Hello and welcome to today's history lesson with me, Ms. Roberts.

Today's lesson is about a special part of the ancient Greek civilization.

We're going to be looking at the history of the ancient Greek Olympic Games.

This lesson is from a unit where we are investigating what is the most significant legacy of ancient Greece? Could it be the Olympic Games? Let's go through the lesson together and find out.

By the end of the lesson today, you will be able to compare the ancient Greek Olympic Games with those that are held in the modern period.

Let's make a start by going through some keywords that we are going to need to use in this lesson.

You'll be able to use these words yourself when you are talking about the ancient Greek Olympic Games.

Our first word is Olympia.

Can you say Olympia? Lovely.

Our second keyword, you've heard this a couple of times already, is Olympic Games.

Can you say Olympic Games? Great.

Then we have festival.

Can you say festival? And finally we have the word legacy.

Can you say legacy? Good job, don't worry if you're not sure what any of these words are because I'll go through them with you now.

The first of our keywords was Olympia.

Olympia is the name of a place in ancient Greece.

Olympia was a large plain in the southwest.

The next keyword is the Olympic Games.

The Olympic Games is a sports competition, and it is held every four years.

The next keyword was festival.

A festival is a ceremony or a celebration that is often repeated.

Festivals usually involve special, particular activities, and the last keyword is legacy.

A legacy is the long-lasting impact or influence of a historical event, action, person or group of people.

In this unit, we are looking at the legacies of the ancient Greek civilization.

So for today's lesson, there are three sections to the lesson.

We're going to begin by looking at the beginnings of the Olympic Games.

Then we will move into thinking about what evidence we have about the ancient Olympic Games.

And then finally, we will look at the legacy of the ancient Olympic Games.

So let's start then with the beginnings of the Olympic Games.

In ancient Greece in the year 776 BCE, a very special event happened and this event happened at a place called Olympia.

The reason that Olympia was chosen for this special event was because it was a large plain in the southwest of Greece.

Because it was a plain, it had a lot of flat land and open space.

Sam is telling us the definition here of a plain.

It's an area of land that is flat.

Plains can be surrounded by mountains or hills, though like Olympia in Greece, and that's true.

Another reason that Olympia was chosen was because there was a nearby river.

The river Alpheus, it runs right through the Olympian plain.

So that meant there was plentiful water supply available.

Additionally to that, because the ground was flat, it meant that people could camp on it in tents.

The ancient Greeks needed a place that had all of those things because they were going to be bringing together people from all over ancient Greece.

For the very first Olympic Games, many people were going to be coming to this very special occasion.

Thanks John for pointing that out.

This is a very good observation and something we need to remember.

Even though they have similar names, Mount Olympus is not in Olympia.

Mount Olympus is actually about 200 miles away from Olympia.

Don't get those two places muddled up.

The Olympic Games is a sports event that takes place every four years.

It still takes place today.

Athletes from all around the world compete against each other at the Olympic Games to try to win medals.

The very first Olympic Games was held at Olympia in ancient Greece in 776 BCE.

The ancient Olympic Games was a gathering of the strongest, the fastest, and the most skilled men from every single ancient Greek city state.

Aisha has another good fact for us here.

Thanks, Aisha.

She is telling us that an Olympiad is a period of four years, that comes from the fact that the Olympic Games are held four years apart.

You have already heard a lot about the ancient Olympic Games, so let's put some of that learning to use with an activity.

Look at this photograph.

This photograph is the plain of Olympia.

It shows the historical ruins of the Olympic Games in Olympia, in Greece.

Talk to a partner and discuss why you think this was a very good location for the first Olympic Games to be held.

You can use the knowledge you now have as well as information from the picture.

Pause the video now while you talk to your partner.

All finished? Good job.

I'm going to share some of my thoughts now.

You may have also made observations like these.

My first observation is about the type of land.

This area has lots of open space so all the visitors could gather there and all sporting events could take place.

The area of Olympia also has a water supply from a nearby river, so that would've been very helpful for all the people that were going to be there.

The last observation that I made was that the land was flat, which meant that people could camp on it because of course, in ancient Greece there were no hotels like we have today.

People would've been camping in tents.

Let's find out some more now about the ancient Olympic Games.

The ancient Olympic Games was not originally a sports competition.

The Olympic Games were actually part of a bigger religious festival.

They were held during the festival of Zeus.

Zeus was the king of the gods in ancient Greek mythology.

In fact, a huge statue of Zeus sitting on a throne was purposefully built at Olympia.

And people travel from all over the city states of ancient Greece to come worship at the feet of the statue.

This is shown in the picture.

If you pause the video and look closely, you can see the people at the foot of the statue worshipping.

The statues in this photograph show what Zeus, the king of the gods, and Hera, the queen of the gods may have looked like.

The sporting events of the ancient Olympic Games were held to honour God's like Zeus and Hera.

They were held to demonstrate the skills of the best Greek athletes.

Taking part in an event was seen as a very important way to honour and worship the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece.

So anybody that was caught cheating in event was said to have offended their gods and they would face severe punishments.

Thinking about what you now know of the ancient Olympic Games, let's try this true or false activity.

Listen carefully and decide whether this statement is true or false.

In 776 BCE, ancient Greeks travelled to Olympia for a religious festival.

Is that true or is that false? Have you decided? God, have you chosen true? Well done, it is definitely true to say that in 776 BCE, ancient Greeks travelled to Olympia for a religious festival.

But as a historian, whenever we make a statement about the people, places, or events of the past, we must be able to provide evidence, information, or explanation about how we know what we are saying.

So I'm going to share two more sentences and I want you to decide which of those is the most helpful to help us explain this situation.

Sentence A says that there was a huge statue of Zeus in Olympia that the Greeks wanted to see.

Sentence B says that the sporting events were just one part of a bigger religious festival that lasted several days.

Which of those is the most helpful to explain why we know that the first statement is true? Have you chosen one? I have chosen option B, which explains that the sporting events of the ancient Olympic Games that were first held in that year 776 BCE, they were part of a bigger religious festival.

So this explains that the ancient Greeks were not just travelling to take part in a sports competition, they were travelling for a religious event.

Let's do an activity now about the beginnings of the Olympic Games.

I'd like you to talk to a partner for this task and together I would like you to discuss what you think were some of the positive impacts of the ancient Olympic Games.

Here are some things you could think about.

Why were the Games held? Who took part in the events? Who else was in Olympia and why? Pause the video now while you complete the activity.

All done? Great work.

Some of the children from Oak Academy are going to share their ideas with us now.

John says that, "The Olympic Games brought people together from all over ancient Greece." I think that's very true, and that was certainly positive that it was bringing people together.

Andeep says that, "The ancient Greeks could come together to worship their gods and goddesses and celebrates their talented sportsmen." Absolutely, Andeep.

That's definitely a positive impact.

Jacob says that, "The Olympic Games promoted good sportsmanship because cheaters were punished." That's definitely a positive impact, isn't it, Jacob? Well done.

Let's move along then to our second part of the lesson and consider what evidence we have of the ancient Olympic Games.

We know as much as we do about the Olympic Games thanks to evidence that has been discovered.

Let's find out what that evidence is.

This is the aerial photograph of Olympia that you saw earlier in an activity.

Historical evidence from Olympia and from other parts of ancient Greece has been discovered.

Many artefacts, these are objects from the past, have been found during excavations, and they have been carefully studied by people called archaeologists.

Archaeologists study evidence from the past and make conclusions about it.

Clay pottery are some of the most important artefacts that we have from ancient Greece.

Clay pottery items include things like large vases, bowls, jugs and plates.

Clay pottery was very carefully painted.

The paintings would show scenes of everyday situations.

They would show people, places and events from the time, and this includes some scenes showing the ancient Olympic Games.

Izzy sharing with us some information about ancient Greek pottery.

"ancient Greece is famous for making red clay pottery, and it was painted with black watery ink called slip." We're going to see some of these scenes now.

These photographs all show examples of clay pottery from ancient Greece.

The black paintings have all been done with that watery ink called slip that Izzy was telling us about.

So let's have a multiple choice question now about evidence of the ancient Olympic Games.

Which of the following is one of the most important artefacts that tells historians about the ancient Olympic Games? A, emails and text messages.

B, pieces of paper.

C, painted pottery or D, patterned cloth.

Choose one now.

Have you picked one? Good job.

Now, they didn't have emails and text messages in ancient Greece, did they? So it's definitely not option A.

So of the other three, which did you pick? Did you pick option C? Well done.

It's painted pottery.

They are some of the most important artefacts that we have to tell us about ancient Greece.

Historians know about what type of sports events happened at the ancient Olympic Games thanks to the kind of pictures they have seen on pottery artefacts.

Pottery has been found that has pictures on showing us events like running, chariot racing, wrestling, discus throwing, javelin throwing, and long jump, all of which we can say took place at the ancient Olympic Games.

One of them is shown in this picture, this is a discus thrower.

The paintings on pottery also tell us some other important facts.

We know that in ancient Greece, only the men were allowed to participate in the sporting events.

This was because all of the male athletes that took part did so without wearing any clothes.

This was a way to show off how strong and muscular their bodies were.

Because of this, women were not allowed to participate in the games and married women were not allowed to even watch the sporting events.

Time for an activity about the events of the ancient Olympic Games.

I would like you to put a tick or a cross to show which of these events did or did not take place in the ancient Games.

Pause the video now while you complete the activity.

All done? Let's check together.

Okay, first one, chariot racing.

That definitely happened in ancient Greece because we have found pottery with scenes showing chariot races.

Skateboarding.

Do you think that happened in ancient Greece? No, they didn't have skateboards in ancient Greece.

Long jump.

Yes, that's one of the oldest athletic events.

Swimming.

Hmm? Did this happen in ancient Greece? No, it didn't.

On that large plain of Olympia, there was no water other than the river.

Discus throwing, that definitely happened because we have seen pottery artefacts with pictures of discus throwers.

Likewise, we have also found pottery that shows us people wrestling and running, and this leaves us with diving.

Do you think diving happens in ancient Greece? No.

In the same way as they didn't have swimming pools, they weren't able to do diving because without pools, there were no diving boards.

None of those concepts had been invented yet.

Let's move along now and complete a creative activity.

Your task is to design an advertisement.

You are looking for athletes to participate in the ancient Olympic Games.

Now, as you know, there were some very specific criteria that athletes had to meet, so bear that in mind when you are designing your poster.

To help you, you could think about including these bullet points, the events they could participate in, where the games will be held, how athletes are expected to behave, any special skills or qualities that they need, and any other information that you think will be useful.

Remember, the athletes were representing their city state, and they had to be the fastest, strongest, best men available.

Pause the video now while you design your advert.

Ready? You've got some great ideas.

I'm going to share an example with you now.

I'm going to share my example with you now.

Did your advertisement look like this one? Wanted! We are looking for athletes to go to the Olympic Games.

Events at the Games include running, chariot racing and wrestling.

You will travel to Olympia for the great honour of representing our city state, and to worship Zeus.

We need the best discus throwers, runners, and long jumpers around.

Strictly no women, strictly no cheats.

Did your advert have some of the same information? Good job.

So let's now think about the legacy of the ancient Olympic Games.

It really has had a very long-lasting legacy.

Alex tells us that the ancient Olympic Games were so popular and so successful that they have continued right up to the modern day.

The ancient Greeks have left an important legacy and tradition through the Games.

The modern Olympic Games does share some similarities with the ancient Games, but there are also many differences too.

For example, the Olympic Games is now a global event.

Athletes from all around the world take part in the Olympic Games.

It is no longer an event only for Greek people.

In fact, the symbol of the modern Olympic Games is five interlocking rings, and this is a symbol of international friendship.

You can see those five interlocking rings on the Olympic flag in the photograph.

Just like in ancient Greece, the modern Olympic Games are still held every four years, but they are no longer held in Olympia, in Greece.

Instead, the location of the Games moves all around the world.

It has taken place here in the UK several times.

The last time was in London in 2012.

The Olympic Games has an opening ceremony and a closing ceremony, and during that ceremony, all of the athletes parade in front of crowds of people that are watching.

This is called the Parade of Nations.

To remember the legacy of the ancient Greek Olympic Games, the athletes representing Greece always lead the parade of nations.

The photograph shows the Greek athletes from one of the parades of nations at a recent Olympic Games.

So quick multiple choice question for you at this point.

How is the legacy of the Olympic Games remembered in the modern Games? A, only Greek athletes are allowed to win in the modern Games.

B, the modern Olympic Games are always held in Greece or C, the Greek athletes always lead the parade of nations.

Make your choice now.

Have you chosen? Okay, it's not option A, only the Greeks are allowed to win.

That wouldn't be very friendly, would it? Option B, the modern Olympic Games are always held in Greece.

Well, that's not true.

If you remember, I mentioned that in 2012, the Olympic Games were held here in the United Kingdom.

So that means option C, the Greek athletes always lead the parade of nations, is the correct answer.

That is how the legacy of the ancient Games is remembered in the modern Games.

Let's discover some more now about the modern Olympic Games.

The modern Olympic Games has lots of the same sporting events as the ancient Olympic Games had.

For example, athletes still take part in long jump, discus throwing, wrestling and running.

However, the modern Olympic Games also includes a lot more events that they didn't have in ancient Greece.

For example, water sports like swimming, canoeing and diving, and also street sports like bicycle motocross or BMX and skateboarding.

Today there is also a Winter Olympics, which is for sports that take place on snow or ice.

For example, ice skating, skiing.

You can see a winter Olympian who is skiing in this photo.

So thinking about the sports events that you know happened in ancient Greece compared to the modern Games, let's try this activity.

Remember this from earlier? I would like you now to put a tick across this time to show which events take place in the modern Olympic Games.

Pause the video now while you complete the activity.

Finished? Great, let's check the answers together.

Do we still have chariot racing in the modern Olympic Games? No, we don't.

Do we? Do we have skateboarding in the modern Olympic Games? We certainly do.

Do we have long jump? Yes, we do.

Do we have swimming? Yes, we do.

How about discus throwing? Yes, we do.

Wrestling? Yes.

Running? Yes.

Diving? Yes.

There are so many sports that are now official events of the Olympic Games, and these change very often with more new and different sports being added all the time.

What other changes have taken place? Today, the Olympic Games is no longer an event just for men.

Anyone can take part in the Olympic Games.

Additionally, since 1960, it has also been open to athletes with disabilities, and this is when the first Paralympic Games took place.

Modern Paralympic sporting events include wheelchair basketball, TaeKwonDo, and tennis.

There are also winter Paralympic Games for athletes to compete in snow sports.

This shows the continued and important legacy of the ancient Greek Olympic Games as now more people than ever can be involved in this special global sporting event.

Now that the modern Olympic Games is not just for men and athletes with disabilities can compete in the Paralympics, it shows the continued and important legacy of the ancient Greek Olympic Games.

Gosh, this has all been so interesting to learn about.

Let's try some activities to finish the lesson.

First, I'm going to show you some sentences with missing words.

I want you to choose the best word from the options provided to complete each sentence.

Sentence one, the Winter Olympics is for sports that take place on sand or snow.

Two, the modern Olympic Games includes water sports like diving or ice skating, that were not in the ancient Olympic Games.

Number three, participants in the ancient Olympic Games had to be men or women only, but today all humans can take part.

Number four, in 1960, the first Winter or Paralympic Games was held.

Number five, athletes can take part in wheelchair swimming or basketball at the Paralympic Games.

Pause the video now while you make your choices and then we will look at the answers together.

All done? Good job, let's check those answers now.

The Winter Olympics is for sports that take place on snow.

Two, the modern Olympic Games includes water sports like diving that were not in the ancient Olympic Games.

Number three, participants in the ancient Olympic Games had to be men only, but today all humans can take part.

In 1960, the first Paralympic Games was held, and number five, athletes can take part in wheelchair basketball at the Paralympic Games.

Did you get those correct.

Great job.

Let's try one more activity now to finish the lesson today.

This is a sorting activity.

You are given some facts that relate either to the ancient Olympic Games or the modern Olympic Games.

I would like you to put them into the correct group to show the similarities and differences between the two.

Pause the video now while you complete the activity.

Finished? Let's look at some answers together then.

For the modern Olympic Games, I have chosen the fact that it is an athletic and sporting event, that it is held every four years, that it is held in different locations around the world, that participants are from many different countries, and that it has a parade led by Greece.

For the ancient Olympic Games, I have said that it is an athletic and sporting event, that it was a religious festival, that it was held every four years, that it was held in Olympia and that it was for Greek participants only.

Did you sort all of the facts into the correct places? Well done.

So that brings us to the end of the lesson.

We have looked at an awful lot of information today, so let's have a summary before we go.

The first Olympic Games were held at Olympia in ancient Greece in 776 BCE, and they were held to honour the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece.

The ancient Greeks believed that they would offend their gods if they cheated in the sports events because the Games were part of a bigger religious festival.

Ancient Greek pottery tells historians the type of sporting events that were held at the ancient Games, for example, chariot racing and wrestling, and we know that only men were allowed to compete.

The ancient Games have left a lasting legacy in the modern Olympic Games.

The modern Games are very different to the ancient Games, but they also share some similarities.

I hope you've enjoyed learning about the Olympic Games today, and I will see you again for another history lesson about the ancient Greeks.

Until then, bye for now.