Welcome to Calm History. I'm Harris, and this podcast is my quirky mix of education with sedation.

So go ahead, lean back, put up your feet, and settle into my time machine of tranquility. I hope this episode distracts

and relaxes your overactive brain squirrels. Today's episode is about the very first

Olympic Games that began in ancient Greece.

You'll learn which events in the early Olympics we still do today, and which ones we don't do

today, like those ancient games that involved armor, trumpets, or mules.

Yeah, I said mules.

I'll explain how some rules have changed.

For instance, today's Olympians don't get beat with a stick by the referees.

I'll share how the origin of the long-distance race that we call the marathon

evolved from an ancient battle between the Greeks and the Persians.

I'll also reveal if ancient Olympians actually did exercise and compete in the nude,

and I'll finish by telling you all about some of the weird workouts of the ancient Olympians.

Okay. Time to begin today's historical journey.

The ancient Olympic Games of Greece, origins, events, and training.

The Ancient Olympic Games were held from 776 BC or BC to 393 AD or CE.

This is a span of almost 1,800 years,

but that doesn't mean that there were 1,800 ancient Olympic Games.

Just like today, they were held every four years, so this resulted in about 293 ancient Olympic Games.

The games were not just limited to Greek participants and Greek spectators.

People came from many surrounding regions to be involved.

Participation was limited to males, though,

...