Athlete
Αθλητής – Athleetees
Origin:
From the word Athlon which means prize in a contest. Therefore, someone who competes for a prize.
Story:
The first written records of the Olympic Games date back to 776 BC, when a cook called Coroebus won the only event in the competition, an almost 200 metre running race called the Stade, which is where the word Stadium came from. His prize was an olive branch. The games had become common by the 6th century BC. They were held every four years in August and September during a festival dedicated to Zeus. Only free-born Greek males could take part. There were no women’s events, and indeed married women were prevented from attending even as a spectator. They fell out of fashion after the Romans conquered Greece. They ceased when pagan festivals were banned in the 4th century AD, and then revived by the French Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1896.
The first marathon followed the route of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, who ran to Athens from Marathon to bring news of the victory over the Persians in 490 BC.
Famously, the Roman emperor Nero entered himself into an Olympic chariot race in 67 AD, and declared himself the winner, despite falling out of his chariot during the race.
See also:
Stadium, Marathon, Olympic