According to the National Olympic Committee, around 3.5 billion people watch the Olympic games every 4 years and yes, we all know it’s fun. But, do you know why, when, and how they appeared? In this article you will learn all about Olympic games and their reason of existing.
Ancient Games
The first ancient Olympic Games can be traced back to 776 BC in Greece and were supposedly created by Heracles, a son of the mythical god Zeus. They were dedicated to the Olympian gods and were staged in Olympia’s plains. The games were linked with religious festivals designated to Zeus and had a deep meaning for their culture. Great male athletes from all around Greece, regardless of their social status, participated on the games. They practiced a lot of sports such as the Pentathlon (which was running, jumping, and discus throw all in one competition), wrestling, boxing, Pankration (a primitive martial art which they thought was originated by Theseus when he defeated the Minotaur of the labyrinth in Greek mythology), and Equestrian events (including horse and chariot races in big Hippodromes). The human body was really important for their culture and this represented male figure very well. Women were not even allowed to see the games. Greek emperors made the games every four years for nearly 12 centuries until a famous Roman Emperor called Theodosius I banned them.
“The Olympic Games, which originated in ancient Greece as many as 3,000 years ago, were revived in the late 19th century and have become the world’s preeminent sporting competition,” as reported by the History Channel’s official web page in their article “The Olympic Games.” Nowadays, the actual Olympic games take place in a different hosting country around the globe every 4 years and involve every single country to participate, as we all know. The first Olympic games of the modern era took place on the year 1896 in Athens, Greece, since Ancient Greece was the birthplace of the games. The Olympic torch travels every four years before the games are held from there, through all around the world, and to the hosting place of the games.
The Stats
The Olympic games have been increasing a lot since the first one until nowadays. In Athens, 14 nations were participating. Compared with the last games in London 2012, where 204 nations sent their athletes to compete. The number of participants went drastically from 241 to 10,568. And the sports have also changed throughout time. From 9 Olympic games divided in 43 events to 26 new and different sports in 302 events. Michael Phelps, an American swimmer, has the record of the athlete with the most medals won with 18 gold, 2 silver, and 2 bronze medals in the last three Olympic games. While the country with the most winning medals in history is the USA with 30 participating Olympic games. This country is also the one with the most participants most of the times.