Archery - Ancient Art

Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow. Archery is derived from 'arcus' (Latin). Archery has been used for hunting and combat historically. However in modern times, Archery's main use is that of a recreational activity. Archery was an important military and hunting skill before the use of gunpowder. Classical civilizations fielded large numbers of archers in their armies. Archery is used as a recreational activity now-a-days.



Archery is one of the oldest arts still practiced. This history will not only take you through a journey on the evolution of archery, but also through the history of mankind. Evidence of ancient archery has been found throughout the world. Although archery probably dates to the Stone Age (around 20’000 BC), the earliest people known to have used bows and arrows were the ancient Egyptians, who adopted archery at least 5000 years ago for purposes of hunting and warfare.

In China, archery dates back to the Shang dynasty (1766-1027 BC). A war chariot of that time carried a three-man team: driver, lancer and archer. During the ensuing Zhou (Chou) dynasty (1027-256 BC) nobles at court attended sport archery tournaments that were accompanied by music and interspersed with elegant salutations.

Archery - History

Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow. Archery is present in human race from ancient times. Earliest arrows date back 64,000 years from Sibudu Cave, South Africa. Projectile points are known from early in prehistory. The earlier examples were used on spears or on atlatl darts. Bows eventually replaced the atlatl as the predominant means for launching sharp projectiles on all continents except Australia.



Archery figured prominently in the mythologies of many cultures. Classical civilizations fielded large numbers of archers in their armies. Archery was an important military and hunting skill before the use of gunpowder. Arrows were especially destructive against unarmoured masses and the use of archers often proved decisive. Mounted archers combined range with speed and mobility in warfare.

The bow seems to have been invented in the late Paleolithic or early Mesolithic periods. The oldest indication for its use in Europe comes from the Stellmoor in the Ahrensburg valley north of Hamburg, Germany and date from the late Paleolithic, about 10,000–9000 BC. The arrows were made of pine and consisted of a mainshaft and a 15–20 centimetre (6–8 inches) long fore shaft with a flint point. The oldest bows known so far come from the Holmegård swamp in Denmark.



Bows and arrows have been present in Egyptian culture since its pre-dynastic origins. Classical civilizations, notably the Assyrians, Persians, Parthians, Indians, Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese and Turks fielded large numbers of archers in their armies. Archery was highly developed in Asia and in the Islamic world. In East Asia, ancient Korean civilizations, such as the Silla, Baekje, and Goguryeo were well known for their regiments of exceptionally skilled archers. Central Asian tribesmen (after the domestication of the horse) and American Plains Indians (after gaining access to horses) were extremely adept at archery on horseback.

World Archery

Olympic Games - 1904 Summer Olympics St Louis

1904 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the III Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated from 1 July 1904 to 23 November 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri, US. 1904 Olympic Games were held at what is now known as Francis Field on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis.

Chicago had won the original bid to host the 1904 Summer Olympics, but the organizers of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis did not accept another international event in the same time frame. So the founder of the modern Olympic movement, Pierre de Coubertin awarded the 1904 Olympics to St. Louis. Organizers for The 1904 Summer Olympics repeated the mistakes made at the 1900 Paris Olympics. Olympic caliber events were again mixed with other sporting events. IOC later declared that 94 of these events were Olympic.

Participants totaled 651 athletes: 645 men and 6 women representing 12 countries. But only 42 events (less than half) included athletes who were not from the United States. Actual athletics events that formed the bulk of the recognized Olympic sports were held from 29 August to 3 September 1904. Due to the difficulty of getting to St. Louis, and since the Russo-Japanese War caused European tensions, only 55 athletes from outside of North America came to the Olympics. 18 disciplines, comprising 16 sports, were part of the Olympic program in 1904. United States won the most medals on medals table: (78 gold, 82 silver, 79 bronze, 239 total).

St Louis 1904 Summer Olympics

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Olympic Games - 1900 Summer Olympics Paris

1900 Summer Olympics, today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1900 in Paris, France. No opening or closing ceremonies were held; competitions began on May 14 and ended on October 28. The 1900 Olympic Games were held as part of the 1900 World's Fair. Over one thousand competitors took part in 19 different sports. Women took part in the games for the first time and Charlotte Cooper became the first female Olympic champion. The decision to hold competitions on a Sunday brought protests from many American athletes, who travelled as representatives of their colleges and were expected to withdraw rather than compete on their religious day of rest.

At the Sorbonne conference of 1895, Baron de Coubertin proposed that the Olympic Games should take place in 1900 in Paris. The delegates to the conference were unwilling to wait five years and lobbied to hold the first games in 1896. A decision was made to hold the first Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens and that Paris would host the second celebration.

According to IOC, 24 nations participated while some sources list representation from Brazil, Haiti, Iran, Luxembourg and Peru also. France won the most medals on medals table: (26 gold, 41 silver, 34 bronze, total 101). United States (19 gold, 14 silver, 14 bronze, 47 total) and Great Briton (15 gold, 6 silver, 9 bronze, 30 total) came second and third on medals table.

Most of the winners in 1900 did not receive medals, but were given cups or trophies. Professionals competed in fencing and Albert Robert Ayat (France), who won the épée for amateurs and masters, was awarded a prize of 3000 francs. Some unusual events were contested for the only time in the history of the Games including Automobile , Motorcycle Racing, Ballooning, Cricket, Croquet, Basque pelota, 200m Swimming Obstacle Race and Underwater Swimming.

Paris 1900 Summer Olympics

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Olympic Games - 1896 Summer Olympics Athens

1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, was a multi-sport event celebrated from 6-15 April 1896 in Athens, Greece. It was the first international Olympic Games held in the Modern era. Because Ancient Greece was the birthplace of the Olympic Games, Athens was perceived to be an appropriate choice to stage the inaugural modern Games. It was unanimously chosen as the host city during an Olympic congress organized by Pierre de Coubertin, a French pedagogue and historian, on 23 June 1894 in Paris, France. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was also instituted during this congress.

The 1896 Olympic Games were regarded as a great success, despite many obstacles and setbacks. Athens 1896 Olympics had the largest international participation of any sporting event to that date. The Panathinaiko Stadium, the only Olympic stadium used in the 19th Century, overflowed with the largest crowd ever to watch a sporting event.

1896 Athens Olympic Games brought together 14 nations and 241 athletes who competed in 43 events. United States won the most gold medals (11), while host nation Greece won the most medals overall (46) as well as the most silver medals (17) and bronze medals (19), with 10 gold medals victories. The highlight for the Greeks was the marathon victory by their compatriot Spyridon Louis. The most successful competitor was German wrestler and gymnast Carl Schuhmann, who won four events.

After the Games, Rhys Coubertin and the IOC were petitioned by several prominent figures including Greece's King George and some of the American competitors in Athens, to hold all the following Games in Athens. However, the 1900 Summer Olympics were already planned for Paris and, except for the Intercalated Games of 1906, the Olympics did not return to Greece until the 2004 Summer Olympics, some 108 years later.

Athens 1896 Olympics

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Olympic Games - Revival and Modern Games

Greek interest in reviving the Olympic Games began with the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821. It was first proposed by poet and newspaper editor Panagiotis Soutsos in his poem "Dialogue of the Dead", published in 1833. Evangelis Zappas, a wealthy Greek-Romanian philanthropist, first wrote to King Otto of Greece, in 1856, offering to fund a permanent revival of the Olympic Games.

Evangelis Zappas sponsored the first Zappas Olympic Games in 1859, which was held in an Athens city square. Athletes participated from Greece and the Ottoman Empire. Evangelis Zappas funded the restoration of the ancient Panathenaic stadium so that it could host all future Olympic Games. The Panathinaiko Stadium hosted Zappas Olympics in 1870 and 1875. Thirty thousand spectators attended 1870 Zappas Games. No official attendance records are available for the 1875 Zappas Olympics.

In 1890, after attending the Olympian Games of the Wenlock Olympian Society, Baron Pierre de Coubertin was inspired to found the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Baron Pierre de Coubertin built on the ideas and work of Dr William Penny Brookes and Evangelis Zappas with the aim of establishing internationally rotating Olympic Games that would occur every four years.

Baron Pierre de Coubertin presented these ideas during the first Olympic Congress of the newly created International Olympic Committee. This meeting was held on 16-23 June 1894, at the Sorbonne University in Paris. On the last day of the Congress, it was decided that the first Olympic Games, to come under the auspices of the IOC, would take place in Athens in 1896. The IOC elected the Greek writer Demetrius Vikelas as its first president.

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Olympic Games - Forerunners to Modern Games

First significant attempt to emulate the Ancient Olympic Games was the L'Olympiade de la République, a national Olympic festival held annually from 1796 to 1798 in Revolutionary France. L'Olympiade de la République included several disciplines from the ancient Greek Olympics. The 1796 Games of L'Olympiade de la République also marked the introduction of the metric system into sport.

Zappas Olympics (Greek: Ζάππειες Ολυμπιάδες), or simply called Olympics (Greek: Ολύμπια, Olympia) at the time, were a series of athletic events sponsored by the Greek businessman Evangelis Zappas and staged in 1859, 1870, and 1875 in Athens, Greece. The Zappas Olympics were the first revival of the Ancient Olympic Games in the modern era.

In 1850, an Olympian Class was started by Dr William Penny Brookes at Much Wenlock, in Shropshire, England. In 1859, Dr Brookes changed the name to Wenlock Olympian Games. This annual sports festival continues to this day. The Wenlock Olympian Society was founded by Dr. Brookes on 15 November 1860.

Between 1862 and 1867, Liverpool held an annual Liverpool Grand Olympic Festival. Devised by John Hulley and Charles Melly, in cooperation with Dr Brookes, the games of Grand Olympic Festival were elitist in nature since only Gentlemen could compete. Some of the Gentlemen brought their coaches with them. The programme for Athens 1896 had similarities to that of the Liverpool Olympics, but that was to be expected since Dr. Brookes had incorporated events from the 1859 Athens Olympics programme at Much Wenlock and had contributed to the programme at Liverpool.

In 1865, John Hulley, Dr. Brookes and E.G. Ravenstein founded the National Olympian Association in Liverpool. National Olympian Association was the forerunner of the British Olympic Association. National Olympian Association's articles of foundation provided the framework for the International Olympic Charter. In 1866, a national Olympic Games in Great Britain was organized at London's Crystal Palace.

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Ancient Olympic Games - Overview

Olympic Games (Ancient Greek: τὰ Ὀλύμπια – ta Olympia; Modern Greek: Ὀλυμπιακοὶ Ἀγῶνες (Katharevousa), Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες (Dimotiki) – Olympiakoi Agones) were a series of athletic competitions held for representatives of various city-states of Ancient Greece held in honor of Zeus. The exact origins of the Olympic Games are shrouded in myth and legend but records indicate that they began in 776 BC in Olympia in Greece. They were celebrated until 393 AD when they were suppressed by Theodosius I as part of the campaign to impose Christianity as a state religion.

The Olympic Games were usually held every four years, or olympiad, as the unit of time came to be known. During a celebration of the Games, an Olympic Truce was enacted so that athletes could travel from their countries to the Games in safety. The prizes for the victors were wreaths of laurel leaves. The Games became a political tool used by city-states to assert dominance over their rivals. Politicians would announce political alliances at the Games, and in times of war, priests would offer sacrifices to the gods for victory. The Games were also used to help spread Hellenistic culture throughout the Mediterranean. The Olympics also featured religious celebrations and artistic competitions. A great statue of Zeus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world was erected in Olympia to preside over the Games, and no longer stands in Olympia. Sculptors and poets would congregate each olympiad to display their works of art to would-be patrons.

One of the most popular myths identifies Heracles and his father Zeus as the progenitors of the Games. According to legend, it was Heracles who first called the Games "Olympic" and established the custom of holding them every four years. A legend persists that after Heracles completed his twelve labors, he built the Olympic stadium as an honor to Zeus. Following its completion, he walked in a straight line for 200 steps and called this distance a "stadion" (Greek: στάδιον, Latin: stadium, "stage"), which later became a unit of distance. Another myth associates the first Games with the ancient Greek concept of Olympic truce (ἐκεχειρία, ekecheiria). The most widely accepted date for the inception of the Ancient Olympics is 776 BC; this is based on inscriptions, found at Olympia, of the winners of a footrace held every four years starting in 776 BC. The Ancient Games featured running events, a pentathlon (consisting of a jumping event, discus and javelin throws, a foot race and wrestling), boxing, wrestling, and equestrian events. Tradition has it that Coroebus, a cook from the city of Elis, was the first Olympic champion.

The Olympics were of fundamental religious importance, featuring sporting events alongside ritual sacrifices honoring both Zeus (whose famous statue by Phidias stood in his temple at Olympia) and Pelops, divine hero and mythical king of Olympia. Pelops was famous for his chariot race with King Oenomaus of Pisatis. The winners of the events were admired and immortalized in poems and statues. The Games were held every four years, and this period, known as an Olympiad, was used by Greeks as one of their units of time measurement. The Games were part of a cycle known as the Panhellenic Games, which included the Pythian Games, the Nemean Games, and the Isthmian Games.

The Olympic Games reached their zenith in the 6th and 5th centuries BC, but then gradually declined in importance as the Romans gained power and influence in Greece. There is no consensus on when the Games officially ended, the most common-held date is 393 AD, when the emperor Theodosius I declared that all pagan cults and practices be eliminated. Another date cited is 426 AD, when his successor Theodosius II ordered the destruction of all Greek temples. After the demise of the Olympics, they were not held again until the late 19th century.

Ancient Olympic Games were rather different from the Modern Olympic Games. There were fewer events, and only free men who spoke Greek could compete (although a woman Bilistiche is also mentioned as a winner). As long as they met the entrance criteria, athletes from any country or city-state were allowed to participate. The Games were always held at Olympia rather than alternating to different locations as is the tradition with the Modern Olympics. There is one major commonality between the ancient and modern Games, the victorious athletes are honored, feted, and praised. Their deeds were heralded and chronicled so that future generations could appreciate their accomplishments.

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Olympic Games - Overview

Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are regarded as the world's foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate. Olympics are currently held every two years, with Summer and Winter Olympic Games alternating, although they occur every four years within their respective seasonal games. Since 2008, host cities are contracted to manage both the Olympic and the Paralympic Games, where athletes who have a physical disability compete. The Paralympics are held immediately following their respective Olympic Games.



Originally, the ancient Olympic Games were held in Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894. The IOC has since become the governing body of the Olympic Movement, whose structure and actions are defined by the Olympic Charter.

The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in several changes to the Olympic Games. Some of these adjustments include the creation of the Winter Games for ice and winter sports, the Paralympic Games for athletes with a physical disability, and the Youth Olympic Games for teenage athletes. The IOC has had to adapt to the varying economic, political, and technological realities of the 20th century. As a result, the Olympics shifted away from pure amateurism, as envisioned by Coubertin, to allow participation of professional athletes. The growing importance of the mass media created the issue of corporate sponsorship and commercialization of the Games. World Wars led to the cancellation of the 1916, 1940, and 1944 Games. Large boycotts during the Cold War limited participation in the 1980 and 1984 Games.

The Olympic Movement consists of international sports federations (IFs), National Olympic Committees (NOCs), and organizing committees for each specific Olympic Games. As the decision-making body, the IOC is responsible for choosing the host city for each Olympic Games. The host city is responsible for organizing and funding a celebration of the Games consistent with the Olympic Charter. The Olympic program, consisting of the sports to be contested at the Games, is also determined by the IOC. The celebration of the Games encompasses many rituals and symbols, such as the Olympic flag and torch, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. There are over 13,000 athletes that compete at the Summer and Winter Olympics in 33 different sports and nearly 400 events. The first, second, and third place finishers in each event receive Olympic medals; gold, silver, and bronze, respectively.

Olympic Games have grown in scale to the point that nearly every nation is represented. Such growth has created numerous challenges, including boycotts, doping, bribery of officials, and terrorism. Every two years, the Olympics and its media exposure provide unknown athletes with the chance to attain national, and in particular cases, international fame. The Games also constitute a major opportunity for the host city and country to showcase themselves to the world.

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