a world map, locate the different countries which have hosted the Olympic games: http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-olympic-map.htmFind 3 facts about five of the different countries which has had a city host the games.

1. Before reviewing the facts about the history of the famous games of ancient Greece, ask the students to share any prior knowledge they may have on the games. Ask the students to also share any prior knowledge they have on the country of Greece. Locate the country on a world map.
2. Have the students read over the facts. Afterwards, have students write 7 facts they remember about the factoid list. Illustrate one of the factoids from the list. Write a brief paragraph about the illustration.

   4. Use a political world map that shows countries and color the different countries that have hosted the famous games of Greece since 1894. See a list of cities/ countries that have hosted the games.https://www.mapsofworld.com/world-olympic-map.htm

   
   

   Check out these resources:

   1. Learn about the History of the Famous Games of Ancient Greece with this fun/informative webquest:https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/History-of-the-Olympics-A-WebquestExtension-Activities-1021833

   
   

   2.Learn about South Korea, the host country for the 2018Winter Games with this web quest. There are also fun facts, extension activities and a mapskill activity.https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/South-Korea-A-Webquest-3296485

   
   

   3. Learn about the country of Greece, where the famous games originated with this webquest. There are also comprehension questions and extension activities:https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Its-Greek-to-Me-A-Webquest-1073827

   
   

   
   

   Illustration from:wpclipart.com

   
   

   
   

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