古時候奧運會與現代奧運大不相同。項目少，非希臘運動員不能參加，只有說希臘語的自由人方可參加。而且運動會一直在奧林匹亞市舉行，而不是每次都換不同地方。
Like our Olympics, though, winning athletes were heroes who put their home towns on the map. One young Athenian nobleman defended his political reputation by mentioning how he entered seven chariots in the Olympic chariot-race. This high number of entries made both the aristocrat2 and Athens look very wealthy and powerful.
像大家現代奧運一樣，獲勝運動員是使自己家鄉揚名四海的英雄。一個年輕的雅典政治家通過告訴大家他怎么樣七次在馬車賽中獲勝而保住了我們的政治名聲，參加好友數之多顯示出希臘貴族和雅典人的財富與強大。
Boxing
Ancient boxing had fewer rules than the modern sport. Boxers3 fought without rounds until one man was knocked out, or admitted he had been beaten. Unlike the modern sport, there was no rule against hitting an opponent when he was down.
There were no weight classes within the mens' and boys' pisions; opponents for a match were chosen randomly4.
Instead of gloves, ancient boxers wrapped leather thongs5 around their hands and wrists which left their fingers free.
Plato makes fun of boxers' faces, calling them the folk with the battered7 ears.
拳擊
古時候拳擊賽的規則比現代要少。拳擊運動員不分輪次地進行打斗，直到一方主動認輸或被擊倒為止。不像現代拳擊運動一樣，古時候運動員可以在對手倒下后繼續發起攻擊。
在成年男子組和少年組當中不分什么重量級輕量級，比賽的參加好友隨意選出。
古時候運動員不戴拳擊套，而用軟牛皮裹住手和手腕，露出手指。
柏拉圖取笑拳擊者的臉部，稱之殘耳的居民.
Chariot racing8
馬車賽
有雙馬馬車和四馬馬車，由小馬拉著參加不一樣的比賽。另外一個比賽是由一隊騾子拉著的四輪車賽，總長度等于圍著體育館跑12圈（九英里）。
Riding
The course was 6 laps around the track , and there were separate races for full-grown horses and foals. Jockeys rode without stirrups.
only wealthy people could afford to pay for the training, equipment, and feed of both the driver and the horses. As a result, the owner received the olive wreath of victory instead of the driver or jockey.
騎馬
這個項目的長度是繞跑道6圈（4.5英里），成年馬與駒馬參加不一樣的比賽。職業騎師無需馬鐙。
只有富人才能供得起練習、設施和馬與騎師的成本。因此，只不過主人才獲得獲勝的橄欖花環，而騎師得不到。
喜劇作家ArisTOPhanes描寫了對馬有高品位的兒子的爸爸的煩惱：債主們要把我活吞下去了都是由于馬惹的禍。（ArisTOPhanes,《云彩》，1.240ff）
Pankration
Rules outlawed9 only biting and gouging10 an opponent's eyes, nose, or mouth with fingernails. Attacks such as kicking an opponent in the belly11, which are against the rules in modern sports, were perfectly12 legal.
Like boxing and wrestling, among others, this event had separate pisions for both men and boys.
The poet Xenophanes describes the pankration as that new and terrible contest...of all holds
混斗
是一個合并拳擊與摔跤的嚴厲項目。允許重擊，盡管打斗者不需要拳擊比賽時所用的軟牛皮條包住手。
用指甲抓對手的雙眼、鼻子、嘴或者是咬人是犯規。
像用腳踢對手的腹部的攻擊，盡管在現代體育運動中是犯規的，但在過去則完全合乎法律。
像拳擊、摔跤及其它比賽一樣，這個項目分為成年男子組及少年男子組。詩人Xenophanes把混斗描寫成各種比賽中新而殘酷的決斗。
Pentathlon
This was a 5-event combination of discus, javelin13, jumping, running and wrestling.
Aristotle describes a young man's ultimate physical beauty: a body capable of enduring all efforts, either of the racecourse or of bodily strength...This is why the athletes in the pentathlon are most beautiful.
五項競技
這曾是一個集鐵餅、標槍、跳、跑和摔跤五項運動為一體的項目。
亞里士多德把經過比賽后的男子體態的優美描寫成：一個能忍受各種考驗的身軀，無論是比距離的比賽還是比體力的比賽這就是為何會加五項競技的運動員是最棒的原?（亞里士多德，Rhetoric 1361b）
Discus
The ancient Greeks considered the rhythm and precision of an athlete throwing the discus as important as his strength.
The discus was made of stone, iron, bronze, or lead, and was shaped like a flying saucer. Sizes varied15, since the boys' pision was not expected to throw the same weight as the mens'.
擲鐵餅
古希臘人把運動員投擲鐵餅的步伐和準確度和他的力量視為同等要緊。
鐵餅一般由石頭、鐵、青銅或鉛制成，形狀好似一個飛起來的碟子。大小不同，由于少年組的運動員不可能投與成年男子組一樣重的鐵餅。
Javelin
The javelin was a man-high length of wood, with either a sharpened end or an attached metal point. It had a thong6 for a hurler's fingers attached to its center of gravity, which increased the precision and distance of a javelin's flight.
標槍
標槍是一個長度和人的高度相當的木棍，其頂端要么是尖的，要么是包著一個金屬片。它纏有一個皮條以便于投擲者能把握住標槍的重點，如此可以提升投擲的準確度和距離。
Jump
Athletes used lead or stone jump weights shaped like telephone receivers to increase the length of their jump. The halteres were held in front of the athlete during his ascent16, and forcibly thrust behind his back and dropped during his descent to help propel his body further.Jump weights also doubled as weight lifting equipment during training.
跳
運動員用鉛或石制的形似電話聽筒一樣的跳運繩來增加其遠度。在運動員起跳時擺在他的前面，然后在落地時用力推向其背后，如此能把他的身體向前推進一步。在練習中跳遠負重也像舉重一樣增加。
Running
There were 4 types of races at Olympia. The stadion was the oldest event of the Games. Runners sprinted17 for 1 stade , or the length of the stadium. The other races were a 2-stade race , and a long-distance run which ranged from 7 to 24 stades .
And if these races weren't enough, the Greeks had one particularly grueling event which we lack. There was also a 2 to 4-stade race by athletes in armor. This race was especially useful in building the speed and stamina18 that Greek men needed during their military service. If we remember that the standard hoplite armor weighed about 50-60 lbs, it is easy to imagine what such an event must have been like.
The Phaiacian nobles entertain the hero Odysseus by competing in athletic19 games: A course was marked out for them from the turning point, and they all sped swiftly, raising the dust of the plain, but among them noble Clytoneus was far the best at running...he shot to the front and the others were left behind.
跑
在古時候奧林匹亞市有四種跑。192米跑是最老式的一個項目。運動員以全速跑完192米或一個體育館的長度。其它的項目有384米跑和距離為1344米至4608米的長跑。假如說這類賽跑算不了什么的話，古希臘人有大家所不擁有的嚴格項目。有一種比賽需要運動員身穿鎧甲跑384米到768米。在煉就古希臘男性在軍旅生涯中的速度和耐力方面，這種比賽看上去特別有用。假如大家能想到重達50至60lbs的全副鎧甲（頭盔、護脛、盾牌），那樣大家就比較容易想像出這種比賽像什么樣子。
[菲尼基貴族為取悅英雄奧德修而進行了一場運動會：從出發點為他們標出了跑步路線，他們飛快地沖出去，激起平原上的滾滾灰塵，在他們中克萊特尼斯（Clytoneus）比其他所有人都快得多他一直沖向終點而把別的人遠遠地拋到了后面]（《荷馬史詩》，《奧德修記》，8.121ff）
Wrestling
Like the modern sport, an athlete needed to throw his opponent on the ground, landing on a hip21, shoulder, or back for a fair fall. 3 throws were necessary to win a match. Biting was not allowed, and genital holds were also illegal. Attacks such as breaking your opponent's fingers were permitted.
In one of ArisTOPhanes's comedies, one character recommends that another rub his neck with lard in preparation for a heated argument with an adversary22. The debater replies, Spoken like a finished wrestling coach.
摔跤
像現代運動一樣，一個運動員需要把對手摔倒在地，競技者只須肩、背或臀觸及地面即為摔倒。一場比賽分三輪進行。不允許咬人，也不許抓他們的生殖器部位。而打斷他們手指或類似的進攻則是允許的。
在ArisTOPhanes的一部喜劇中，一個角色提醒另一個用豬油搽他的脖子來籌備與反方進行一場激烈的辯論。而辯手回話道：說的像一個完美的摔跤教練一樣（ArisTOPhanes，《騎士》，1.490ff）。