Ancient Olympics: Let the Games Begin (2004)
• January 1st, 2004 • 0h 52min
Documentary, History
Overview
Come back with us to Ancient Greece, 2,500 Years ago to the original Olympic Games. The ancient Games, like our modern Olympics, included champions and cheaters, glory and scandals, bitter rivalries and contests of strength, speed and savage combat. Set in 448 BC when the pounding of horse's hooves and the brutal hand-to-hand combat could be heard and seen by the crowds that filled the Olympic stadium. This one-hour special event follows the glory and corruption of the arc of a single, five-day Olympiad. The competitions include chariot racing, running, jumping, discus, javelin and two man-to-man combat finals-boxing and pankration, a form of extreme fighting in which death was not uncommon. With the help of sports historians and great athletes such as George Chuvalo and Olympic medallists Donovan Bailey and Angela Schneider, viewers travel back to a very different life-in a very different world.
Make sure to check your pop-up blocker!!
Trailer
Similar Movies
Nancy & Tonya
Released on: 2014-02-23
Documentary, TV Movie
Mary Carillo looks back at the events leading up to, during and following the ladies’ figure skating...
Touch the Wall
Released on: 2014-11-15
Documentary
Swimming superstar Missy Franklin was destined for greatness at an early age, but it wasn't until th...
Salute
Released on: 2008-07-17
Documentary
The black power salute by Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Mexico Olympics was an iconic mom...
One Day in September
Released on: 1999-10-22
Documentary, History
The full story of the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre and the Israeli revenge operation 'Wrath of God....
Hitler's Games, Berlin 1936
Released on: 2016-08-23
Documentary, History, TV Movie
Summer 1936 - The Berlin Olympics, organized by the Nazi regime on the eve of World War II, acted as...
Gold
Released on: 2018-08-15
Drama, History
Set in 1948, the historic story of India's first Olympic medal post their independence.
Morra
Released on: 1971-01-08
Documentary
A documentary film showing Dalmatian men playing their famous hand game „šije-šete“.
Untold: Caitlyn Jenner
Released on: 2021-08-24
Documentary
Caitlyn Jenner's unlikely path to Olympic glory was inspirational. But her more challenging road to ...
The Race to Dope
Released on: 2016-06-15
Documentary
Russia is about to be banned from participating in the next Olympics. Six other countries are on the...
Caligula with Mary Beard
Released on: 2013-07-29
Documentary, History
What is true and what is false in the hideous stories spread about the controversial figure of the R...
The Robe
Released on: 1953-09-16
Drama, History
Drunk and disillusioned Roman, Marcellus Gallio, wins Jesus' robe in a dice game after the crucifixi...
The Fall of Rome
Released on: 1963-02-28
Drama, History
After the death of Emperor Constantine in Rome, the persecutions of the Christians threaten the cent...
Spirit of the Games
Released on: 1996-05-01
Documentary
Documentary examines the history and evolution of the Olympic Games, taking a close look at the Olym...
Cleopatra
Released on: 1963-06-12
Drama, History, Romance
Determined to hold on to the throne, Cleopatra seduces the Roman emperor Julius Caesar. When Caesar ...
The First Emperor of China
Released on: 1989-01-01
Drama, History, Documentary
This historical drama tells the story of Qin Shihuang, who unified China's vast territory and declar...
The Lost Tomb of Alexander the Great
Released on: 2019-03-04
Documentary
In this gripping investigation, archaeologist Pepi Papakosta is on a hunt for Alexander the Great's ...