Student Name
Prof. Wadas
History 030
10/7/09
The Naked Olympics
In 2004, the summer Olympics returned to its home country of Greece. As
Athens hosted the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, Tony Perrottet examined the origins
of the Greek Games. He explores the ancient gymnasium olympians trained in, how
Olympic hopefuls hired private trainers, and also the lucrativeness of being an Olympic
champion. All of these aspects of the Ancient Olympic Games can be compared to the
aspects of the modern Olympic Games. However, there are also differences among
these aspects.
The first aspect of the ancient games Perrottet discusses is the training
conditions in which athletes trained for the Olympics. Ancient athletes trained in the
Greek gymnasium. Although it bears a similar name to modern day fitness clubs, the
comparisons between the two are few in number. An ancient Greek gymnasium was not
a singular building. Instead, it was a public sports ground. The ancient gym's main
feature was its running track. It had a second running track that was covered and could
be used in the event of bad weather. Because athletes needed a location to swim as
well, the ancient gymnasium was usually adjacent to a river. Also, it always had a
wrestling school, known as a palaestra, attached to it. All these factors are similar to
modern fitness clubs. The majority of exercise facilities today have an indoor running
track. Also, some facilities have pools for members to swim in. Finally, some clubs
