Ancient Games Ancient Games The first record of the Olympic Games goes back many centuries to 776 B.C. The ancient games were part of a religious festival to honor the Greek god Zeus—who was considered king of the gods in those times. Archaeologists have found the ruins of Olympia which was the place in Greece where ancient games were held every four years for at least a thousand years! Eventually, however, the ancient games came to an end sometime after 261 A.D. A drawing of Zeus Ancient Games The Olympic Games were held in honor of Zeus. On the third day of the Games, a procession of competitors, judges, and important guests made its way to the Altar of Zeus, to sacrifice 100 oxen. The most important building at Olympia was the great Temple of Zeus. Inside stood a statue of the god, 43 ft (13 m) tall, cast in gold and ivory. It was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. At the end of the 4th century, the statue was taken to a palace in Constantinople (now Istanbul), where it was later destroyed in a fire. Temple of Zeus Model of what Olympia might have looked like about 100 B.C.

The Olympics Reborn The Olympics Reborn More than 1,500 years after the ancient Olympic Games ended, a Frenchman named Pierre de Coubertin suggested to an international sports committee that the Olympic Games be reborn. As a result, the International Olympic Committee was formed and the first modern Olympic Games took place in Athens in 1896. The Olympics Reborn Pierre de Coubertin was born in Paris, France, on New Year’s Day 1863. He was president of the International Olympic Committee from 1896 to 1925 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1920. He died in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1937. Without Baron Pierre de Coubertin, it is unlikely that the modern Olympic Games would exist. Coubertin believed that sports were vital for the mental as well as the physical development of young people, and that international sporting competition would help people from different nations to become friends. Coubertin himself was a keen sportsman, though not an outstanding one. Pierre de Coubertin The Greeks built a monument at Olympia to honor Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the Founding Father of Modern Olympics. The Baron’s last wish was to have his heart remain at Olympia—so it is buried beneath the monument!

No Gold No Gold More than 60,000 people watched the first Modern Olympics in Athens in 1896. But the event wasn’t exactly a showcase for the world’s best athletes. Why not? Any male could enter. In fact, some tourists signed up at the last minute to compete. Unlike today’s Olympic Gold, the medals that the winners received back in 1896 were silver. First place athletes were also given an olive branch and a certificate. No Gold The Panathenian Stadium in Athens was specially built for the 1896 Olympic Games. It was a marble replica of an ancient stadium originally built in 330 B.C., and it was built on the same site. The arena was long and narrow, and runners in the longer races had to slow down for the tight turns at each end of the track. Coubertin thought that the awarding of medals would be an incentive to athletes to take part in the Olympics. Winners in Athens in 1896 were presented with a silver medal, an olive branch, and a certificate; runners-up received a copper medal and a sprig of laurel. 1896 winner’s medal

Extinct Events Extinct Events Some of the events that were held in the early days of the Modern Olympics were short-lived. Shooting live pigeons was a competition in the 1900 Paris games. But pigeon shooting was quickly dropped because it killed too many birds. Another event, the tug-of-war, didn’t last too long, either. The event made its last appearance in 1920. Extinct Events When the modern Olympics were in their infancy, there were many changes to the sports program from one year to the next. The hosts added sports that were popular in their country and dropped ones that were unpopular. Olympic shooting events were originally closely linked to the skills needed for warfare and hunting. In Paris in 1900, shooting at live pigeons made its only appearance. Trap-shooting, in which competitors shoot at clay disks thrown into the air, called clay pigeons, is a current event. In tug-of-war, shown here making its last Olympic appearance in 1920, two teams pull on opposite ends of a thick rope, each trying to pull the other over a central line. In 1900, Denmark and Sweden joined forces to win gold when neither was able to form a team on its own.

What About Women? What About Women? Although there were no events for women at the original 1896 games, women did participate in the 1900 games. A British tennis player, Charlotte Cooper, became the first female to win an individual championship. Today, most sports include both men’s and women’s events. What About Women? Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie was a child prodigy in figure skating. She won the Norwegian title at age 10 and entered the 1924 Olympics at 12. She won three successive Olympic golds in 1928, 1932, and 1936. She also won every world championship from 1927 to 1936, and went on to star in 11 Hollywood movies. Having started gymnastic training aged just 6, the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci developed a perfect sense of timing and balance. At age 14 she won three Olympic golds, including the all-around title, at Montreal in 1976. She was the first gymnast ever to be awarded a perfect mark of 10.00 at the Olympics, which she achieved on the parallel bars. Sonja Heine was a Norwegian figure skater who entered the Olympics in 1924 when she was only 12 years old. Nadia Comaneci won three Olympic titles and was the first gymnast to ever be given a perfect mark of 10.

A Symbol of Friendship A Symbol of Friendship One of the main goals of the Modern Olympic Games—even to this day—is to promote friendship between nations. The rings on the Olympic flag are a symbol of this unity. The flag is raised at the beginning of each Olympic ceremony. At the closing ceremony, the flag is given to the host country of the next Games. A Symbol of Friendship The Olympic flag has flown at the Games since 1920. It was designed to include at least one color in the flag of every country. At the closing ceremony, the flag is given to a representative of the hosts of the next Games. As another symbol of peace, during the opening ceremony hundreds of doves are released into the air from cages in the stadium. Doves of peace were released at the very first modern Olympic Games in 1896. The Olympic flag has flown over Modern Games since 1920.