What are the Olympic Games? The Olympic Games took place every four years between rival cities in Ancient Greece. A modern version of the games is now held in various cities around the world.

The site of the Olympic Games stadion race in Olympia, Ancient Greece.

The word athlete comes from the ancient Greek meaning "someone who competes for a prize".

Contests between the fittest men had taken place for centuries before the Olympic Games started. But these were local affairs.

The Olympic Games became special because it attracted people from all over the ancient Greek empire.

The Olympic Games may have come about through the ancient Greek idea of truce. You have to remember that, at this time, wars between cities in Greece were common. In the idea of the Olympic Truce, all of the Greek cities would stop warring with one another and take part in the games held on neutral territory in the countryside of the sanctuary for Zeus at Olympia.

The first recorded games at Olympia dates to 776 BC, although they were held for a long time before this. But we do know that from 776 BC, games were held in Olympia every four years for almost 12 centuries.

At first the games lasted just one day and there was just one event - the 200m sprint from one end of the stadium to the other - and known as the stadion. The stadion race track can still be seen in Olympia.

These are the current Olympic Games sports and disciplines:

SUMMER

Archery
Athletics
Badminton
Basketball
Beach Volleyball
Boxing
Canoe Slalom
Canoe Sprint
Cycling BMX
Cycling Mountain Bike
Cycling Road
Cycling Track
Diving
Equestrian / Dressage
Equestrian / Eventing
Equestrian / Jumping
Fencing
Football
Golf
Gymnastics Artistic
Gymnastics Rhythmic
Handball
Hockey
Judo
Modern Pentathlon
Rowing
Rugby
Sailing
Shooting
Swimming
Synchronized Swimming
Table Tennis
Taekwondo
Tennis
Trampoline
Triathlon
Volleyball
Water Polo
Weightlifting
Wrestling Freestyle
Wrestling Greco-Roman

WINTER

Alpine Skiing
Biathlon
Bobsleigh
Cross Country Skiing
Curling
Figure skating
Freestyle Skiing
Ice Hockey
Luge
Nordic Combined
Short Track Speed Skating
Skeleton
Ski Jumping
Snowboard
Speed skating

Video: The stadium at Olympia.

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Olympic Games