Where Did the Olympic Games Come From?

Where did the Olympic games come from and what is their history? The five colored rings bound together on a field of white are the universal symbol of the Olympic Games. This may be the modern symbol of the games, but the games started a long time ago in Greece and back then, they were only for Grecians. Today, the Olympic Games are a chance for athletes from around the world to come together and compete. The winners not only find success for themselves but also win honor for their country's. Whether they win gold, silver or bronze medals or win no medals at all, they are competing against the best athletes in the world.

The ancient Olympic Games began in 776 BC, so this is the main answer to the question of where did the Olympic games come from. Almost 3000 years ago, the tradition of athletic competition among the very best was put into place in Greece. The city-states would come together every four years and compete against each other to show who was the best. To win at the games in most instances would ensure an athlete a lifetime of being fed and cared for by their hometown.

When the Games began, there was only one event: the staid race. A staid is a distance of 600 feet and the runners would compete against each other to see who could run it the fastest to reach the finish line.

From the time the games began, the Greeks continued to add events until they also competed in wrestling, javelin throw, discus toss and even chariot races. Women were not allowed at the games at this time, under penalty of death.

When the Roman’s conquered Greece, the games continued until 394 AD when the Emperor Theodosius I ended the festivites. The reasoning Emperor Theodosius gave was that the Olympic Games were a pagan festival and the Empire had converted to Christianity.

The games were a story of history after this, until 1896 when the Games were reopened in Athens. This time though, the games were open to all countries of the world.

With the exception of 1916, 1940 and 1944 the Olympic Games have continued without interruption since they were revived in 1896. The only reason that the games were cancelled in those years was that the World Wars were going on during the time the games were to have been held.

Due to the growing number of events, in 1924 the games were split into summer and winter games. The first Winter Olympics were held in 1924. After 1992, the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics were not held in the same year again. There was a two-year split between summer and winter games. The first Winter Olympics under the new schedule was celebrated in 1994 and then every four years thereafter. The Summer Olympics were celebrated in 1996 and every four years thereafter.

The Olympics and Politics

The Olympic Games were designed to be a measure of athletic ability of men and women from around the world. At times, however, they have also become a very public forum for individuals to share political beliefs.

The first major occurrence of this was during the 1936 Olympic Games held in Munich, Germany. The Nazi party was hosting the games and looking to show the world the superiority of the Aryan race. This did not happen and, in fact, the results couldn’t have been more different. That year, a black athlete named Jesse Owens, from America, won four Olympic gold medals.

The most famous tragedy to occur at the Olympics was at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games. Palestinian terrorists murdered eleven Israeli athletes. Other years have also brought politically motivated occurrences. To protest the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union, the United States led 60 nations in withdrawing from the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.

The history of the Olympic Games has been long and glorious. The year of the revival of the Games were attended by 500 athletes from thirteen nations. The greatest number of athletes and nations were in attendance at the centennial celebration of the games in Atlanta in 1996. There were more than 10,000 athletes from a record 197 nations.