HISTORY OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES

Ancient Olympic Games:

The first Olympic Games that we know about took place in the Ancient Greece in 776 b.C., but these games had been celebrated for a long time before that date. The Ancient Olympic Games were celebrated for centuries, until 393 a.C., when Theodosius I banned them because he considered that they were heathen and immoral.

This sporting event was held in the city of Olympia every four years to honour the Greek’s gods, especially Zeus, in whose temple a magnificent torch was set fire by the winner of the Games.

Zeus Temple in the city of Olympia

  The religion was an important part of this event, the same as in the Pythian (Delphi), Nemean (Conrinthia) and Isthmian (Sicion) Games. These four competitions were called the “Panhellenic Games”, because all the Greek cities, kingdoms and states participated in a peaceful way, up to the point of stopping wars for a while.

Myron's Discobolous.

There were five original sports played in these Games by men from the whole Hellenic territories and which were included in the “Pentathlon”; running, long jump, javelin throw, discus throw and wrestling.

 Modern Olympic Games:

The French baron Pierre de Coubertin is considered the greatest promoter of the Modern Olympic Games, which took place for the first time in Athens in 1896. Four years later (1900) the Olympic Games were celebrated in Paris and in this occasion, and for the very first time, women participated.

In these Modern Olympics the prize is a medal made of gold, silver or bronze, depending on the place the athlete reaches. This is a big difference comparing to the Ancient Olympic Games, where the winner was given a palm branch; his name, family name and homeland were announced; and a sacred olive tree wreath was put on his head.

Some Olympic sports by Cobi

Another difference from the Ancient and original Olympics to this reborn Games is the sports included in it. Apart from the Pentathlon, the Olympic Games from the XIX Century contain a wide variety of sports and games, such as swimming, cycling, fencing, horse-riding, tennis, volleyball, taekwondo, archery, football, basketball, synchronised swimming, etc. Besides, from 1924, Olympic Winter Games have been celebrated, with especial winter-sports like skiing, ice hockey, bobsleigh, curling or skating.

DID YOU KNOW THAT...
         
        ... The colours of the Olympics flag (blue,                      black, red, yellow and green) represents
             at least one colour of the flag of every 
             country that participates in the Games.

Olympic Games' flag

After the Second World War, in 1948, there was an attempt to celebrate some special Games for those men injured in the global conflict, but is wasn’t until Rome 1960 when disabled people could participate in this specific “Paralympic Games” that has been held after the Olympics since then.

From 2010, in Singapore, the Young Olympic Games have been celebrated to allow people from 14 to 18 for participating in this international sports event.

OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES

Chamonix 1924

Sankt Moritz 1928

Lake Placid 1932

Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936

*Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1940

*Cortina d’Ampezzo 1944

Sankt Moritz 1948

Oslo 1952

Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956

Squaw Valley 1960

Innsbruck 1964

Grenoble 1968

Sapporo 1972

Innsbruck 1976

Lake Placid 1980

Sarajevo 1984

Calgary 1988

Albertville 1992

Lillehammer 1994

Nagano 1998

Salt Lake 2002

Torino 2006

Vancouver 2010

Sochi 2014

**Pyeongchang 2018

SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

Athens 1896

Paris 1900

San Luis 1904

London 1908

*Stockholm 1912

Berlin 1916

Amberes 1920

Paris 1924

Amsterdam 1928

Los Angeles 1932

Berlin 1936

*elsinki 1940

*London 1944

London 1948

Helsinki 1952

Melbourne 1956

Roma 1960

Tokio 1964

Ciudad de México 1968

Munich 1972

Montreal 1976

Moscow 1980

Los Angeles 1984

Seul 1988

Barcelona 1992

Atlanta 1996

Sidney 2000

Athens 2004

Beijing 2008

London 2012

**Rio de Janeiro 2016

**Tokio 2020

*Weren't celebrated due to the First and Second World War.

**Haven't been celebrated jet.

Resources:
-EducaMadrid (http://ies.garciamorato.madrid.educa.madrid.org//Dep_Griego/juegos/trabajos/historia_juegos.htm)
-COI: (http://www.olympic.org/ancient-olympic-games)