In ancient Greece, the heart and soul of the festival was the experience shared by all who attended. AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama
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Did you know that ancient Olympians competed naked? That animal sacrifice was an important part of the games? That Plato was a successful wrestler before he became a philosopher?
Learn all about this and more in the first episode of Door to Dornsife, featuring Classics professors Lucas Herchenroeder and Vincent Farenga! Oh, and meet a modern Olympian: USC Dornsife student Tina Graudina.
Discover more about the USC Dornsife Classics Department: https://dornsife.usc.edu/clas/.
The USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences is the academic core of the University of Southern California, located in the heart of Los Angeles. Learn more: https://dornsife.usc.edu/
Director, writer, editor: Sean Silvia
Music: Maddy Davis
Logo and animation and thumbnail design: Dennis Lan
Producer: Jim Key
Photos: Abandoned Olympic venues around the world
FILE - This April 6, 2016, file photo, shows a view of Deodoro Olympic Park canoe slalom circuit, center, and BMX circuit, right, during a flight on an army helicopter in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Olympics left half-dozen vacant sports arenas in the Olympic Park, and 3,600 empty apartments in the vast, boarded-up Olympic Village. Deodoro, the second major complex of venues in the impoverished north, is shuttered behind iron gates. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
In this Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014 photo, people enjoy the open part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London. In London, which held its Olympics less than two years ago, the games’ legacy is still difficult to determine. The flagship venue _ due to be called the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park _ is in the process of being converted and won’t be fully open until a couple of months from now, according to the capital’s Legacy Development Corporation. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
In this Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014 photo, people take a look at the construction site in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London. The Games' Velodrome is seen left. London continues to bask in the success of the most recent Summer Games, but the Olympic legacy is difficult to determine. The flagship venue, renamed the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, is being converted into a massive park as big as London’s famous Hyde Park, complete with wildlife habitats, woods and sports facilities. The first part of the ambitious project will begin to open to the public in April. The 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium at the center of the park has been troubled by controversy since even before the games, and its post-games use was the subject of months of legal wrangling. The stadium is now being converted into a soccer venue and the home of the West Ham soccer club, with an expected price tag of $323 million. Many argue taxpayers should not have to fund a Premier League club, though officials insist that the stadium will continue to host other major sporting events, including the Rugby World Cup in 2015. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
In this Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014 photo, children play in a playground at the open part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London. In London, which held its Olympics less than two years ago, the games’ legacy is still difficult to determine. The flagship venue _ due to be called the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park _ is in the process of being converted and won’t be fully open until a couple of months from now, according to the capital’s Legacy Development Corporation. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
In this Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014 photo, a view of the open part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London. In London, which held its Olympics less than two years ago, the games’ legacy is still difficult to determine. The flagship venue _ due to be called the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park _ is in the process of being converted and won’t be fully open until a couple of months from now, according to the capital’s Legacy Development Corporation. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
In this Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014 photo, a child plays in a playground at the open part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London. In London, which held its Olympics less than two years ago, the games’ legacy is still difficult to determine. The flagship venue _ due to be called the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park _ is in the process of being converted and won’t be fully open until a couple of months from now, according to the capital’s Legacy Development Corporation. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
In this picture taken, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014, a tourist poses near giant sculptures near the iconic Bird's Nest National Stadium in Beijing, China. The National Stadium, nicknamed the Bird’s Nest because of its lattice design, has become a key Beijing landmark and a favored backdrop for visitors' snapshots. But few tourists are willing to pay more than $8 to tour the facility as enthusiasm for the 2008 Games fades, and the venue has struggled to fill its space with events. Beijing, which spent more than $2 billion to build 31 venues for the 2008 Summer Games, is reaping some income and tourism benefits from two flagship venues, though many sites need government subsidies to meet hefty operation and maintenance costs. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
In this picture taken, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014, a tourist dressed in traditional imperial costumes poses for photos in a booth near the iconic Bird's Nest National Stadium in Beijing, China. The National Stadium, nicknamed the Bird’s Nest because of its lattice design, has become a key Beijing landmark and a favored backdrop for visitors' snapshots. But few tourists are willing to pay more than $8 to tour the facility as enthusiasm for the 2008 Games fades, and the venue has struggled to fill its space with events. Beijing, which spent more than $2 billion to build 31 venues for the 2008 Summer Games, is reaping some income and tourism benefits from two flagship venues, though many sites need government subsidies to meet hefty operation and maintenance costs. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
In this picture taken, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014, tourists pass by memorabilia on sale near the iconic Bird's Nest National Stadium in Beijing, China. The National Stadium, nicknamed the Bird’s Nest because of its lattice design, has become a key Beijing landmark and a favored backdrop for visitors' snapshots. But few tourists are willing to pay more than $8 to tour the facility as enthusiasm for the 2008 Games fades, and the venue has struggled to fill its space with events. Beijing, which spent more than $2 billion to build 31 venues for the 2008 Summer Games, is reaping some income and tourism benefits from two flagship venues, though many sites need government subsidies to meet hefty operation and maintenance costs. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
In this picture taken Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014, a street vendor flies kites printed with the Beijing Olympic games mascot image near the Water Cube aquatic center in Beijing, China. The Water Cube _ where U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps made history by winning eight gold medals _ has been transformed into a water park popular among local families. Its operators even peddle purified glacier water under the Water Cube brand for additional income. Beijing, which spent more than $2 billion to build 31 venues for the 2008 Summer Games, is reaping some income and tourism benefits from two flagship venues, though many sites need government subsidies to meet hefty operation and maintenance costs. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
In this Sept. 9, 2018 photo, a general view of the downhill slope of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics is seen at the Jeongseon Alpine Center in Jeongseon, South Korea. The Pyeongchang Winter Olympics closed just seven months ago. Left behind are empty venues, feuding over who pays for upkeep, and a glistening-white ski course that’s now an abandoned dirt runway, strewn with rocks and unused gondolas. (Kim Kyung-mock/Newsis via AP)
In this picture taken, Friday, Feb. 21, 2014, an empty chairlift is seen near the ski jumping facility at Mt. Igman near the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. Wartime destruction and negligence have turned most of Sarajevo's 1984 Winter Olympic venues into painful reminders of the city's golden times. The world came together in the former Yugoslavia in 1984 after the West had boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow and Russia boycotted the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Just eight years later, the bobsleigh and luge track on Mount Trbevic was turned into an artillery position from which Bosnian Serbs pounded the city for almost four years. Today, the abandoned concrete construction looks like a skeleton littered with graffiti. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)
In this picture taken on Friday, Feb. 21, 2014, the bobsleigh track damaged by artillery fire is painted with graffiti at Mt. Trebevic near Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. Wartime destruction and negligence have turned most of Sarajevo's 1984 Winter Olympic venues into painful reminders of the city's golden times. The world came together in the former Yugoslavia in 1984 after the West had boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow and Russia boycotted the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Just eight years later, the bobsleigh and luge track on Mount Trbevic was turned into an artillery position from which Bosnian Serbs pounded the city for almost four years. Today, the abandoned concrete construction looks like a skeleton littered with graffiti. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)
In this picture taken on Friday, Feb. 21, 2014, graffiti by London creative collective The Lurkers "The Lurkers do Sarajevo" is written on a destroyed hotel at Mt. Igman. Wartime destruction and negligence have turned most of Sarajevo's 1984 Winter Olympic venues into painful reminders of the city's golden times. The world came together in the former Yugoslavia in 1984 after the West had boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow and Russia boycotted the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Just eight years later, the bobsleigh and luge track on Mount Trbevic was turned into an artillery position from which Bosnian Serbs pounded the city for almost four years. Today, the abandoned concrete construction looks like a skeleton littered with graffiti. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)
In this picture taken on Friday, Feb. 21, 2014, a concrete podium for winners with the text "Winter Olympic Games 1984" stands abandoned near jumping hills at Mt. Igman near the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. Wartime destruction and negligence have turned most of Sarajevo's 1984 Winter Olympic venues into painful reminders of the city's golden times. The world came together in the former Yugoslavia in 1984 after the West had boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow and Russia boycotted the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Just eight years later, the bobsleigh and luge track on Mount Trbevic was turned into an artillery position from which Bosnian Serbs pounded the city for almost four years. Today, the abandoned concrete construction looks like a skeleton littered with graffiti. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)
In this picture taken Friday, Feb. 21, 2014, the abandoned ski jumping facility is seen covered in moss at Mt. Igman near Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. Wartime destruction and negligence have turned most of Sarajevo's 1984 Winter Olympic venues into painful reminders of the city's golden times. The world came together in the former Yugoslavia in 1984 after the West had boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow and Russia boycotted the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Just eight years later, the bobsleigh and luge track on Mount Trbevic was turned into an artillery position from which Bosnian Serbs pounded the city for almost four years. Today, the abandoned concrete construction looks like a skeleton littered with graffiti. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)
Patrons walk near the entrance of Sydney Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Monday, Feb. 24, 2014. Before the 2000 summer Olympics, the site west of Sydney where the 1580-acre Sydney Olympic Park was built was a grungy, desolate wasteland of slaughterhouses, garbage dumps and factories. Since the games, it has slowly developed into its own suburb with hotels, offices, restaurants and parklands. The park now hosts thousands of events each year, from music festivals to sports to business conferences, drawing more than 12 million annual visitors. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
This Oct. 22, 2014, photo shows an artifact at the west terminal of old airport in eastern Athens. The seaside site of Athens' old airport hosted half a dozen Olympic venues during Athens 2004 Games. This year, private investors won a tender to develop the entire area into a residential, commercial, hotel and leisure center, in a 7 billion-euro investment. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
A worker mows the field of the Olympic baseball venue in southern Athens, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012. The stadium has been used for the past two years by a fourth-division local soccer club. Eight years after the Athens Games, many of the venues remain abandoned or rarely used, focusing public anger on past governments as the country struggles through a fifth year of recession and a debt crisis that has seen a surge in poverty and unemployment. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Signs for streets named after Greek Olympic medallists Costas Kenteris _ who withdrew from the Athens Games after missing a doping test, and Fani Halkia, who was ejected from the Beijing Games four years later after testing positive for a banned substance, are seen at the Olympic village on the northern fringes of Athens on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012. After the Athens 2004 Games the village was used as a worker housing project. Eight years after the Athens Games, many of the venues remain abandoned or rarely used, focusing public anger on past governments as the country struggles through a fifth year year of recession and a debt crisis that has seen a surge in poverty and unemployment. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
The Olympic cauldron rises behind the central arch in the Olympic stadium of Athens on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012. The stadium is one of the very few Olympic venues to have been used for sports after the Athens 2004 Games, hosting soccer matches during which hooligans have several times set it on fire and athletics. Eight years after the Athens Games, many of the venues remain abandoned or rarely used, focusing public anger on past governments as the country struggles through a fifth year year of recession and a debt crisis that has seen a surge in poverty and unemployment. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
In this Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014 photo a frog inhabits the murky waters of an abandoned training pool for athletes at the Olympic village in northern Athens. In Greece, few of the sporting venues, mostly purpose-built permanent structures, have seen regular post-Olympic use. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
This Friday, Aug. 6, 2014 shows the empty airport parking at the eastern terminal of old airport in eastern Athens. The seaside site of Athens' old airport hosted half a dozen Olympic venues during Athens 2004 Games. This year, private investors won a tender to develop the entire area into a residential, commercial, hotel and leisure center, in a 7 billion-euro investment. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
In this Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014 photo the abandoned baseball venue is seen at the former Helliniko Olympic complex in southern Athens. Andrew Zimbalist, a U.S. economist who studies the financial impact of major sporting events, said past experience shows that hosting the Olympics does not generally promote economic development. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Frogs sit on rubbish floating in the murky waters of an abandoned training pool for athletes at the Olympic village on the northern fringes of Athens, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012. After the Athens 2004 Games the village was used as a worker housing project. Eight years after the Athens Games, many of the venues remain abandoned or rarely used, focusing public anger on past governments as the country struggles through a fifth year of recession and a debt crisis that has seen a surge in poverty and unemployment. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
In this Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014 photo the abandoned canoe/kayak venue is seen at the former Helliniko Olympic complex in southern Athens. The latest government estimate sets the final cost of the Games at 8.5 billion euros, double the original budget but a drop in the ocean of the country’s subsequent 320 billion-euro debt, which spun out of control after 2008. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
In this Friday, Aug. 8, 2014 photo, the abandoned beach volleyball Olympic venue is seen behind a broken window in Neo Faliro, southern Athens. While economists agree it would be unfair to blame sky-high unemployment, slashed incomes and the violent overhaul of Greece’s economy on the 17-day Games, most experts lament the post-Olympic era as a decade of lost opportunities. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
FILE - In this Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012, file photo, murky water and rubbish fill an abandoned training pool for athletes at the Olympic village on the northern fringes of Athens. The legacy of Athens’ Olympics has stirred vigorous debate, and Greek authorities have been widely criticized for not having a post-Games plan for the infrastructure. While some of the venues built specifically for the games have been converted for other uses, many are underused or abandoned, and very few provide the state with any revenue. Some critics even say that the multibillion dollar cost of the games played a modest role in the nation’s 2008 economic meltdown.(AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)
A bus passes the remains of a fountain made with Olympic rings and graffiti-defaced marble blocks that were originally dedicated to Greek Olympic medal winners, at the former Olympic village on the northern fringes of Athens, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012. After the Athens 2004 Games, the village was used as a worker housing project. Eight years after the Athens Games, many of the venues remain abandoned or rarely used, focusing public anger on past governments as the country struggles through a fifth year of recession and a debt crisis that has seen a surge in poverty and unemployment. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Frogs inhabit the murky waters of an abandoned training pool for athletes at the Olympic village on the northern fringes of Athens, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012. After the Athens 2004 Games, the village was used as a worker housing project. Eight years after the Athens Games, many of the venues remain abandoned or rarely used, focusing public anger on past governments as the country struggles through a fifth year of recession and a debt crisis that has seen a surge in poverty and unemployment. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
FILE - In this Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012, file photo, weeds sprout in the remains of what was once the playing field at the abandoned Olympic softball venue in southern Athens. The legacy of Athens’ Olympics has stirred vigorous debate, and Greek authorities have been widely criticized for not having a post-Games plan for the infrastructure. While some of the venues built specifically for the games have been converted for other uses, many are underused or abandoned, and very few provide the state with any revenue. Some critics even say that the multibillion dollar cost of the games played a modest role in the nation’s 2008 economic meltdown. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
In this Friday, Aug. 8, 2014 photo, the abandoned beach volleyball Olympic venue is seen in Neo Faliro, southern Athens. As Greece groans under a cruel depression, forecast to end this year, the 10-year anniversary once again raises the question of whether the Athens Games were too costly an undertaking for a weak economy. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
A statue of Spyros Louis, the Greek shepherd who unexpectedly won the marathon during the first modern Games in 1896, looms over the Olympic stadium of Athens on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012 The stadium is one of the very few Olympic venues to have been used for sports after the Athens 2004 Games, hosting soccer matches and athletics. Eight years after the Athens Games, many of the venues remain abandoned or rarely used, focusing public anger on past governments as the country struggles through a fifth year of recession and a debt crisis that has seen a surge in poverty and unemployment. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Smashed boards left over from last year's Special Olympics litter the abandoned Olympic hockey venue in southern Athens on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012. Eight years after the Athens Games, many of the venues remain abandoned or rarely used, focusing public anger on past governments as the country struggles through a fifth year of recession and a debt crisis that has seen a surge in poverty and unemployment. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Paralympic athlete Paraskevi Katza practices at the Olympic stadium of Athens on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012. The stadium is one of the very few Olympic venues to have been used for sports after the Athens 2004 Games, hosting soccer matches and athletics. But eight years after the Athens Games, many of the venues remain abandoned or rarely used, focusing public anger on past governments as the country struggles through a fifth year year of recession and a debt crisis that has seen a surge in poverty and unemployment. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Two people walk inside the Olympic stadium, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012 in Athens. The stadium is one of the very few Olympic venues to have been used for sports after the Athens 2004 Games, hosting soccer matches and athletics. But eight years after the Athens Games, many of the venues remain abandoned or rarely used, focusing public anger on past governments as the country struggles through a fifth year of recession and a debt crisis that has seen a surge in poverty and unemployment. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
A woman rides her bicycle through a walkway of steel pillars optimistically named the Agora, next to the murky waters of a once-blue pond at the Athens Olympic Stadium complex, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012. Unlike many of the purpose-built venues for the Athens 2004 Games, the rundown complex is mostly open to the general public. Eight years after the Athens Games, many of the venues remain abandoned or rarely used, focusing public anger on past governments as the country struggles through a fifth year of recession and a debt crisis that has seen a surge in poverty and unemployment. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
This Oct. 22, 2014, photo shows an artifact at the west terminal of old airport in eastern Athens. The seaside site of Athens' old airport hosted half a dozen Olympic venues during Athens 2004 Games. This year, private investors won a tender to develop the entire area into a residential, commercial, hotel and leisure center, in a 7 billion-euro investment. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
The Olympic taekwondo and handball arena is seen in southern Athens on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012. The purpose-built arena has been occasionally used for non-sporting events since the Athens 2004 Olympics. Eight years after the Athens Games, many of the venues remain abandoned or rarely used, focusing public anger on past governments as the country struggles through a fifth year year of recession and a debt crisis that has seen a surge in poverty and unemployment. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
The open Olympic swimming pool sits empty at the rundown Olympic complex, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012 in Athens. After the Athens 2004 Games, the pool has been sporadically used for national championships. Eight years after the Athens Games, many of the venues remain abandoned or rarely used, focusing public anger on past governments as the country struggles through a fifth year of recession and a debt crisis that has seen a surge in poverty and unemployment. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
The sun sets over the Olympic canoe slalom circuit at Radical Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, June 24, 2021. The park's centerpiece, a reservoir feeding a rapids course, is used by the Brazilian canoeing confederation to train. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A venue at Olympic Park is reflected in a pool of water in the Barra da Tijuca western zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, June 24, 2021. With the Olympics about to kick off in Tokyo, the prior host is struggling to make good on legacy promises with Rio de Janeiro's Olympic Park venues mostly unused. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
The sun sets over the Olympic canoe slalom circuit at Radical Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, June 24, 2021. With the Olympics about to kick off in Tokyo, the prior host is struggling to make good on legacy promises. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A man rides a skateboard at Radical Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, June 24, 2021. Hundreds of joggers, dog walkers, skateboarders and picnicking families come each day. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
Cyclists ride on the BMX course at Radical Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, June 24, 2021. The mountain bike course was recently excavated from head-high grass. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A man walks on the banks of the Guanabara Bay littered with garbage, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, June 24, 2021. The bay waters where the the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics sailing competitions took place have not been cleaned of sewage, as had been promised. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
Trash litters the banks of Guanabara Bay, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, June 24, 2021. Demolition of an elevated highway allowed for sweeping views of the Guanabara Bay where the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics sailing competitions took place, but its waters weren’t cleaned of sewage, as had been promised. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy hosted the Winter Olympics in 1956. (Dreamstime)
The abandoned Hindenburghaus facility at the site of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Village on May 17, 2021, in Elstal, Germany. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

