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The Greeks that came to the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia shared the same religious
beliefs and spoke the same language. The athletes were all male citizens of the
city-states from every corner of the Greek world, coming from as far away as Iberia
(Spain) in the west and the Black Sea (Turkey) in the east.
The sanctuary was named in antiquity after Mt. Olympos (see 'Did you know' in the
glossary), the highest mountain in mainland Greece. In Greek mythology, Mt. Olympos
was the home of the greatest of the Greek gods and goddesses.
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. According to some literary traditions, this was the
only athletic event of the games for the first 13 Olympic festivals or until 724
BC. From 776 BC, the Games were held in Olympia every four years for almost 12
centuries.
Contrary evidence, both literary and archaeological, suggests that the games may
have existed at Olympia much earlier than this date, perhaps as early as the 10th
or 9th century BC.
The marathon was NOT an event of the ancient Olympic games. The marathon is a
modern event that was first introduced in the Modern Olympic Games of 1896 in
Athens, a race from Marathon northeast of Athens to the Olympic Stadium, a distance
of 40 kilometers.
The race commemorates the run of Pheidippides, an ancient "day-runner" who carried
the news of the Persian landing at Marathon of 490 B.C. to Sparta (a distance of
149 miles) in order to enlist help for the battle. According to the fifth century
B.C.ancient Greek historian Herodotus, Pheidippides delivered the news to the
Spartans the next day.
The distance of the modern marathon was standardized as 26 miles 385 yards or
42.195 km. in 1908 when the Olympic Games were held in London. The distance was the
exact measurement between Windsor Castle, the start of the race, and the finish
line inside White City Stadium.
The roots of the Olympic Spirit can be found in the ancient Greek civilization. In
Ancient Greece, sport was part of man�s overall education which cultivated in a
balanced and harmonious way his intellectual, mental and physical faculties.
The Olympic Games were held from 776 B.C. to 394 A.D. every four years in Olympia.
They formed an integral part of a way of life, a cultural experience. Their
significance compared to the other panhellenic meetings and contests between city
states was so great that the four-year period between the games was called an
Olympiad and served as a chronological method. During that period, the youth
prepared themselves physically, morally and spiritually so as to reach the crest of
their abilities at the epitome of the Olympiad, the Olympic Games.
The palestras and gymnasia, which were both sports and educational facilities, were
to be found in every city, next to the temples and market places. Socrates,
Aristotle and many of the famous philosophers of ancient Greece taught in the
gymnasia, while Plato was himself an eminent athlete. The process of education
continued after puberty, contributing to the learning of citizens and the life-long
development of their mind.
Young people were taught arts, philosophy and music; at the same time they
exercised their body in pursuit of the ideal of �kalokagathia�, virtue and beauty.
In a similar way they cultivated the spirit of fair competition and sportsmanship,
while seeking to achieve harmony in everything.
In accordance with tradition, the origins of sport and the Olympic games in
particular are to be found in prehistoric times. The gods and heroes of Greek
mythology were the first to take part in contests, becoming role models for all
Greeks.
The conquest of victory at the Olympic Games was the highest honor for athletes and
their city. Olympic victors were considered heroes. The cities tore down their
walls when the Olympic victors returned to their homeland, to show how secure they
felt to have among their citizens Olympic winners whose feats were extolled in
poems and sculptures.
More than 40,000 people, athletes, philosophers, politicians, artists, poets, and
other pilgrims travelled from all over the Greek world to Olympia to watch the
Games. The protection of athletes and spectators during their hard journey was
guaranteed by the holy truce when all hostilities and warfare ceased. Olympia, as a
neutral and sacred place, was able to promote in a unique way, beyond the trivia of
everyday life, the ideals of peace, freedom, equality and mutual respect. The
thinkers of the Enlightenment looked to the ancient Greek spirit for inspiration
and guidance.It was this civilization, as it was expressed through the Olympic
Games, that Baron Pierre de Coubertin and those who before and after him
contributed to the realization of this unique vision, fostered by educational
pursuits, wanted to revive

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The Greeks that came to the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia shared the same religious

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