‘Today,’ said Miss Basu, ‘We will find out about the First Olympic Games. Do all of you have your Time Bands on?’
‘Yes,’ chorused the class.
‘Now quickly, where were the First Olympic Games held?’
‘In Olympia, a place in Greece,’ said Rahul.
‘But it is no longer there,’ added Sheela.
‘Yes,’ said Miss Basu, ‘It was an ancient city. Alright, are you ready children? You have to go to the year 774.’
The children pressed their bands and said, ‘774!’
In the blink of an eye, the children found themselves standing in a crowd of people wearing funny knee-length white dresses tied on one shoulder. The crowd was excited and chattering to each other.
‘Isn’t it wonderful that the races today will be held in the grounds of the temple made to worship God Zeus in Olympia. After all he is the King of the Gods,’ one man said.
‘Yes. God Zeus will bless this new sport. But not just the races, I have heard that there will be other games too,’ said another.
‘The athletes for all the games have come from all the Greek states,’ said a third man.
‘But only men are allowed to take part,’ said the first man.
Nobody could see the children because their Timebands made them invisible. So they easily walked with the people to the place where the games were to be held. The ground was in a circle with surrounded by stone steps rising high. These were actually seats under a roof held up with pillars. The people sat on the steps and the children sat with them. Everyone settled down and began to watch the ground.
Tracks had been made on the ground and the crowd waiting impatiently.
‘There! There! Look the racers have arrived,’ pointed one man. The children peered in the bright sunlight.
Sure enough, at the end of a long dusty track were a row of men. They were tall and lean. They were barefoot and wearing only a pair of shorts. Then somebody remarked, ‘See, they are wearing only shorts. Why is that?
Another man replied, ‘Don’t you see the wind will not fill their clothes and drag them back when they run.’
The children nodded to each other, that is smart!
On one side of the track, there was a big gong. A man struck the gong with a rod. Boom! The racers set off. Each one sprinting down the track on their bare feet. The crowd stood up and shouted to encourage the runners who were their friends.
When the runners went past the children, a man said, ‘Hey! It is Koriobus from Elis who is leading.’
Another man said, ‘And he is only a cook.’
The other man said, ‘How does that matter? What is important is how fast he runs.’
As the children watched keenly, it was Koriobus who won the race. The people of Elis were very happy. They lifted Koriobus on their shoulders and taken to the stands to receive his reward. He had brought great honour to the town.
The children craned their necks to see the medal which the winner’s reward must be. They were surprised to see that the reward was a circle of leaves and the winner was crowned with it!
Their bands began to light up. Their time was up. The children pressed their bands and said, ‘2021.’ Instantly, they were back in their classroom.
‘How did you like your trip?’ asked Miss Basu.
‘It was great, Miss,’ said Kena, ‘but why does the winner of the race at the First Olympic Games only get a crown of leaves and not a medal?’
‘Those are olive leaves and a crown of those leaves was only worn by the great men of Greece. So, crowning anyone with olive leaves was a matter of great honour in the Greece of the olden days. All his life the winner would be given a great deal of respect because of that crown,’ explained Miss Basu. ‘It was more valuable than a medal to the Greeks.’
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