Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, held in Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, leading to the first modern Games in Athens in 1896.

Jan 6, 2010 · From the 8th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D., the Games were held every four years in Olympia, located in the western Peloponnese peninsula, in honor of the god Zeus. The first modern...

Jan 22, 2025 · Olympic Games, athletic festival that originated in ancient Greece and was revived in the late 19th century. Before the 1970s the Games were officially limited to competitors with amateur status, but in the 1980s many events were opened to professional athletes.

The ancient Olympic Games began in the year 776 BC, when Koroibos, a cook from the nearby city of Elis, won the stadion race, a foot race 600 feet long. The stadion track at Olympia is shown here.

Renowned expert Paul Christesen gives Olympics.com a unique insight into Olympia and how the site changed as the Games grew. “At its heart the Ancient Olympic Games was a religious festival held in a religious sanctuary,” Paul Christesen, professor of Ancient Greek History at Dartmouth College, USA, explained.

Jan 11, 2024 · Bringing together athletes from all over the world for a major celebration of sport every four years, the Olympic Games. The first Olympic Games of the modern era took place in Athens, in the country where the original Games took place in Antiquity, in April 1896. Paris hosted the second Games in 1900.

Apr 23, 2021 · The 1908 Olympic Games, held in London in a newly built 68,000-seat stadium, were the first where the events were organized by the relevant authorities in each athletic discipline. More than 2,000 athletes from 22 nations competed in 100 events.