The Macquarie University History Museum has unveiled its latest display - The Olympic Games Past and Present - a collection of 14 objects showcasing the history of the Olympics through the ages.
To coincide with the start of the Paris 2024 Olympics Games, Macquarie’s History Museum have curated a collection of both ancient and modern objects associated with the modern Olympic Games and ancient Greek sporting activities.
The first ancient Olympic Games were held c. 776 BCE as a religious festival devoted to the god Zeus, taking place every four years in the city of Olympus. Ancient Olympic events ranged from running events to the pankration (akin to today’s mixed martial arts) and the thrilling chariot race. A key object on display is an ancient kylix (wine cup) from either Athens or Boeotia (c.470-480 BCE) depicting a chariot race alongside Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, carrying a wreath. At the time, the owner of the chariot received all the winning glory, including the fabled olive wreath, which saw many of the ancient world’s most prominent figures owning chariots.
Other ancient objects on display include a globular aryballos (oil vessel) depicting Komast dancers performing a form of archaic Greek dance typically done at Olympic victory parades. Oil vessels like this contained olive oil and were used in the gymnasium for bathing and exercise preparation. A Roman bronze strigil from the 2nd Century CE is also on display, typically used with the oil vessel during bathing to scrape olive oil from the skin.
The display also commemorates Australia’s participation in the modern Olympic era as both competitor and host. A matchbox collection made in 1984 features trivia from the 1896 Athens Olympics, recognised as the first modern Olympic games. The matchbox sits alongside a commemorative brass medallion from the Sunday Telegraph in 1999, marking one year until the start of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
The Games of the New Millennium, as it is otherwise known, was the second time the Summer Olympics were held in Australia, with the first being in Melbourne, Victoria in 1956. A total of 627 Australian competitors took part in the 2000 Olympic Games, winning a total of 58 medals. More than 50,000 volunteers worked to support the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and an iconic volunteer t-shirt sits on display next to an edition of The Daily Telegraph published during the games, showing a victorious Grant Hackett punching the air after winning the 1500m freestyle race.
The Macquarie University History Museum is located at 25C Wally's Walk and is open 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday.
To read more about the history of the Olympic Games, click here for an associated article from Dr Keith Rathbone, Department of History and Archaeology.