Athens 2004 Olympic games

History of the Olympic Games

The Olympic Games were born in Ancient Greece and they were held to honor Zeus, the father of the Gods. The first Olympic Games took place for the first time in Olympia in the 7th century B.C. According to the myth, they were founded by Pelops, the King of Peloponnese. Olympia is considered as one of the most important sanctuaries of the antiquity.

The Olympic Games were reserved exclusively for young males from the Greek world which confronted each other for the glory and a wreath of olive leaves. The competition included athletics categories of wrestling, long jump, discus, running, javelin throwing, chariot, horse racing, and the pancratium.

The Olympic Games were considered as a sacred festival. The Games started every full moon of August and all wars had to stop at their duration. The Romans also participated in the Games, during the Pax Romana. However, in 395 AD, the Emperor Theodosius II banned them as a sign of paganism and destroyed the temples and stadiums of Olympia where the Olympic Games took place.

It was only in 1896 that the Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin reinstituted the event in the modern world and made the Olympic Games the biggest sports event in the world. The Olympic Games first took place in Athens in the restored "Panathenaic Stadium" (Kalimarmaro).

The 2004 Olympic Games in Athens

In 2004, after 104 years, the Olympic Games returned to their birth country.
Athens Olympic Games 2004 welcomed athletes from 200 countries for 17 days of hard competition.
The Athens 2004 Olympic Games games took place in August in the impressive Olympic Stadium (OAKA), while sphere actually took place in the ancient stadium of Olympia.