The article describes what the Olympiad is, the meaning of this word and what Olympiads are in our time are given.
Ancient times
Even our ancient ancestors, humanoid monkeys, understood: in order to survive, you must constantly be in motion. Whether it is searching for pasture, chasing a victim, or escaping from a predator. And weak representatives of this genus survived extremely rarely. Of course, a little later, along with strength, the mind with quick wits came first, but, nevertheless, physical strength for a long time remained an important aspect. And there were always those who deliberately developed it and dexterity.
Sport has existed at all times, but the ancestor of large-scale mass sports games from which a whole cult was made is ancient Greece with its Olympic Games. For several centuries, during their conduct, wars even stopped. But what is an olympiad? What is the meaning of this word, where it came from and what kind of Olympiads are held in our time? This we will understand.
Definition
According to the dictionary, the Olympiad (Greek: Olympiás, genus. Olympiádos) is the period of four years that followed between the two Olympic Games. This name came from a place called Olympia, where the first such games were held.
Surely the question may arise: "The Olympics and the Olympic Games are not the same thing?" Yes, these are two different things. However, over time, the first definition became a household name, and it is often used to refer to games in general. But essentially it’s just a period of time. And in ancient Greece, some rulers even counted them down, naming in honor of one or another game winner. But what is the olympiad as a whole? To answer this question, it is worth starting with the history of the modern origin of this event.
Rebirth
In the year 394 e., with the beginning of Christianity, the emperor of the Roman Empire Theodosius banned such games, considering them pagan. This was partly true, since during the Olympics the worship of the gods of the Greek pantheon was held. Thus, traditions over a thousand years old were interrupted, and again it was reborn almost a millennium later.
However, in 1894, they were revived by the French public figure Pierre de Coubertin. The reason for this was the increasingly growing global sports movement and the struggle for a healthy lifestyle. And, by the way, according to Pierre himself, he considered the very weak physical development of the soldiers as the reason for the defeat of the French in the Franco-Prussian war, since the sport was not massive. Simply put, there were no sections.
The first Olympic Games, it was decided to hold in Greece, Athens, in the place where they originated thousands of years ago. So we figured out what the Olympics are.
Since then, every two years, with the exception of the time that has come to world wars, similar games are held. They were also divided into summer and winter. The latter are held two years later from the summer.
Kinds
In addition to the Paralympic Games, where people with disabilities participate, this definition is also applied to a number of other competitions of a mass nature (not necessarily sports). For example, in a number of schools for a long time, for example, an olympiad in the English language or in other subjects has been held. Of course, they are far from international in nature, but, nevertheless, the participants have to try hard to win, since not everyone gets access to the competition. The guys compete in knowledge of the subject, oral proficiency, written, etc.
You can also note chess competitions, which are also a sport.
So we sorted out the meaning of the word olympiad, what types are and why they are held.