Ancient Olympics: Let the Games Begin (2004)

Journey back to Ancient Greece, 2,500 years ago, for the very first Olympic Games. Like today's Olympics, the ancient Games featured both champions and those who cheated, moments of glory and scandal, fierce rivalries, and tests of strength, speed, and brutal combat. The story unfolds in 448 BC, capturing the sights and sounds of horse races and intense hand-to-hand fighting that thrilled the massive crowds at the Olympic stadium. This hour-long special chronicles the triumphs and controversies of a single, five-day Olympiad. The competitions included chariot racing, running, jumping, discus, javelin, and two final combat events: boxing and pankration, a brutal form of fighting where death was a possibility. With insights from sports historians and athletes like George Chuvalo, Donovan Bailey, and Angela Schneider, viewers experience a world strikingly different from our own.