The Olympic Games

The Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are a tradition of athletic events that take place every four
years. They are a custom that was started many years ago, but are currently taken for
granted. People from all over the world tune their televisions and radios to watch and
listen to the events, but never question their existence. When were the Olympic games
started? What was the first event? How did it grow? Where were the first games held?
Why did they start? Did they have any political, social, or religious meanings?
The games started about 3,500 years ago in the country of Greece. The first
games were not called the Olympic games but the Classical games. They were held every
four years as they are today. They were different from today’s games, in that they were
held at four different city-states. At each city-state, the games were given different names.
They were the Olympic Games, held at Olympia; the Pythian Games at Delphi; the
Nemean Games at Nemea; and the Isthmian Games at Corinth. These games later spread
to over 150 cities as far as Rome, Naples, Odessus, Antioch, and Alexandria. Olympia
still has records of its champions over 776 BC to AD 217. The champions of Olympia
came from about a dozen cities in Greece, but mainly from Sparta and Athens. The first
Olympic Games only consisted of one event. The first event was a stade won by
Coroebus of Elis. A stade was a foot race of about 210 yards. Later, horse racing was
added next followed by a long...

The Olympic Games

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