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THE
ORIGINAL OLYMPICS
Various
newspaper articles, media networks and the Olympic website
have made reference to the fact that in AD393, the Roman
emperor Theodosius banned the Olympic games for "being
too pagan". Some have also mentioned that under the
emperor's direction, fanatical Christians closed and later
tore down the temple (of Zeus) built in Olympia. Numerous
reports have characterised Christians as anti-sport - even
though many Christian athletes are performing in these games.
It
is worth noting that the original Olympians were professionals
- they trained and competed fulltime, profiting royally
from their wins, receiving huge amounts of cash, pensions
and slaves as prizes. The original Olympic Games were thoroughly
pagan. Before the games began, competitors went in procession
to the village of Piera, there priests offered an animal
sacrifice to Zeus. Then the athletes participated in a religious
ceremony of purification and large numbers of animals were
sacrificed before the colossal statue of Zeus in the Olympia.
The athletes swore allegiance to the Greek gods and specifically
to Zeus.
Winners
of the events visited the temple of Zeus to sacrifice to
the gods. The opening procession, where priests carried
glowing embers from the fire of the goddess Hestia, was
carried on past spectators singing a hymn to Zeus. Arriving
at the temple of Zeus, the priests mounted the steps and
lit the fire in the altar with the embers. There they slaughtered
and sacrificed a hundred bulls.
In
the original Olympics, men competed in the nude. Married
women were not allowed in the stands, woman who flouted
this prohibition risked being pitched headfirst off the
nearby cliffs. Unmarried women were allowed to watch and
prostitutes from the temple of Aphrodite were available
to the winners.
The
original Olympics were also incredibly violent. One of the
most popular events at the ancient games was the Four-Horse
Chariot Race which often resulted in multiple spills, accidents
and gory pile-ups. Numerous participants were disfigured
beyond recognition.
The
Olympics also featured a "ferocious, no holds barred
brawl known as the Pankration…a vicious mix of wrestling,
boxing and street fighting in which punches, kicks to the
groin, shoulder and ankle dislocations and choke holds were
allowed." One famous contestant specialised in breaking
his opponent's fingers. One Damoxenos jabbed his opponents
with the fingers so violently that he would pierce men's
ribcages and yank out their intestines. (Christian History)
Hence,
when on 24 February 391AD the emperor Theodosius began issuing
the series of decrees that effectively outlawed all pagan
sacrifices, divination, and occult rituals, one can understand
how this led to the closing down of the original Olympics.
Christians
were not hostile to sport in and of itself. There are numerous
positive references to physical exercise and running the
race in the Scriptures. "For physical training is of
some value…" 1 Timothy 4:8; "Run in such
a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the
games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown
that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will
last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running
aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating air. No, I
beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached
to others I myself will not be disqualified from the prize."
1 Corinthians 9:24 - 27; "I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2
Timothy 4:7
The
third century minister Hippolytus listed 24 vocations forbidden
to Christians in his book Apostolic Traditions. Eight of
these involved brutality, including chariot driving.
Fortunately,
today, athletes are no longer required to sacrifice animals
to Zeus, and cruelty to animals and brutality to fellow
contestants is no longer on the Olympic programme. However,
after the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, one reporter noted:
"The spirit behind Zeus, the ancient god of the Olympics,
would have been pleased. Never has so large a flock sung
his hymn and cheered his sacred flame. Never have so many
people celebrated the timeless ritual involving earth centred
spirits and the tribes they inspire…" The Olympic
Dream by Berit Kjos
Those
who think that the present Olympic Games have nothing to
do with the mythological paganism of Ancient Greece should
consider the present day Olympic anthem: "Ancient Immortal
Spirit, chaste Father of all that is Beauty, Grandeur and
Truth descending appear with thy presence, illumin thy earth
and the heavens. Shine upon noble endeavours wrought at
the games, on track and in the field…to thine Temple,
to thine worship, come all. O Ancient Eternal Spirit!"
One
description of the opening ceremony of the 2004 Olympics
in Athens observed: "A centaur (half human, half horse)
launches into the darkness a javelin, a shaft of light arching
through the air. Then the Greek god Eros descends over scantily
clad lovers sensually clutching and releasing each other
as they folic in the water…the procession of Greek
history begins with float after float…culminating in
the persona of the goddess Athena and replica of the Parthenon
- religion. Over all this, Eros hovers, as though the god
of love is guiding the course of history."
If
the Olympics are only about sports, then why are the increasingly
pagan opening ceremonies glorifying ancient religions -
all of which practiced animal and human sacrifices, infanticide,
slavery and brutal oppression of women?
There
is a pervasive tendency to ignore our Christian heritage
and how Christianity introduced a respect for life and liberty
that was completely unknown before the coming of Jesus Christ.
In the ancient world, the teachings of Jesus Christ halted
infanticide, emancipated women, abolished slavery, inspired
the first charities and relief organisations, created hospitals,
established orphanages and founded schools. In the medieval
times, Christianity built libraries, invented colleges and
universities, dignified labour and converted the barbarians.
In the modern era, Christian teaching has advanced science,
elevated political, social and economic freedom, promoted
justice and provided the greatest inspiration for the most
magnificent achievements in art, architecture, music and
literature.
Christianity
has been the most powerful agent in transforming society
for the better across 2000 years. No other religion, philosophy,
teaching, nation or movement has so changed the world for
the better as Christianity has done. Yet at the Olympics
billions of people worldwide choose to unite in pagan worship
rather than acknowledging our Creator, Saviour and eternal
Judge.
"Therefore,
since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that
so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the
race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the
Author and Perfector of our faith…" Hebrews 12:1-2
Dr Peter Hammond is the author of the Discipleship Handbook
and Biblical Principles For Africa.
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