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THE OLYMPIC GAMES
The events were all running races, and unmarried girls took part. Winners were awarded crowns of sacred olive branches, the same as men.
What happened to the ancient
Olympics?
The ancient games were staged in Olympia, Greece, from 776 bc until 393 ad. When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman empire, the Olympic Games were seen as a pagan festival threatening Christianity, which is why the emperor Theodosius outlawed them, ending nearly 1,200 years of tradition. The games were then abandoned for 1,503 years.
The modern games
Many of the features of the
ancient games have been used for the modern games, although
there are, of course, strict safety
rules, no sacrifices and many
more events taking place over a
longer period.
The first modern Olympics
were held in Athens, Greece,
in 1896. The man responsible
for restarting the games was
the Frenchman Baron Pierre de
Coubertin. His original idea was to
have the modern games in Paris in
1900 to mark the start of the new
century, but international pressure
forced him to start the games in 1896
in Athens. Paris did become the second host, in 1900, and the games have been held every four years since then (except for wartime breaks).
Olympic torch
There was no relay of torch bearers in the ancient Olympic Games, although there had been other torch relays in ancient Greek times. The idea of a relay from the city of Olympia in Greece to the host city to start the games came into being at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.
 4 A boxing match from the ancient Greek Olympic Games as shown on
the side of a large vase (amphora). In ancient Greek times all of the games were played without clothes.
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