HISTORY96 - Olympic Games
A few days ago, Pat and I were discussing the upcoming summer Olympic Games in Paris, 26 July to 11 August, and agreed that a timely blog topic would be the history of the Olympic Games. The Olympic Games originated in ancient Greece in the late 8 th century BC, some 2,800 years ago. The Games were held every four years in Olympia, located in Greece’s western Peloponnese peninsula, in honor of the god Zeus. In the late 4 th century AD, Roman Emperor Theodosius I, a Christian, banned the Olympic Games, believing that they encouraged paganism. The Games were revived in the late 19 th century and have become the world’s preeminent international sporting competition. The first Modern Olympics took place in 1896 in Athens, Greece, and featured 280 participants from 12 nations, competing in 43 events. The Games have grown to the point that nearly every nation is now represented . T housands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. Since