The story begins in 776 B.C in Ancient Greece. There is evidence that a few competitors were doped with a special kind of drink before the games. It was consisted of red wine and a drug called  “Strychnine”. The athletes consumed that in order to boost their effectiveness and achieve their goal. But such a thing was considered to be illegal and thus totally irrelevant to the Olympic spirit of the games.
Unfortunately, even today doping poses a temptation to hundreds of athletes around the world and simultaneously dominates the athletic world. On contemporary Greece there are some instances of doping which have been black pages in the history of the Greek representative squad. One vivid but shameful example is Chalkia’s case. She took part in the Olympics of 2004 with a record of 52:82 and as a result she won the gold medal in 400m .Comparing  her past record in 2003 (56.40) the improvement was stunning. This fact triggered the committee of the WADA who conducted more frequent doping control on her. Finally, in 2008 illegal substances were found in her sample. This was when WADA banned from the Olympic games of 2008.
Another notorious example was Kenteris and Thanou’s case. WADA being suspected of their records asked their samples before their participation to the Olympic Games of 2004.They refused to give, making up silly excuses and the whole Greek world condemned them.
The above two cases in combination with the last case of the eleven power lifters in 2012 made Greece’s name heard all over the world once again.
All these instances contribute to realize that the total devotion in the field of sports sparks the use of illegal substance in order the participants improve their capabilities and gain fame in one night by forming a popular brand name through the Olympic Games.

Bouroulidis Paisios

          Some of the games that were played:

• Foot Race: When this race was ran once across the field it was called a Stade. The race was called a diaulos when running once across the field and then back to the starting point. Another race was called a Hippicos when the runners ran four Stades in a row. Some of the most famous athlets were: Leonidas of Rhodos and Orsippuss of Megara 
• Chariot Race: Chariot racing was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine sports. Chariot racing often was dangerous to both driver and horse as they frequently suffered serious injury and even death, but generated strong spectator enthusiasm. Chariot races could be watched by women, while women were barred from watching many other sports. It was possible for the winner to be a woman in official games from early on. This was likely because she was not physically competing, she was just the owner of the chariot. Women, like many athletes of their time, typically came from well known and wealthy families. Some of the most famous athletes were:Cynisca of Sparta, Nero and Tiberius 
• Discus Throw: Throwing the discus was one of the five events of the pentathlon. The discus was made of stone, later of bronze, lead or iron. Excavated examples have a diameter of 17 to 35 cm and a weight of 1,3 to 6,6 kg. On average they weighed 2,5 kg, this is 0,5 kg above the minimum weight of a modern discus. The thrower had restriction on his method of throwing, and could only throw directly in front of himself. The thrower, like most athletes, had to practice his positioning and was required to position his body in order to properly throw the discos.
• Jumping: The long jump was not practiced as a separate event, but was part of the pentathlon. The jumper landed, just as today, in a sandpit. It was created by raking the hard sand of the stadion over a length of a bit more than fifteen meters. A major difference with the long jump today is that the Greeks held jumping weights or “halters” of 1,5 to 2 kg in each hand. Thanks to these halters the athletes jumped further and landed more steadily. The athlete would wear weights to toss his body forward. These were leather bands tied to their arms with weights attached to them. The jumper was required to land with both feet close together and could not land on all fours. 
• Running with Armor: Consisted of men running in some pieces of armor. These were typically a helmet or shield, not too much or the runner would be weighed down. This event can be seen as an indication to the games being connected to war. The hoplitodromos or hoplitodromia was an ancient foot race, part of the Olympic Games and the other Panhellinic Games. It was the last foot race to be added to the Olympics, first appearing at the 65th Olympics in 520 BC, and was traditionally the last foot race to be held.            Athletic festivals under the name of «Olympic games», named in imitation of the original festival at Olympia, were established over time in various places all over the Greek world. Some of these are only known to us by inscriptions and coins; but others, as the Olympic festival at Antioch, obtained great celebrity. After these Olympic festivals had been established in several places, the great Olympic festival itself was sometimes designated in inscriptions by the addition of Pisa.     

    Anagnostou Anastasios

Xanthopoulos Stratos

Goudouvas Athanasios

From the ethical point of view, doping is a major form of cheating. The sole purpose of an athlete is to become the best. This can only be achieved by spending hours in stadiums. However there are athletes who choose doping as their only method to succeed and this is unfair. The main reason why athletes chose to use banned drugs is the commercialization of the sports and the fact that top athletes win a lot of money and have the best sponsors. This of course does not justify their decision. Doping in sports is a way of «cheating» because players should compite on the basis of their own natural abilities not any advantages given by drugs. Furthermore it is a contradictory to the goal of the sport which is to demonstrate physical abilities such as strength, endurance and speed. Finally doping insults those who work hard to improve their athletic skills.

As far as wellbeing is concerned doping can have consequences to the athletes’ health. Most of the times their body becomes distorted, growth of facial hair and the deepening of the voice. In some cases the use of  illegal drugs cause death.

In the final analysis, doping and its dire effects should be tackled and steps must be taken to that end.

Vasiliki Xanthopoulou

Sissy Tompa

Do you know the myth of kalipatira? Paschalina and Aggeliki created a komik.

Click on the link below!

The Myth of Kalipatira

">

[video ]

From the 5th to 21st  of August Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, will host the Olympic Games.

This international event is a big opportunity for the athletes to reach the peak of their career and it’s also a chance for the country that hosts them to increase dramatically its tourism , just think for a second at all the masses of people that will come and see the event,  and that will obviously spend their money on hotels,restaurants ecc..

However we can’t think that the Olympic Games are only a positive factor, what we all should keep in mind are the  social problems, the environmental  dangers, the sanitary alerts and also the the risks for the athletes to injure themselves

 The organization of the Olimpic Games is causing serious issue between people who are against the Olympics and people who are in favour of them , in fact many fights happen every day . In addiction to this,  lots of people who live in spaces that will be in use at the olympics are asked from the government to leave their homes, other people instead, are cut out of electricity and water supply for some days because of the Olympics works.

Also, the terrible Zika virus is a serious problem, pregnant women in particular are advised not go to Brazil because it could be dangerous for their baby too. It’s also a risk for all the other people visiting the country , the athletes and the personnel of the games.

Even if the Olympics are for sure an event worth seeing there are many risks and dangers to consider, are all the turists, organizators and local people  ready to pay the consequences of these Olympics Games?

Arianna Balfre – Como

George Betsios

Fenia Bitopoulou

Antonia Mouratidou

The Olympic Games in Ancient Greece held in Ancient Olympia, where the woman had to stay away, because the sport in ancient Greece was initially connected with the war, as each of the events had to do with the development of purely military techniques and capabilities also because some men were naked this causes women not to participate in the Olympic games apart from the unmarried girls, who could watch the games in ancient Olympia. Also still a special exception to the rule was the priestess of Demeter Chamynis who actually were seated in a place of honor. At that time the law on women’s remaining was strictly so severe that any woman who dared to violate, will precipitate from the cliffs of Mount standards, situated near ancient Olympia ( penalty of death ).

The Kallipateira was the daughter of the famous «periodontal» Diagoras. She was the first woman of antiquity followed the ancient Olympics. This was beacause her son was struggling to fight and she wanted to admire him, so he took courage and disguised himself as trainer where he entered and attended the race. He disguised because the rules forbid entry and monitoring of bare races for women as if one was able to see them punishable by death, Paros all Kallipateira not hesitate to attend the matches for her son Eventually her son managed to beat, his mother moved so much that he ran to embrace him with adoration, the mantle fell and revealed the female nature and then immediately arrested. The punishment should be death, nevertheless gave the example, because the family was famous. The history of Kallipateira struck both of contemporaries, and in later generations!

From 1900 onwards

In the firts modern Olympic Games were not involved women, but in Paris, in 1900, attended by some , but not in women’s events. In tennis, golf, horse riding ans sailing were given the right to complete in the men still managed to subsequently fought alongside the men equally the same with them.

Since then and until today the position of women in the Olympic Games began to face with greater interest and ascuires existence.

Louiza Christodoulou

Maria Michael

Patrik Bakos

Árpád Palya

The simple race , the » stage » was the first sport introduced . Until the 15th Olympics athletes taking part wore a short skirt , and later fought completely naked, showing their performance in the War walking and jogging . End point was that the prize is , while the spectators were standing right and left along the sandy path length was six hundred Olympic feet ( approx . 192 meters) . Athletes compete in teams of four . Individual winners competed against each other , also in groups of four . In the “ channel “ athletes running dual path back to the starting point , while the » Dolichos » route was twelve » channels «, ie 24 » stages «. The route of the » street soldier » had along two » stages » , and warriors initially wore full equipment ( helmet , greaves , shield ) and later was naked and only holding shield . Teenagers struggling only simple “ step “ , namely the race a route. Pausanias also mentions the race of » Ilia virgin » , which took part dressed in a short tunic , his right shoulder bare and her hair loose .

Multiprocessing

The fight was very popular sport . According to the legend, Theseus was the one who discovered the technique of struggle, so that the winner can not be dependent Sole from its natural physical strength , but technique, flexibility and swiftness of movements . The teen Cratinus not only gained fame for his victory , but also for the elegance of his movements . In the struggle we distinguish two events. At first the athlete had intended to throw an opponent three times shoulders on the ground, while in the second match continued even to the ground, until the defeated was forced to concede defeat by raising his hand .

Boxing

The boxing was violent and often fatal event. Hands were reinforced with thick leather straps from the elbow to fists and fingers remained uncovered close forming punch . The straps can be doped with small leaden lumps or nails . If the fight lasts a long time without a winner , the fighters had to make so-called » scale» . That boxers stood motionless , without defending themselves or avoid the blow , alternatively exchanged blows until one of them collapsed . Although we have many testimonies to the terrible and bloody wounds of the event , the art of boxing was another . The winner was the one who managed to avoid being hit . Even better was the one who managed to not hit nor to hit the opponent, causing it to collapse simply exhausted by the fruitless aggressive efforts.

Pankration

The most difficult sport in the Olympic Games was undoubtedly pankration . It was a combination of city and boxing . The winner had to beat combining the flexibility and power of the fist , symbolizing the heroic struggle of unarmed warrior in battle . Unlike boxing itself , athletes pankration fighting with bare hands and do not hit with his fist , but with the fingers of the fist . Two legendary athletes pankration stayed in history, Theagenes and Polydamas Androsthenes

Pentathlon

The pentathlon consists of five individual events , jogging , jumping , wrestling , discus and javelin . Athletes of pentathlon were famous for the elegance of perfectly toned their bodies. The holding of the pentathlon begins with the disc throwing or jumping, and continued to throw javelin , the race and the fight. The preliminary exercise was in sports gyms included four categories jumping , jumping height ( on site ) , jump height ( in forums ) , jump mikouskai depth jump, while the Olympics only mentioned the long jump . The jump was accompanied by the sounds of flute playing the » Pythian chant .» The start was made by a plastic board , the » diving board «, while the athletes were using an auxiliary instrument , the » dumbbells «. The sport regulation imposed on the athlete to land upright and stand still just at the point of contact with the ground . The point of possible landing was excavated to be the soil a little softer . Often found in relevant angiographies pickaxe which serves for the excavation of hard soil of the summer drought , or to mark the performance soil. The discus was shooting sport that evolved from the stone throwing in battle , and initially carried with simple stones somewhat large , as we conclude from an archaeological find in Olympia. Homer also mentions the stone disk of Corfu . The disc throwing technique is immortalized in many angiographies , reliefs and statues , the most famous of these is the global gnostosdiskovolos Myron . The javelin was also inspired by the respective war or shotgun, though in this form was specially made ​​for exclusive sports use . Were shorter , thinner and lighter , and result in long pointed end . In the middle of the shaft was adjusted by the “ loop “, which was strap or loop to assists the athlete in the dart , but is not verified by the exact function of the eye . It is also not known if the spear was shot or sport shooting . The road and boxing events presented above.

Chariot

The chariot is performed in a separate step , the » race track » unknown dimensions today . The unique carousel rescued today in Greece is located in Lykaio term and has a length of 300 meters , or a half step , and a hundred meters wide. The Olympia arena should , in the words of Pausanias to have a greater width . The boot device was invented Klioita , which perfected Aristides . At one end of the racecourse was built round the altar of taraxippus , since horses are susceptible to panic when unexpectedly passed from this point

Nowadays, a lot of this sports are changed and a big percentage of new modern sports have been added such as badminton, tennis, polo, ice hockey and others.

Anna Lambrou

Anastasia Andreou

Denis Mavromichalis

Christos Vasiliou