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The Olympic Games, in ancient times, were considered more than just a sporting event that occurred every four years. They were a religious festival held in honour of Zeus and Hera, and athletes who travelled from all the Greek provinces were considered to be pilgrims and had to make a sacrificial offering at the temples of Zeus and Hera. In these times, there was no such thing as a sporting contest that was set apart from a religious festival. They are all related to gods as each game represents a certain god and in competing in the event, the athlete is trying to become that god.

Though athletes made the offerings to Zeus and Hera, it is interesting to note that neither god is considered the founder of the Games. Heracles is thought to have been the creator of the Olympic Games, and is believes to have built the stadium and surrounding buildings as an honour to his father, Zeus, after he had completed his 12 labours.

The games were set up in the names of Zeus and Hera as the most credible religious source, the Delphic Oracle, was said to have told the to do so. The Delphic Oracle was the most credible and reliable source as it was believed that the woman who gave the oracle, though never seen by anyone but the Delphic Priests, could communicate with the gods directly.

People would travel from all over the Greek world to ask the oracle what should be done in times of need. Just note that the Oracle occurred underneath the shrine of Apollo at Delphi, where the priestess would be sitting, sniffing "magic mushrooms", and would utter complete and incomprehensible gibberish which would then be interpreted by the priests in a poem, and this poem would then be given to the people who had come for an oracle. The Olympic Games were given in such a way and told to be a religious festival honouring Zeus and Hera

It is interesting to note where the words Olympic Games' and athletes' comes from. The Greek word for Olympic Games is , which is transliterated as Olympiakoi Agones'. Athletes is said to come from the Greek word athlos', which means labour. Agones' is related to the English word agony'. So, when all this is broken down, the Olympic Games were seen as laborious and having to go through agony and pain to win and be victorious.

To participate in the Games, one had to be a free Greek. What is meant by that is they could not be Greeks who were enslaved by any of the other city states, nor could they have been exiled Greeks. They had to be free citizens to compete and,

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