The Olympic Games - The
History Of The Olympic Games by Lucy Bartlett
Olympics or The Olympic Games
is a multi-sports event which takes place once in four years and
comprises of winter and summer games. It is an international event and
almost all the countries in the globe participate in the games.
The
first Olympic game was held in the year 776 BC in Olympia, Greece. The
games were held in Greece till 393 AD. Subsequently in 1896, Pierre
Fredy, Baron de Coubertin, a French nobleman revived the games which
heralded the beginning of the Modern Olympic Games.
Starting
from 1896, Games of the Olympiad or The Summer Olympics were held once in
four years except during the World War 1 and 2.
The
Olympic Winter Games, a special edition of winter sports was first held
in 1924. In the beginning, both summer and winter editions of The Olympic
Games were held simultaneously. From 1944 onwards the summer and winter
games have been held two years apart.
The
origin of the ancient Olympic Games was surrounded by many legends. The
ancient Greek concept of Olympic Truce is one such legend associated with
The Olympic Games. The Olympic Games reached their zenith during fifth
and sixth century BC.
The
Olympic Games were held in honour of Pelops a mythical king and divine
hero of the Greeks. Poems were written and statues were created
immortalizing the winners of the events in the Olympic Games. Milo of
Croton, a wrestler in the sixth century BC, was the only victorious
athlete in six Olympic Games.
After
the Romans captured power in Greece, there was a gradual decline in the
importance of the Olympic Games. The Emperor Theodosius banned the
Olympic Games in 393 CE citing the games as a Pagan Festival not suitable
for the Christian Ethics.
Even
though the Greek ceremonies included the bearing of a torch as its
integral aspect, it was not included in the ancient Olympic Games. This
was introduced later as a part of the modern Olympic Games.
In the
2004 Summer Olympics held in Athens, nearly 11,100 contestants from 202
countries participated in various events whereas there were only 245
participants from 15 nations in the 1896 edition of the Olympic Games.
The Olympic Games has become one of the biggest events for the media. In
the Sydney Olympics held in 2000, more than 16,000 journalists presented
the events in various media format while 3.8 billion people watched the
games on Television.
Munich
Olympics held in 1972 saw the first act of terrorism in the .Olympic
Games. Subsequently the Summer Olympics held in Atlanta, Georgia in 1996,
and the Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2002 were also
subjected to acts of terrorism.
Top
|
