Olympic Truce

In Ancient Greece in 884BC, there were three kings who were eager for peace. The kings from Sparta (King Lycurgus), Elis (King Iphitos), and Pisa (King Cleisthenes) together signed on the treaty. From the seven days before the game to the seventh day following the closing of the Games, they agreed to stop fighting against each other. That was why the Olympic Truce was born.

In 1894 the modern Olympics were formed. But the Truce wasn’t back until a century later. There were still wars in the world. So in 1992 the IOC (International Olympic Committee) decided to bring the Truce back and hoped to protect the athletes.

In 2004 the first Truce Wall was created in the Athens Games by the Greek government. It was a visible symbol of peace. Athletes were asked to sign on it to promise to support the peace through sport.

Like the Sydney Games in summer, the North and South Korean teams entered the arena with the same flag. It shows that the Olympic Truce was useful for peace.

Now the Olympic Games means not only peace, but the chance to have a match with the top athletes around the entire world, and winning the game is much honored.