Religion pervaded the ancient Olympics. Zeus was
thought to look down on the competitors, favouring some and denying victory to
others. 'You could spur on a man with natural talent to strive towards great
glory with the help of the gods', says Pindar in a victory-ode. If an athlete
was fined for cheating or bribery (human nature stays much the same over a few
millennia), the money exacted was used to make a cult statue of Zeus.
A grand sacrifice of 100 oxen was made to Zeus
during the Games, and Zeus the apomuios, or 'averter of flies', was
invoked to keep the sacrificial meat fly-free. Olympia was home to one of
Greece's great oracles, an oracle to Zeus, with an altar to him consisting of
the bonfire-heap created by burnt sacrificial offerings. As the offerings were
burnt, they were examined by a priest, who pronounced an oracle - an enigmatic
and often ambiguous prediction of the future - according to his interpretation
of what he saw. Athletes consulted the oracle to learn what their chances in
the Games were.
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