Combat sports in the ancient Greek Olympics could be fatal

　　To trace the origins of the modern Olympic Games we must travel back nearly 3,000 years in time to Ancient Greece, when young men proved their physical prowess and fighting skills by competing in sporting activities.

　　But the ancient Olympic Games were not solely about sporting endeavour; they were also used as an opportunity for the Greeks to honour their gods, particularly Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, whose massive statue stood in the Valley of Olympia.

　　Many of the sports practised by the Ancient Greeks still exist in an adapted form today, including wrestling, boxing, running, jumping and throwing contests.

　　But there are important differences. Modern day spectators would be astonished if the athletes competed naked like the Ancient Greeks did.

　　Combat sports could be much tougher in those days: boxers fought wearing leather gloves with pieces of metal attached to their knuckles. The Greeks also fought in an event called the ‘pankration’ in which no holds were barred and eye-gouging was permitted.

　　Although the Olympic Games fell into decline after Greece was conquered by the Roman Empire in 146BC, the spirit of the games did not die away altogether.

　　Interest in the games was revived in the 19th Century after a wealthy Greek philanthropist paid for the renovation of an ancient stadium in Athens. The result was the 1859 Olympic Games staged between just two countries: Greece and the Ottoman Empire.

　　International interest grew, and in 1894 a French aristocrat called Pierre de Coubertin hosted a congress at the Sorbonne University in Paris in order to suggest a new modern Olympic Games.

　　De Coubertin’s ideas were met with international approval and the first Olympic Games of the modern age took place in Athens in 1896.

　　Since then the Olympics have gone from strength to strength, with competitors from all over the world taking part, and billions more watching on television.

　　GLOSSARY 词汇表 (收听发音, 请单击英语单词)  

　　trace the origins

　　追踪起源

　　physical prowess

　　体魄

  　fighting skills

　　搏斗技能

　　sporting endeavour

　　体育运动拼搏

　　honour their gods

　　祭神

　　adapted form

　　改变形式 （新形式）

　　astonished

　　惊讶的

　　naked

　　裸体的

　　 leather gloves

　　皮手套

　　knuckles

　　指关节

　　no holds were barred

　　没有限制的，没有约束的

　　eye-gouging

　　挖出眼睛

　　fell into decline

　　开始衰败

　　conquered

　　征服

　　146BC

　　公元前146年

　　revived

　　恢复（比赛）

　　 philanthropist

　　慈善家

　　 renovation

　　维修翻新

　　 aristocrat

　　贵族

　　 hosted a congress

　　主持代表大会