Heraea Games

he ancient Heraea Games, dedicated to the goddess Hera (also spelled Heraia) is the first sanctioned (and recorded) women's athletic competition to be held in the Stadium at Olympia[1], possibly in the Olympic year, prior to the men's events. It is dated as early as the 6th century BC. Some texts, including Pausanias's Description of Greece [2], c. 175 AD, state that Hippodameia gathered a group known as the "Sixteen Women" and madetrators of the Heraea Games, out of gratitude for her marriage to Pelops.[3] Other texts indicate that the "Sixteen Women" were peace-makers from Pisa and Elis and, because of their political competence, became administrators of the Heraea Games[4].

Like the men's competition, Heraea originally consisted of foot races only. The Heraea champions won olive crowns, cow or ox meat from the animal sacrificed to Hera and the right to dedicate statues inscribed with their names[5] or painted portraits of themselves on the columns of Hera's temple. It is still apparent where the portraits were attached on the temple, though the artwork itself has disappeared. [6] The women competed in three age groups, on a track in Olympic stadium that was 5/6 the length of the men's track. Pausanias describes their appearance for the races such that, "their hair hangs down, a tunic (chiton) reaches to a little above the knee, and they bare the right shoulder as far as the breast."[7]

All-Africa Games medal count
Pos Country Gold Silver Bronze Total Year of
first medal
1 Flag of Egypt Egypt 431 328 320 1079 1965
2 Flag of Nigeria Nigeria 303 277 256 836 1965
3 Flag of South Africa South Africa 198 174 137 509 1995
4 Flag of Algeria Algeria 132 152 189 473 1965
5 Flag of Tunisia Tunisia 123 106 133 362 1965
6 Flag of Kenya Kenya 90 97 104 291 1965
7 Flag of Senegal Senegal 40 40 73 153 1965
8 Flag of Ghana Ghana 26 38 64 128 1965
9 Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia 23 29 34 86 1965
10 Flag of Cameroon Cameroon 20 42 81 143 1965
11 Flag of Zimbabwe Zimbabwe 18 26 57 101 1987
12 Flag of Uganda Uganda 17 19 33 69 1965
13 Flag of Côte d'Ivoire Côte d'Ivoire 17 18 33 68 1965
14 Flag of Madagascar Madagascar 10 15 33 58 1965
15 Flag of Morocco Morocco 9 12 15 36 1973
16 Flag of Angola Angola 9 7 17 33 1987
17 Flag of Lesotho Lesotho 8 3 8 19 1991
18 Flag of Mauritius Mauritius 6 19 27 52 1987
19 Flag of Libya Libya 6 8 16 30 1978
20 Flag of Namibia Namibia 4 10 15 29 1991
21 Flag of Tanzania Tanzania 4 8 10 22 1965
22 Flag of Mali Mali 4 5 7 16 1965
23 Flag of Zambia Zambia 4 4 22 30 1965
24 Flag of Gabon Gabon 4 4 19 27 1965
25 Flag of Botswana Botswana 4 4 10 18 1991
26 Flag of Mozambique Mozambique 4 2 1 7 1987
27 Flag of Eritrea Eritrea 3 1 2 6 2007
28 Flag of Sudan Sudan 3 1 3 7 1973
29 Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo 2 3 6 11 1965
30 Flag of the Republic of the Congo Congo-Brazzaville 1 7 15 23 1965
31 Flag of the Central African Republic Central African Republic 1 2 2 5 1991
32 Flag of Guinea Guinea 1 2 1 4 1973
Flag of Sierra Leone Sierra Leone 1 2 1 4 1991
33 Flag of Swaziland Swaziland 1 0 9 10 1973
34 Flag of Chad Chad 1 0 9 10 1965
35 Flag of Cape Verde Cape Verde 1 0 2 3 1999
36 Flag of Burkina Faso Burkina Faso 1 0 1 2 1987
37 Flag of Somalia Somalia 1 0 0 1 1973
38 Flag of the Seychelles Seychelles 0 13 18 31 1987
39 Flag of Burkina Faso Burkina Faso 0 3 7 10 1965
40 Flag of Togo Togo 0 2 10 12 1965
41 Flag of Niger Niger 0 2 6 8 1965
42 Flag of Benin Benin 0 2 3 5 1973
43 Flag of The Gambia Gambia 0 2 0 2 1973
44 Flag of Rwanda Rwanda 0 2 0 2 1987
45 Flag of São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe 0 1 1 2 2003
46 Flag of Malawi Malawi 0 0 2 2 1987
47 Flag of Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau 0 0 1 1 1999

History

The earliest inhabitants of the area were Pygmy peoples. They were largely replaced and absorbed by Bantu tribes of during Bantu expansions. The Bakongo are Bantu groups that also occupied parts of present-day Angola, Gabon, and Democratic Republic of the Congo, forming the basis for ethnic affinities and rivalries among those states. Several Bantu kingdoms—notably those of the Kongo, the Loango, and the Teke—built trade links leading into the Congo River basin. The first European contacts came in the late 15th century, and commercial relationships were quickly established with the kingdoms—trading for slaves captured in the interior. The coastal area was a major source for the transatlantic slave trade, and when that commerce ended in the early 19th century, the power of the Bantu kingdoms eroded.

Following independence as the Congo Republic on August 15, 1960, Fulbert Youlou ruled as the country's first president until labour elements and rival political parties instigated a three-day uprising that ousted him. The Congolese military took charge of the country briefly and installed a civilian provisional government headed by Alphonse Massamba-Débat.

Under the 1963 constitution, Massamba-Débat was elected President for a five-year term but it was ended abruptly with an August 1968 coup d'état. Capt. Marien Ngouabi, who had participated in the coup, assumed the presidency on December 31, 1968. One year later, President Ngouabi proclaimed Congo to be Africa's first "people's republic" and announced the decision of the National Revolutionary Movement to change its name to the Congolese Labour Party (PCT). On March 16, 1977, President Ngouabi was assassinated. An 11-member Military Committee of the Party (CMP) was named to head an interim government with Col. (later Gen.) Joachim Yhombi-Opango to serve as President of the Republic.

After decades of turbulent politics bolstered by Marxist-Leninist rhetoric, and with the collapse of the Soviet Union, Congo completed a transition to multi-party democracy with elections in August 1992. Denis Sassou Nguesso conceded defeat and Congo's new president, Prof. Pascal Lissouba, was inaugurated on August 31, 1992.

However, Congo's democratic progress was derailed in 1997. As presidential elections scheduled for July 1997 approached, tensions between the Lissouba and Sassou camps mounted. On June 5, President Lissouba's government forces surrounded Sassou's compound in Brazzaville and Sassou ordered members of his private militia (known as "Cobras") to resist. Thus began a four-month conflict that destroyed or damaged much of Brazzaville and caused tens of thousands of civilian deaths. In early October, Angolan troops invaded Congo on the side of Sassou and, in mid-October, the Lissouba government fell. Soon thereafter, Sassou declared himself President. The Congo Civil War continued for another year and a half until a peace deal was struck between the various factions in December 1999.

Sham elections in 2002 saw Sassou win with almost 90% of the vote cast. His two main rivals Lissouba and Bernard Kolelas were prevented from competing and the only remaining credible rival, Andre Milongo, advised his supporters to boycott the elections and then withdrew from the race. A new constitution, agreed upon by referendum in January 2002, granted the president new powers and also extended his term to seven years as well as introducing a new bicameral assembly. International observers took issue with the organization of the presidential election as well as the constitutional referendum, both of which were reminiscent in their organization of Congo's era of the single-party state. Currently, Congo holds a rotating seat in the UN Security Council.

Location of the Republic of the Congo
Capital
(and largest city) Brazzaville
[show location on an interactive map] 4°14′S, 15°14′E
Official languages French
Recognised regional languages Kongo/Kituba, Lingala
Demonym Congolese
Government Republic
- President Denis Sassou Nguesso
- Prime Minister Isidore Mvouba
Independence from France
- Date 15 August 1960
Area
- Total 342,000 km² (64th)
132,047 sq mi
- Water (%) 3.3
Population
- 2005 estimate 3,999,000 (125th)
- census n/a
- Density 12/km² (204th)
31/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2005 estimate
- Total $4.585 billion (154th)
- Per capita $1,369 (161st)
HDI (2007) 0.547 (medium) (139th)
Currency Central African CFA franc (XAF)
Time zone WAT
Internet TLD .cg
Calling code +242

Republic of the Congo

The Republic of the Congo (French: République du Congo; Kongo: Repubilika ya Kongo; Lingala: Republiki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville (locally, "Congo-Brazza") or the Congo, is a presidential republic. It is a former French colony of western-central Africa. It borders Gabon, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola and the Gulf of Guinea. Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and an election was held in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 ended in the restoration of former Marxist President Denis Sassou Nguesso to power.