The Origins of the Olympics: From Ritual to Competition
By Dr. Alan Grant
Senior Historian, University of Classics
What began as a religious festival honoring Zeus in 776 BC evolved into the world's most enduring test of human physical limit.
The ancient Olympic Games were primarily a part of a religious festival in honor of Zeus, the father of the Greek gods and goddesses. The festival and the games were held in Olympia, a rural sanctuary site in the western Peloponnese. The Greeks that came to the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia shared the same religious beliefs and spoke the same language. The athletes were all male citizens of the city-states from every corner of the Greek world.
The Sacred Truce
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the ancient games was the Ekecheiria, or sacred truce. Messengers known as spondophoroi were sent out from Elis to every corner of the Greek world to announce the dates of the games. During this period, all military conflicts were suspended to ensure safe passage for athletes and spectators traveling to Olympia.
Key Fact: The First Event
For the first 13 Olympics, there was only one event: the Stadion race, a sprint of approximately 192 meters (the length of the stadium). The first recorded winner was Coroebus of Elis, a cook by trade.
Decline and Revival
The Games continued even after the Roman Empire conquered Greece in the mid-2nd century BC. However, their standards and quality diminished over time. In 393 AD, Emperor Theodosius I, a Christian, called for a ban on all "pagan" festivals, effectively ending the ancient Olympic tradition after nearly 12 centuries.
It would take another 1,500 years before Baron Pierre de Coubertin would successfully advocate for their revival, leading to the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896.