Ancient Olympics: It’s Not All Greek To Me

As the Olympic torch majestically burns above the newest batch of elite athletes for Tokyo 2021, one can’t help but wonder about the Olympic games of old. Ancient Greeks are known as the inventors of competitive sports events dating way back to 776 B.C, but did other ancient cultures come up with their own too?

It turns out - yes! As we settle in to watch the world’s finest competitors do their thing in Tokyo, over 12 centuries ago, the people of Ancient China were putting on their own independent grand sports event.

Beginning as military exercises (as they had done in Ancient Greece), these evolved into competitive sports. Many of the events, including wrestling, chariot races, and racing in armour, began taking shape during the Tang Dynasty, which just so happens to be the main inspiration for Season VIII: Dynasty!

However, unlike in Greece, the Ancient Chinese version of the Olympic games was more focused on ball games, which were also developed during the Tang era. The most popular and widely played of these was a game with only one goal, in which the ball could touch all body parts except the hands and could not fall on the ground.

While Conqueror’s Blade isn’t hosting its own Olympic Games for you to compete in, feel free to imagine - throw your Spear at a target as a javelin, use your Maul as a deadly shot put, or even create your very own marathon course trying to take all three points on a map.

Your sporting ambition can still be put to good use during Ranked Battles, participate in the Season VIII Campaign, and more in Season VIII: Dynasty.