Olympic Religious Trivia Challenge

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Q1. The ancient Olympic games were held in honor of:

1. Apollo, god of truth and healing
2. Zeus, king of the gods
3. Ares, god of war
4. Zorba, the Greek

The ancient Olympic Games were played as part of a religious festival, dedicated to Zeus.

Q2. What did NOT happen in Olympia during the games?

1. The opening torch ceremony
2. Lavish banquets
3. Competitions in the buff
4. Altar rituals

Although some local festivals did have torch relays, including the one in Athens, scholars say they were not a part of the ceremonies at Olympia. Olympia did have an eternal flame, however, which was used to light sacrificial fires. The torch ceremony as we know it today is a combination of these two traditions, and was introduced at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany.

Q3. All married women were banned from viewing the ancient Olympics--except for one, who was required to attend. Who was she?

1. The wife of the governor of Olympia
2. The high priestess of Demeter
3. The chief priestess who lit the Olympic flame
4. The woman who was to be sacrificed to the gods as part of the Games sacred rites

The priestess of the goddess Demeter watched the Olympic Games from her seat in the temple of the goddess, on the eastern side of the stadium. She was given this privilege because a temple dedicated to this goddess had existed in the town from time immemorial.

Q4. The Greeks believed that no man could win an olive wreath without:

1. Eating his Wheaties
2. The favor of the gods
3. Performance-enhancing herbs
4. The love of their countrymen

Although the athletes prepared for many months before the games, often following strict diets and rigorous training schedules, the Greeks believed the men could not succeed without the blessing of the gods. The athletes had to swear before the statue of Zeus Horkios, the God of Oaths, that they would compete honorably; and they left symbolic offerings on altars to Hercules, Hermes, Nike, and other gods.

Q5. Women had their own separate athletic festival, which was dedicated to which goddess?

1. Aphrodite, the goddess of love
2. Artemis, the goddess of the hunt
3. Hera, the goddess of marriage
4. Demeter, goddess of the harvest

The women's Games, which were called the Heraia, were held every four years in honour of the goddess Hera, the wife of Zeus.

Q6. The statue of Zeus by Phidias, revered at Olympia and considered one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, met its fate how?

1. The Roman emperor Caligula had it destroyed
2. An earthquake reduced it to rubble
3. It was consumed by a fire
4. No one knows

Sometime in the 4th century the statue was transported to a palace in Constantinople, where it was later destroyed in a fire.

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