The Olympic Games are a major international event and they house different competitions in summer and winter sports. And now a little bit of the history of the Olympics. The Olympic Games began more than two thousand years ago. Since then they are still the grounds of competition for the worlds greatest athletes.
At the very beginning the Olympic games used to be a competition for the citizens of ancient Greece and of other nearby countries. And now they have developed into a worldwide, commercially oriented event. The early Olympic Games started in 776 B.C in ancient Greece. Greek people found those games so important that they used periods in between the Games to date important historical events. The winner of the Games got very good prizes – free food and housing for life.
Poets mentioned the winners in their poems, architects made sculptures of winner athletes, and they became popular throughout Greece. So, winning the Olympic Games made you a national hero. It was already an honor to take part in the Games. People from Italy, Sicily, Asia, Africa, and Spain all made the long way to Olympia. And all the famous people of the time attended the Games.
Olympia was chosen as a sight of the Games because it was seen as a neutral area. It was also a beautiful green valley accessed by two rivers. The Olympia was also the place where the wild olive tree grew. And the Crown Olive became the only prize won at Olympia. One Persian leader who fought against Greece noticed that Greek people loved fighting not for gold and money but purely for the sake of excelling.
Originally there was only one race. It was a sprint and the winners got a prize – an olive wreath. Time went on and other races and other sports were added like boxing and wrestling. In 1894 baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee. In the 20th century Winter Olympic Games were created for ice and snow sports. The Olympic Games now are held every 2 years Winter Olympic Games coming.
