Ben Higgins - Blog Post 1

This first week of Greece was an accumulation of breathtaking sites and artifacts that all contain insurmountable historic value. My personal favorite was in the stadium at Olympia, where the first Olympics were originally held. As a track runner myself, I thought it was unbelievably fascinating and interesting to actually stand where the original sprinters of Greece stood. Though the track doesn’t look like match now, seeing where the starting line was down to the finish line, along being in the Garden of Zeus, it wasn’t difficult to imagine the stadium in its initial glory. Learning how the track once held 50,000 spectators really solidified how important the Olympics were to the culture and people of Greece. Even though the only physical prize at Olympia for the champion was a laurel wreath crown, it also came with glory, fame, and rewards from the personal city state they were from; such as Athens and how they gave their champions free food for life. I also thought it was awesome to learn about and see the settings for the other events of the original Olympics, such as pankration. I thought the story of how winning pankration was one of the highest glories one could achieve, so much so that the one man who was strangled in one fight actually died with the highest honor one could for death because as he was killed, he broke the ankle of his opponent, forcing him to raise his index finger in defeat. This story really stuck with me because again, it showed the immense value and importance the Olympics had in Ancient Greek culture, and how the athletes were so dedicated and focused on winning that they would take death over losing, which back then, was anything except first; there were no rewards for second and third. Another fact I enjoyed learning was how all the athletics done for the original Olympics were done in the nude, which was seen as normal, even though for pankration it was illegal to go for the groin area or gauge eyes. I thought this also said something about ancient Greek culture and its appreciation of the body and lack of self-consciousness about such things. Even the coaches had to be in the nude due to how a mother once snuck onto the track to see her son win, something that was illegal back then for women to be on the track. I truly felt that seeing Olympia was an unbelievable sight and an invaluable experience.