Going for Glory: A History of the Ancient Olympics

You probably know that the Olympics started in ancient Greece, but did you know that they started as just a single running race? Or that the athletes—all male—competed naked and covered in oil? 

As the world gears up to watch athletes from nearly 100 countries compete in ice skating and bob sledding (two sports the Greeks would have been shocked at!), we had to know more about where the Olympics came from nearly 3000 years ago! 

Learn all about the early Olympic games in this bonus conversation with archaeologist Shelby Brown. 

Visit the episode website for images of art that teach us about Greek athletic competitions and for an episode transcript.

Read more about the ancient Olympics and other Greek athletic competitions on Getty's website: https://www.getty.edu/news/the-getty-villa-guide-to-the-ancient-olympics/