15　The Crown of Leaves

Greek boys and young men and even girls loved all sorts of outdoor sports.

They didn't play football or baseball or basketball,but they ran and jumped and wrestled and boxed and threw the discus—a thing like a big,heavy dinner plate of iron.

From time to time matches were held in different parts of Greece to see who was the best in these sports.

The Big Meet,however,took place only once every four years at a place called Olympia in southern Greece,for all the winners from different parts of the country were here matched against each other to see who should be the champion of all Greece.

The time when the games were held was a great national holiday,for the games were in honor of the head god,Zeus,as the Greeks called him. People came from far and wide to see the games,much as they do now when a World's Fair is held or a modern Olympics.

Only Greeks could enter this contest,and only those who had never committed a crime or broken any laws—as a boy or girl nowadays must have a clean record in order to be allowed to play on a college or school team. In ancient Greece,only men and boys competed in the Olympics.