The Ancient Olympics

            The Olympic Games is one of the biggest sports competitions known to man. In this game, competitors can show off their skill and strength through many athletic events.  The Olympics have gained lots of popularity over its time.  This is absolutely fascinating, seeing as the first Olympics only had a few thousand people watching from the coliseums, to present day, where billions of people know of this exciting event. It is because of what happened back then, that would start this famous event that we know today as the Olympic Games.  

            The Ancient Olympics started in 776 B.C, and it was staged on the ancient plains of Olympia. The very first Olympics only included one event, which was a single 200-meter dash, known as the Stade. A well-known baker, named Coroebus, won making him the first Olympics champion.  As time came and gone, the Olympics started getting better known, so they decided to add more events so that the athletes and the fans would not grow bored.  These new events consisted of jumping, discus, boxing, pankraton, and other amazing events.

            With more events starting to come up at the Olympics, more athletes wanted to compete in the games. The history of the Olympics finally started to look brighter. Unfortunately, in 393 A.D a new Christian Emperor, named Theodosius, decreed to ban the Olympic Games. He quoted that “All such pagan cults be banned”. The reason for this particular banning was that Emperor Theodosius didn’t like how the Olympics were so closely linked to the religious festivals of the cult of Zeus. Zeus was the father of the Greek Gods and Goddesses.  The reason why Theodosius didn’t like the Olympics being so closely related to myths and Zeus are that Theodosius was a Christian, and because the Olympics were not Christian related, he decided to get rid of it. 

            1,500 years after the Olympics were banned, the games were reinstated by a young Frenchman, named Pierre Fredy.  He was a well-educated French Baron who was the founder of the International Olympic Committee.  Also known as, Baron de Coubertin, he was instrumental in, not only restarting the games, but making them better.   By 1896 the Olympics were taking place in Athens, Greece with 280 athletes participating in 43 events. A few of these events were wrestling, cycling, tennis, fencing, and shooting.   This amazing event took 9 days to complete and ended with an Awards Ceremony.  Medals were handed out to first and second place winners.   First place winners were awarded a silver medal, an olive branch and a diploma and second place were given a copper medal, a branch of laurel and a diploma. 

            From awards, to events, to athletes, the Olympics have grown and changed a lot since their early beginnings.  Now Olympics have two seasons; the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics. There are about 400 events, all around, and about 13,000 athletes (men and woman) competing. Now that the Olympics have gained more popularity, nearly all of the nations are represented by their athletes.  Billions of people watch worldwide, either in person, or straight from home.  This just proves that people today love the Olympics just as much as the Ancient Greeks did when it all began in 776 B.C.