Ancient Olympic Games

ancient Greece · sports · history

Held for Zeus. The games took place at Olympia, a sacred religious site, in honor of the Greek god Zeus. Athletes from different city-states came to compete.

Every four years. The games happened every four years, a period called an Olympiad. Greeks even used Olympiads as a way to measure and record time in their history.

Started in 776 BC. The traditional starting date is 776 BC, and the most famous event was the stadion, a fast sprinting race.

Named after winners. Olympiads were often remembered by who won the stadion sprint, like 'when Ladas of Argos won.'

The grand finale. The last recorded games were in AD 393, and they likely ended after a fire burned down the temple of Zeus.