The Olympic Games, or Olympics, are an international multi-sport event taking place every fourth year. Originally held in ancient Greece, they were revived by a French nobleman, Pierre FrA©dy, Baron de Coubertin in the late 19th century. The Games of the Olympiad, better known as the Summer Olympics, have been held every fourth year since 1896, with the exception of the years during the World Wars.
In 2004, the Olympics returned to their ancient home in Greece for the XXVIII Olympiad.
A special edition for winter sports, the Winter Olympic Games, was established in 1924. Originally, these were held in the same year as the Summer Olympics, but starting with 1994 the Winter Games are in between, two years after the Games of the Olympiad.
The Ancient Olympics The origin of the ancient Olympic Games has been lost, although there are many legends surrounding its origins. One of these legends associates the first Games with the ancient Greek concept of "ekeicheiria" or "Olympic Truce." The first recorded celebration of the Games in Olympia was in 776 BC, although this was certainly not the first time they were held. The Games were then mostly a local affair, and only one event was contested, the stadion race.
From that moment on, the Games slowly became more important throughout ancient Greece, reaching their zenith in the sixth and fifth centuries BC. The Olympics were of fundamental religious importance, contests alternating with sacrifices and ceremonies honouring both Zeus (whose colossal statue stood at Olympia), and Pelops, divine hero and mythical king of Olympia famous for his legendary chariot race, in whose honor the games were held.
The number of events increased to twenty, and the celebration was spread over several days. Winners of the events were broadly admired and were immortalised in poems and statues. The Games were held every four years, and the period between two celebrations became known as an Olympiad. The Greeks used Olympiads as one of their methods to count years. The most famous Olympic athete lived in these times: The sixth centrury BC wrestler, Milo of Croton, is the only athlete in history to win a victory in six Olympics.
The Games gradually lost importance as the Romans gained power in Greece. When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, the Olympic Games were seen as a "pagan" festival threatening Christian hegemony, and in 393 the emperor Theodosius outlawed the Olympics, ending a thousand year period of Olympic Games. During the ancient times normally only young men competed. Performers were usually naked, not only as the weather was appropiate, but also as the festival was meant to be, in part, a celebration of the achievements of the human body. Upon winning the games, the victor would get not only the prestige of being in first place but also a crown of olive leaves.
During competition for some of the events, many of the participants would use olive oil to keep their skin smooth, as well as provide an appealing luster to anyone who saw them.
