What are the Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are one of the most beautiful phenomena in the history of mankind. Each Olympics, held every four years, becomes a real event in world history and attracts the attention of billions of people on the planet. If you are interested in Olympic news or want to know more NCAAW news, use special sites on the web.

The history of emergence

There are many legends and myths about how the ancient Olympics originated. The most famous legend says that the ancient Greek king Iphitus, wishing to stop the endless wars, bringing ruin and misery to his country and people went to Delphi. There, in the temple of Apollo, he received a command from the gods to hold general athletic festivities, which pleased them. Thereupon King Iphitheus, the Spartan ruler Lycurgus, and the Athenian reformer and lawgiver and Cleophanes entered into a divine alliance and established the order in which they were to be held. The area of Olympia, where the games were to be held, was declared sacred and any armed person was forbidden to enter. Death awaited the transgressor.

For the duration of the contest all wars were stopped. The periodicity of the feast was set at 1417 days. This periodicity is preserved to this day. The periodicity is once every four years. The history of the ancient Olympic Games usually starts in 776 BC, when the first monument in Olympia was established to the winner of the competition. He was Koreb from Elida (the region of Greece, where Olympia is located), who defeated all his rivals in the one-stage race (192.27 meters). Thus, we can say that this ancient Greek was the first Olympic champion in world history. The most celebrated Olympian (winner) was Milon of Croton. Winning for the first time in the wrestling competitions at the Olympic Games in 540 BC at the age of 14 years old, he knew no equal at the 6 following games.

The history of the ancient Olympic Games goes back more than 11 centuries to 394 BC, when they were banned by the Roman emperor Theodosius I, who pursued a policy of forced imposition of Christianity and strongly opposed everything that was associated with the cult of ancient Greek Gods. Greece by this time had already been under the rule of the Roman Empire for several centuries. In the history of the ancient games, the competition took place 293 times. 

Modern Olympics

The first modern Olympics were held in Athens in 1896. Pierre de Coubertin headed the IOC until 1924 and remained its honorary president until his death in 1937. He died in Geneva, Switzerland, and was buried in Lausanne, the city where the IOC is headquartered. According to his will, Pierre de Coubertin’s heart is buried in Olympia, the place where the history of the Olympic Games began.

Sometimes the medal is seen as the highest honor, even more important than the Olympic gold medal. Judging by the fact that more than half a century of its history, the medal has been awarded only 10 times, perhaps it is. You can follow the newest Olympic sport on specialized sites.