1 and 2. The country the first Olympics were held in for both ancient and modern purposes was Greece. The ancient games were first held in 776 BC in Olympia where the torch relay begins today and where the 2004 Shot Put competition was held as part of the 2004 Athens Olympics which were the homecoming of the modern games which were first held in 1896 in Athens. As for the ancient games, they were always held in Olympia and were halted in 393 AD because of pagan concerns from the Roman government.

3. There was only one real rivalry and that was between Athens and Sparta. They had two two things in common. First their leaders had a difference of opinion over how their people should be ruled. For the most part, Sparta favored tyranny while Athens favored demoracy. Second, both city/states were warriors and built up a pretty good military power. The first site lists much more than I could state here and is a must read for you.

4 and 6. The Olympic flame tradition and torch developed from Greek Polytheism. There the flame was an enternal flame used to worship their gods and existed in the sanctuary of Olympia. To light the flame, the Greeks used a skaphia which was about the same as the modern parabolic mirror. The modern torch and relay was based on ancient relays called lampadedromia or flame races. What happens here is that various teams would relay skaphia-ignited torches to some god’s personal alter. The winner got the honor of renewing the god’s fire. The custom of a truce developed due to the safety concerns of both spactators and athletes. This was done with the use of messengers who ran the countryside telling the various city-states that the games were about to begin. This practice today uses the torch relay as a form of message telling people that the games are about to begin. The next games scheduled are the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games set to begin on Friday Feburary 12, 2010. Their torch will be lit in Olympia on October 22, 2009.

5. I honestly don’t know If all these events took place in the 648 b.c. Olympics, but here is a good listing of the events that took place. I will include a link so you can look at the descriptions.

a. Boxing
b. Pankration: A combo of boxing and Wrestling
c. Wrestling
d. Running
I. stadion
II. 2-stade
III. Long distance 7-24 stade
IV. 2-4 stade event wearing armor.
e. Equestrian Events
I. Chariot races
II. Riding events
f. Pentathlon: A combo of the Discus, Javelin, Jump, Running, and Wrestling

7. The victor in an event received an olive branch, honor throughout Greece, and money from their hometown.

I truly hoped that my answers helped you in your homework. If you are doing a paper, just don’t copy my answers and use the links provided to do a great job with your work.