Olympic Games Essay

The Olympic Games There aren’t many people who haven’t heard of the Olympic Games. Few look into its origins and evolution. The games were held initially as part of a religious festival to honor Zeus. The games can be traced back to 776 BC, though some researchers believe they could’ve started as early as the 9th Century BC. The games started out very simply, with the only competition being the Stadion race, a sprint 600 feet long. This remained the only even for the first 13 Olympic festivals. More events emerged later on, such as the Diaulos, Dolichos, and the Hoplitodromos. These were all races of increasing difficulty, with the last one requiring full armor and a shield.

The ancient Olympics housed many events such as wrestling, boxing, long jumps, discus and javelin throwing, and different types of horse races. One of the events that stands out a bit is the

In 300 AD a Germanic invasion caused the games to be classified as a pagan ritual, which was closed in 393 AD by Christian emperor Theodosius. The games would remain dormant for another 1,500 years before it was brought back to life.

During the 19th century there were a few minor variations of the Olympic Games floating around Europe. In 1894 Pierre de Coubertin organized a congress in Paris to present the idea for a multi-nation series of sporting events inspired by the ancient Greek games. The first games were planned for the turn of the century in 1900, but demand was so big that the first modern day Olympic Games took place in none other than Athens, the birthplace of the original games.

The games today have a much different venue. With two major sets of games taking place. Summer games consist of many sports, from modern day cycling and shooting to the more traditional wrestling and boxing. Sports have been incorporated from other cultures such as fencing and