: A "no-holds-barred" combat where only biting and eye-gouging are forbidden. It is the ultimate display of alké (strength).
For over a thousand years, the flame burned every four years, until the Roman Emperor Theodosius I silenced the Games in 393 CE. Yet, the spirit of the gymnasion and the dream of the "Sacred Truce" survived, waiting in the soil of Olympia to be reborn in the modern era. : A "no-holds-barred" combat where only biting and
On the final day, you stand before the Temple of Zeus. There is no prize money. Instead, the judges place a simple wreath of wild olive leaves ( kotinos ) upon your head. Yet, the spirit of the gymnasion and the
: A grueling test of jumping, flinging the heavy bronze discus, hurling the javelin, wrestling, and running. Instead, the judges place a simple wreath of
The dust of Elis rises in a golden haze as thousands of travelers, from the rugged mountains of Macedon to the sun-drenched shores of Rhodes, converge on the sacred grove of Altis. It is the midsummer of 776 BCE, and the are about to begin.
The herald cries out, the trumpet sounds, and you sprint. The stadion race is a blur of gasping lungs and pounding hearts. When you cross the finish line first, you aren't just a cook anymore. You are a hero of Greece. Beyond the Race
