Participation in the Ancient Olympics was limited to free Greek male amateur sportsmen (Herodotus V.22.2 . Non-Greeks, slaves, people accused of murder or blasphemy, and women (with some rare exceptions), were not allowed to compete.

However, these regulations did not put off scores of people from flocking to Olympia to watch the Games, travelling from all over the Greek city-states and colonies as far afield as Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. At its height, the Ancient Olympic festival probably hosted over forty thousand people.

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/health-sports-psychology/health/sport-and-fitness/the-ancient-olympics-bridging-past-and-present/content-section-2

Tags - Olympic Tradition, Ancient World Games, Ancient Olympics

The London 2012 theme of ‘truce’ echoed the Ancient Olympic tradition of ekecheiria (sacred peace); Classical ideals of equality and self-improvement still motivates athletes to compete fairly and push themselves to the limit

Tags - Ancient World Games, Ancient Olympics, Modern Olympics, Olympic Tradition