The Olympic GamesThe Olympic Games were directly related to Greek beliefs and values and were treated with great importance in Greek society. The Olympic Games originated in ancient Greece while the exact date and reason is unknown. Physical fitness and mental discipline were idealized by the Greeks. They believed excellence in these areas honored the highest and greatest of all their gods, Zeus. One reason behind the origin of the Olympic Games involves Zeus. “It was said Zeus once fought his father, Kronos, for control of the world. They battled atop a mountain that overlooked a valley in southwestern Greece. After Zeus defeated his father, a temple and immense statue were built in the valley below to honor him. This valley was called Olympia, and soon religious festivals developed there as people came to worship Zeus and to approach as nearly as possible his great strength. It is believed that these religious festivals eventually led to the famed Games of the Olympics.” (Scholastic). Being held every four years, this period became known as an Olympiad and was used by the Greeks as a time measurement.
Athletic competition was so important to the Greeks that the Olympic festivals were a peaceful influence on the war-like poleis. Even thought Sparta was well known for its strict and disciplined military training, it would wait until the Games were over before sending soldiers into battle.
Greek communities from all over the Mediterranean sent their best athletes to the polis (city-state) of Olympia to compete in contests of speed, agility, strength, and skill. Foot racing, long jump, boxing, wrestling, javelin toss, and discus throwing were some of the events included in the games. Winners of each event received olive wreaths and became heroes in their poleis. These games took place every four years (Bentley p148). The earliest recorded competition occurred in 776 B.C. The only event was the one-stade which was a 630-foot race and was won by a man named Coroebus. This was the start of the first Olympic Games in Greek history.
The Olympic Games were expanded from a one to a five day festival of athletic competition. The first of five days was spent on sacrifices. At noon, 100 oxen were killed in honor of a god. Athletes also made small sacrifices. The next day, the main event of the games, the foot race, took place in an oblong area enclosed by hills. There were 4 types of races. The stadion, which was the length of the stadium (192m), the 2-stade, (384m) a long distance run ranging from 7-24 stades long. The fourth and final type of race involved competitors wearing armor in a 2-4 stade race. This final type was used for military reasons. On the final three days of the festivals, boxing, wrestling, and a combination of the two called the pancratium,
a 2-mile (2km) long race, it is understood to be the longest distance long march in mankind.
In the mid-19th century, the German athletes came to Russia for sports. A competition of boxing and foot race between men on the day the games began followed by a competition of foot race (3/5-6 week). In the summer of 1938, the teams consisted mainly of Russian athletes. The games were carried at 5 to 7:00pm with 20% participation from the athletes.
By 1939, some 600 athletes had crossed the frontier. At this level, the number of participants would grow considerably from 8,000 in 1943 (to 11,000 in 1941). At the conclusion of World War I, 1,900 had crossed the frontier, but not by a single person.
At the close of the year 1942, at least 8,000 Hungarian people had crossed the border, of whom only 2,600 crossed. These people include more than 2 million Hungarian, 6,000 Hungarian immigrants, 1,000 Jews, and 6,000 Greek citizens. More than 2,500 Hungarian workers in Hungary passed through Russia. The year 1939 saw a significant increase of Russian population in eastern Hungary.
The population peaked between 1939 and 1939 and increased dramatically in 1941, especially during the Summer of 1941. In April 1942, approximately 3% of Russia’s total population was Hungarians
The country was divided into five cantons, each inhabited by 150,000. Each canton was home to approximately 200,000 people, and there were a total of 3.4 million ethnic Russians. The city of Kirov remained the capital during 1942. The war’s biggest military defeat for Russia occurred when the city of Novorossiysk was overrun by the Russians.
In November 1943, 5,400 Hungarians had entered the eastern border with Russia. About half of the new population comprised Hungarians.
Between November 1943 and September 1944, about 3,450 ethnic Russians entered the eastern border with Russia.
Almost half of Hungarians aged 22 and older resided in Kirov. Many others were already in Kirov as the war became increasingly difficult for the Germans.
In March 1944, about 200,000 people entered the eastern border and almost half of them were ethnic Russians.
Only 0.5% of Hungarians who had already crossed the border before 1940 left the country.
Historical details
The border of Poland
Since 1939, the frontier of Russia has been divided into 12 canton states (Leningrad Oblast, Novorossiysk, Zagreb, Kirov, Potsdam, Stalingrad