The ancient origins of the Olympics - Armand D'Angour

De olympiske leges antikke oprindelse - Armand D'Angour

Translator: Sune Vilsted Østergaard Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

Thousands of years in the making,

Tusinder af år undervejs,

what began as part of a religious festival honoring the Greek god Zeus

hvad der begyndte som en del af en religiøs fest, der ærede den græske gud Zeus

in the rural Greek town of Olympia

i den landlige græske by Olympia,

has today become the greatest show of sporting excellence on Earth.

er i dag den største sportsbegivenhed på jorden.

The inception date in 776 BC

Begyndelsen i 776 f.Kr.

became the basis for the Greek's earliest calendar,

blev grundlaget for grækernes tidligste kalender,

where time was marked in four-year increments called olympiads.

hvor tiden var markeret i intervaller af fire år kaldt for olympiader.

What could it be?

Hvad kunne det være?

Why, it's the Olympic games, of course.

Det er selvfølgelig de olympiske lege.

Competition fosters excellence, or so thought the Ancient Greeks.

Konkurrence fremmer præstationen mente antikkens grækere.

In addition to sporting events,

Foruden sportsbegivenheder,

contests were held for music, singing, and poetry.

blev der afholdt konkurrencer for musik, sang og poesi.

You can read about them all yourself in classical literary works,

Du kan selv læse om dem i litterære klassiske værker,

like Homer's "Iliad" and Virgil's "Aeneid."

som Homers "Iliaden" og Virgils "Æneiden".

Even mythical heroes appreciate a good contest every now and then,

Selv mytologiske helte holder af en god konkurrence nu og da,

wouldn't you say?

ikke sandt?

For the first thirteen games,

I de første 13 olympiske lege

the Ancient Greek Olympics featured just one event, the two hundred yard dash.

var 200-meter løb den eneste konkurrence i de oldgræske olympiske lege.

But over time, new exciting contests,

Men med tiden har nye spændende konkurrencer,

like boxing,

som boksning,

chariot and mule racing,

stridsvogns- og muldyrsvæddeløb,

and even a footrace where the competitors wore a full suit of armor

og endda et løb, hvor deltagerne bar fuld rustning,

enticed many hopeful champions into the Olympic stadium.

lokkede mange håbefulde mestre til det olympiske stadium.

The combined running,

Kombinationen af løb,

jumping,

hop,

wrestling,

brydning,

javelin throwing,

spydkast

and hurling the discus events

og diskoskast,

known as the pentathlon inspired world-class competition,

der er kendt som femkamp, inspirerede konkurrence i verdensklasse

and the pankration,

og pankrationsdysten,

a no holds barred fight where only biting and eye-gouging were prohibited,

en dyst hvor det kun var forbudt at bide og prikke øjnene ud,

ensured the toughest men were victorious.

hvilket sikrede at de barskeste mænd sejrede.

And victorious they were.

Og sejrrige var de.

Nobody tops the local baker Coroebus,

Ingen kunne slå den lokale bager Coroebus,

who 776 BC became the very first Olympic champion.

som i 776 f.Kr. blev den første olympiske mester.

And we'll never forget Orsippus of Megara,

Og vi glemmer heller aldrig Orsippus fra Megara,

the 720 BC Olympic victor tore away his loincloth so he could race unimpeded,

den olympiske vinder som i 720 f.Kr. rev sit lændeklæde af for at løbe uhindret,

inaugurating the Ancient Greek tradition of competing in the nude.

hvilket startede den oldgræske tradition om at konkurrere nøgen.

Now there's a winning streak, if ever we've seen one.

Det kan man i hvert fald kalde noget af et nøgenløb.

But all good things must end.

Men alle gode ting må have en ende.

In 391 AD, the Christian Roman Emperor Theodosius banned pagan practices,

I 391 e.Kr. bandlyste den kristne romerske kejser, Theodosius, hedenske skikke,

so the world soon bid a fond farewell to the Olympic games.

så verden sagde snart et inderligt farvel til de olympiske lege.

But just like those early pankration athletes,

Men ligesom de tidlige pankrationsatleter,

you can't keep a good one down,

så kan man ikke holde en dygtig en nede,

and 1500 years later in 1896,

og 1500 år senere, i 1896,

the modern Olympic games kicked off in Athens, Greece.

blev de moderne olympiske lege sparket i gang i Athen i Grækenland.

Today, the Summer and Winter Olympics

I dag bringer sommer-OL og vinter-OL

bring international world-class athletes together by the thousands,

internationale verdensklasseatleter sammen i tusindvis,

uniting fans by the billions for the world's foremost sporting competition.

og forener fans i milliardvis for verdens mest fremtrædende sportsbegivenhed.

Citius, Altius, Fortius.

Citius, Altius, Fortius.

Tre hurra for de olympiske lege.

Three cheers for the Olympics.