From its very inception in ancient times the Olympic games have carried many different Olympic traditions. Some of them are glorious Olympic traditions worth celebrating and others are not so glorious Olympic traditions that we should be glad they were tempered somewhat in the modern resurrection of the Olympic Games that we know today. However it is sad that the principles of politics and the Olympics are as alive now as they were thousands of years ago and the people that felt it necessary to make their stand on the international stage of the Olympic Games in ancient times still find the Olympics a viable stage to make their point today. Innocent people have died at the Olympics since it was created and that, unfortunately, does not seem like a trend that is ready to stop. Governments have used the Olympics as their own podium in ancient times and they have used it in modern times all with the intent of using the games for the one thing they were never intended to be used for, political gain. Dishonest judges and stories of corruption in Olympic tradition are as old as Greek mythology itself and groups have been recruiting athletes for thousands of years. It all makes for a sordid story that is the underlying history of the Olympic games and something that while we probably should not be proud of we should be putting a stop to.

It has been argued that television and capitalism have entered into the Olympics too much and when there is that much money at stake getting honest results can be almost impossible. Many people see this as a modern day problem but in ancient times large signs were erected on the road to the games that warned people that dishonesty at the Olympics will not be tolerated. Winning athletes in ancient times were huge celebrities that had riches given to them and statues of them erected in the center of their home town. In one case an Olympic champion named Dikon was successfully bribed by the leaders of the city-state of Syracuse to say that he was a native of Syracuse. Dikon was actually born and bred in Caulonia but he accepted the bribe and Syracuse had their Olympic champion. So it is pretty obvious that money and commercials success was always a mantra for the Olympics and while it may seem a little more pronounced in our society of instant world news and internet access it was just as bad and as prolific in the ancient times.

Political statements at the Olympics are nothing new. Just like the United States and Soviet Union boycotting games for political reasons or Adolph Hitler and Nazi Germany perverting the games to suit their new Nazi regime, the Olympics have always been a place where governments have fought. In ancient times, however, they fought with armies and not words. The city-state of Elis was known as an Olympic host and they had arranged a truce because many times war would break out during the Olympics about the Olympics so Elis tried to stop it. But when the neighboring town of Pisa was awarded the games instead of Elis the city-state was enraged and marched its army on Pisa to regain control of the Olympics. Thankfully some traditions have been tempered a bit.