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- The Ancient Olympics: Bridging past and present
The Ancient Olympics: Bridging past and present Includes explicit content

This free course, The Ancient Olympics: Bridging past and present, highlights the similarities and differences between our modern Games and the Ancient Olympics and explores why today, as we prepare for future Olympics, we still look back at the Classical world for meaning and inspiration.
Course learning outcomes
After studying this course, you should be able to:
- show an awareness of the main similarities and differences between the modern Olympics and the Ancient Greek Games
- assess the ethical, philosophical and cultural importance of the Olympics to the Ancient Greek World
- understand the dual role of Olympia as a religious sanctuary and the location of the Ancient Olympic Games.
First Published: 09/08/2012
Updated: 01/07/2016
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Course content
- Introduction
- Learning outcomes
- 1 Historical influences
- 2 What are the Ancient Olympics?
- 3 The broader context: Other athletic festivals in Ancient Greece
- 4 Preparing for the games: Training body and mind
- 5 Day One: The opening ceremony (athletics and religion)
- 6 Day Two: The equestrian events and pentathlon
- 7 Day Three: Sacrifices (Hecatomb) and feast
- 8 Day Four: Running events and combat sports
- 9 Day Five: Honouring the victors
- 10 Conclusion
- 11. Quiz
- Glossary
- Acknowledgements
Your course resources
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About this free course
5 hours study
Level 1: Introductory
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