News The ancient Greeks had very good reason to establish the Ekecheiria, the Olympic Truce In those fraught times, their city-states were almost constantly at war, and agreeing to a ceasefire was the only way that athletes could travel to the Games Held every four years in the summer, after the harvest, the ancient Olympic Games were staged in the city of Olympia for nearly 12 centuries between 776 BC and 393 AD A site of unique natural and mystical beauty, Olympia had been a location for worship and political meetings as early as the 10th century BC The origin of the Games is explained in legends, with both Zeus and Hercules credited with being “the first Olympic athlete ” The first edition of the Games was born when King Iphitos of Elis heard from the Oracle of Delphi that all the chaos experienced in the Peloponnese – a region infested by plagues and wars – would be overcome if the Games were to be held “once more” A treaty was signed by the rulers of Elis, Sparta and Pisa, city-states in southern Greece This agreement defined the area around Olympia as “sacred and inviolable ground” and also decreed that there would be a truce during the Olympic Games period The common people watched the ancient Games in Olympia from hillsides (Photo: Getty Images/Sean Gallup) As they lived at war, physical training was part of the daily routine of ancient Greeks Now, they would be challenged to test their skills in Olympia – in peace All city-states were invited to send representatives, who would need a “free pass” to cross often-hostile territories The Olympic truce was thereby created Every four years, heralds (spondophoroi in Greek) left the city of Elis in the spring and travelled all over Greece, calling on people to participate in the Games, in a kind of precursor to the modern Olympic Torch Relay For the ancient Greeks, honouring the Olympic truce (determined by the Games’ organisers) was a moral duty There were severe penalties for people who violated it Olympia was considered a ‘sacred and inviolable place’ (Photo: Getty Images/Sean Gallup)  Thanks to the pledge of “non-aggression” (which began seven days before the competitions and ended seven days after), athletes would leave Athens, Sparta, Corinth and also the islands and colonies around the eastern Mediterranean to travel to Olympia The Games also attracted merchants and artists, who stayed in tents surrounded by fires, alongside spectators (nobles had exclusive pavilions) The competitions were watched from privileged vantage points by judges, religious leaders, the rich, and other powerful people The general public watched on foot, on nearby hillsides – which received around 40,000 people per day The Ancient Games were thus intrinsically linked to the concept of the Olympic truce, which is considered the oldest institution in the history of international law It was respected, with few exceptions, for 1,200 years