The Olympics

History of the games

The Olympic Games were first held in ancient Greece as far back as 776 B.C. These ancient games lasted for nearly 1,000 years but stopped when Greece was invaded and conquered and became part of the Roman Empire.

The games as we know it today began again in the late 1800's, when Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France, decided to start them up again. The first of the modern games was held in Athens, Greece in 1896

Amazing facts about the games

• In ancient times only free males were allowed to participate in the games.
• Females were forbidden to even see the games; the penalty for watching was death!
• Milo, a 6th century B.C. wrestler won the wrestling crown six times.
• The Hoplitodrome was a footrace where the participants ran in armour.
• In A.D. 394 the then Roman emperor Theodosius 1 ordered that the games be stopped.

The Olympic Symbols

The Olympic Motto is Citius, Altius, Fortius. Which means "Swifter, Higher, stronger."
This motto is used with the Olympic Symbol the five colored rings. The rings are interlocked to represent the sporting friendship of people from all over the world.

The five colors of the rings (black, blue, yellow, green, and red) were chosen because at least one of these colors appears in the flags of every nation of the world.

The Olympic flag was first used in Antwerp in 1920; the five rings appear in the center of a white field.

The Olympic flame symbolizes the link between the ancient and modern games. By tradition the flame is carried by torch overland from Greece (except when it needs to travel over water) by a relay of athletes/people from participating countries. The games begin when the torch is used to light the flame signaling the beginning of competition.

At every Olympic Games opening ceremony an athlete from the host country takes the oath,
"In the name of all the competitors l promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams"