Fans at the ancient Olympics also cheered their heroes

Is it accurate to say that the modern Olympic Games were invented in ancient Greece?
Jean-Paul Tourillier: This is what its name suggests, but today’s Olympic Games have little in common with the “competitions” or “gatherings” (agônes) organized in Olympia from 8 o’clock. 1st century BC. When Pierre de Coubertin invented the modern Olympic Games between 1894 and 1896, the idea was to internationalize and thus democratize sports. However, in ancient times, the concept of amateur sports and the nation-state simply did not exist. In addition to this key difference, there were also far fewer sports at the time – mainly horse racing and track and field events, with no team sports at all. The ancient Greeks played some ball games, but never participated in Olympic competitions. Finally, we have to remember that the games were dedicated to the gods and were part of a series of ritual activities: processions, prayers, sacrifices, etc. – which is obviously not the case today. In short, we are talking about two very different realities. I also think it is very telling that the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens and not in Olympia. In 2004, the organizing committee used the Olympia Stadium for the shot put competition as a symbolic gesture. I find this very interesting, because there was no such sport in ancient times!

Were similar contests held elsewhere in the ancient world?
J.-PT: In fact, contrary to popular belief, sports did not originate in Greece. Much older practices are found in Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations, for example. However, sports did have a considerable and relatively unprecedented importance in the Greek world. “Gymnastics”, i.e. physical training in the gymnasium, was an essential part of the proper upbringing of the elite, on a par with intellectual education. Moreover, the games held in Olympia became the largest gatherings ever held in Greece: 50,000 spectators came to watch the games – a considerable number at the time.

Beginning in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, under the Roman Empire, athletic competitions proliferated around the Mediterranean, in what is now Turkey, Tunisia, Egypt, Italy… I believe the ancient Romans invented what we now call “spectator sports.” Famous circus performances—which, I should point out, did not include gladiator fights—attracted crowds of up to 150,000 spectators. Until recently, they were the largest sporting events ever: the Maracanã Stadium, built in Brazil in 1950, eventually broke the record, seating up to 200,000 people, before being scaled back to a more modest capacity.

What is the difference between the Roman Olympics and the Greek Olympics?
J.-PT: this Greek athletes were aristocrats whose main motivation was to win and gain glory. Olympic champions were revered as much as military leaders who saved their homeland. But their only tangible reward was the olive wreath they received in Olympia and possibly some material reward or money back home. In Rome, things were completely different: aristocrats would never show off, as this was seen as shameful. Those who participated in the games were of low status, often slaves, who competed to earn money, improve their situation or gain their freedom. The biggest champions of the main events, the chariot races, received huge fortunes: a certain Diocles is known to have won 35 million sesterces, while the minimum fortune of a Roman senator (the highest position at the time) did not exceed 1 million sesterces. This sparked the first major debate about the “business of sports” and the rewards for champions. Intellectuals such as Juvenal and Martial were outraged and denounced these “excesses” in poetry.

Was money less influential in Greece than in Rome?
J.-PT: this Roman chariot racing was in many ways the equivalent of modern football: it offered participants large prizes and inspired a passion unmatched in ancient history.

Even other circus sports (mostly combat sports and athletics) were not as popular. In Greece, horse racing was the preserve of the elite and the wealthiest citizens, so less money was involved. The earliest professionalization began in the 4th century BC: competitions proliferated across the Mediterranean, increasingly rewarding winners with money. Some athletes earned a living by traveling from one competition to the next. But this was a later phenomenon, only marginal to what we call the “Panhellenic Games”.

Do these events have a political or social function?
J.-PT: Yes, firstly because they attracted huge crowds. In Greece, people travelled to the sanctuary of Olympia much as others would later make the pilgrimage to Mecca. Many came to watch the performances and take part in the events, but not only that. It was also a gathering place, an opportunity for politicians, orators and philosophers to exchange ideas and showcase themselves. In Rome, especially during the Republican period, the Olympic Games were an instrument of power. The officials responsible for organising the Games – the ‘adepts’ – were guaranteed a brilliant political career if they put on a lavish event. The emperor could also gain enormous prestige from the Olympics – a fact again condemned by the writer Juvenal, who lamented that “Today all of Rome has turned into a circus.” The sport was so successful that the streets were deserted during chariot races, allowing thieves to get away with it, while the spectators were excited and argued endlessly about who was the best chariot driver. SatyriconThe Analects of Petronius even describes a master debating this issue with his servants. This led to communication between different types of people, thus forming a kind of social cohesion.

Were the fans who attended the games back then different from the fans today?
J.-PT: They behave more or less like the Italian tifosi or the Paris Saint-Germain football fans. In Rome, they already sell sports merchandise: clay lamps depicting chariot drivers, figurines, bone pocket knives inscribed with the names of champions and their horses… I should mention that the chariot drivers are divided into four factions, distinguished by different colors. In the stands around the circus, the audience would shout, “Come on, Greens!’ or ‘Come on, white people!’ Interestingly, a tomb from that era was discovered with an inscription that read The Venetianwhich can be translated as ‘Blues supporters’As one football fan’s tombstone sums up his life: ‘He always supported Marseille’Modern analogues do exist: I once saw someone with a soccer ball carved into his tombstone – for example, and I think this practice is quite common in Latin America. Ancient sporting events inspired the same emotions we see today. The audience was excited by the performance of the champions, applauded them and laughed at the opponents. Of course, the situation was completely different, especially from a religious and political point of view. But when a favorite rickshaw driver crosses the finish line ahead of the peloton and the crowd cheers, I think the spiritual aspect is no longer so important.