by Ann Egerton

Created on: February 25, 2010   Last Updated: March 16, 2010

The ancient Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions held between various Greek city-states. The first recorded Games were held in 776 B.C. and the last Games were held in 393 A.D. The Games took place in Olympia, a sanctuary site for the Greek gods near the towns of Elis and Pisa on the peninsula of Peloponnesos. Like the modern Olympics, the Games took place every four years, and the athletes had to arrive a month ahead of time. Only free, Greek-speaking men were allowed to participate. The prizes included olive wreaths, palm branches, and woollen ribbons. Winners were honored throughout Greece, especially in their hometowns. They were often awarded large sums of money (500 drachmas in Athens). Sculptors would carve statues of Olympic victors and poets would write odes in their honor.

The Olympic Games were one of the four Panhellenic Games, which were four different sports festivals held in honor of various Greek gods. The Olympic Games were the oldest and most prestigious of these Games and were dedicated to Zeus. The other three Games, which were the Pythian Games, the Nemean Games, and the Isthmian Games, were established in the 6th Century B.C. The Pythian Games were held near Delphi in honor of Apollo, the Nemean Games were held near Nemea in honor of Zeus, and the Isthmian Games were held near Corinth in honor of Poseidon. All of the Games took place over a four-year cycle called an Olympiad, which was one of the ways the Greeks measured time. The Olympics took place during the first year of the cycle.

The exact origins of the Olympic Games are unknown and have been the subject of various myths and legends. One legend credits Zeus himself with founding the Games, after he'd defeated his father, Cronus, for control of the world. In another legend, the Greek demigod and hero Heracles won a race at Olympia- and then commanded that his feat be re-enacted every four years. Another story holds that the hero and king Pelops established the Games to celebrate his victory over King Oenomanus in a chariot race. Sacrifices were actually offered in Pelops' honor at the Olympics. In another story, the 9th Century B.C. king Iphitos of Elis went to the Pythia Oracle of Delphi to seek advice on how to protect his people from the Spartans. The Oracle advised him to hold Games in honor of the gods. The Spartans decided to stop fighting during these Games. Olympia itself was said to have been built by Heracles and Athene.

The Games were originally a collection

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