Olympian GamesOlympic Games

The Olympian Games were begun in 776 BCE and held on the Peloponnesian Peninsula at the city of Olympia in honor of Zeus.

The games were held every four years and were the most festive and honored athletic games in the ancient world; the games evolved to include: foot-racing, wrestling, boxing, horse racing, chariot racing, racing in armor and the pentathlon; the pentathlon was a five event competition including: foot-racing, the long jump, discus throwing, wrestling and javelin throwing.

The prizes for the winners were humble olive wreaths and there were no second or third prizes; the winners could always expect honors and gifts from their home cities and were sometimes given positions of leadership in the military.

The first Olympian Game was considered to be the starting point for Hellenic chronology and, until the time of the historian, Thukydides (Thucydides) (circa 460-400 BCE), was the only reference point from which Greek history could be dated.

The Olympian Games were finally outlawed by the Christian Roman emperor Theodosius circa 261 CE because of their “pagan” origins.