Summer Games: The Summer Games or Olympics take place every four years. Summer Games are a multi sport event. The Olympics began long back in 776 BC . The games were originally held in Olympia in Greece . Christian Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I ordered a banning of the Ancient Summer Games in 393 AD as a protest against paganism. In 1896 , the Summer Games were revived by Pierre Fredy, Baron de Coubertin , a French nobleman. From then the era of the Modern Summer Games started.
Origin of the Summer Games: In the year 776 BC , the first Summer Games were held at the wooded valley of Olympia in Elis, Greece . A gap of four years was maintained between two consecutive Games. In Elis , temples and statues were built in a grove dedicated to the supreme god Zeus . An ivory and gold statue of Zeus created by Phidias , the sculptor was the greatest shrine. According to some scholars, 776 BC Olympics were not the first games. Actually, it was the first Olympic after the Olympics were organized into festivals to be held every four years as a result of the peace agreement between the city states of Elis and Pisa . The people of Elis traced the founding of the Summer Games to King Iphitos . It is said that Delphi Oracle told King Iphitos to plant the olive tree from which winners' wreaths were made.
At first, the only event in the Summer Games was a 200-yard dash, called a stadium . Then, in 724 BC a two-stadia race was added. The 24-stadia event began two years later, and the pentathlon and wrestling became part of the games in 708 . This pentathlon was a five-event match consisting running, wrestling, leaping, throwing the discus, and hurling the javelin . Later on, boxing, a chariot race , and other events were included in the schedule of Summer Games .
The winners of the Games were crowned with wreaths from olive tree . They marched around the grove while admirers chanted songs written by a prominent poet.
The ancient Summer Games were never suspended. The games were even held during the Persian Wars in 480 BC , and coincided with the Battle of Thermopylae . Arkadians had captured the sanctuary and reorganized the games in 364 BC . So the Games were not considered as Summer Games . In 338 BC, Philip of Macedon and his son Alexander took over the Greek city-states. They erected the Philippeion (a family memorial) in the sanctuary. Philip and Alexander held political meetings at Olympia during each Olympiad. In 146 BC , the Romans gained control of Greece and the Summer Games . In 85 BC , Sulla , the Roman general plundered the sanctuary to finance his campaign against Mithridates . Sulla also moved the 175th Olympiad to Rome in 80 BC . The ancient Summer Games lasted for 1170 years .
Late in the 19th century , the campaign to revive the Olympics was started by Baron Pierre de Coubertin in France . The first of the modern Summer Games were held in 1896, in Athens, Greece .
Myths about the Origin of Summer Games: There are several myths about the origin of the Summer Games . Most common myth is the story of the hero Pelops , a prince from Lydia in Asia Minor . The prince was a suitor of Hippodamia , the daughter of King Oinomaos of Pisa. Oinomaos announced that the suitor who would beat him in a chariot race could have Hippodamia as a wife. Pelops cheated Oinomaos in the race with the help of his charioteer , Myrtilos . Then after marrying Hippodamia , he instituted Summer Games to celebrate his victory. The other version of the myth tells the Summer Games to be the funeral games to be staged in the memory of Oinomaos .
Another myth about the origin of the Summer Games is derived from the Tenth Olympian Ode of the poet Pindar . This is the story of Hercules , who is considered to be the founder of the Summer Games . The story tells that, King Augeas of Elis appointed Hercules to clean his stables with a promise to pay him the price of one-tenth of his cattle. The king did not keep his promise. Returning to Elis, Hercules fought against Augeas and won the city. After the victory, he instituted the Summer Games in honor of his father Zeus. It is said that Hercules taught men to wrestle and measured the length of the stadium.
Importance of Summer Games: From the very beginning, the games at Olympia served as a bond between Greeks . The games also strengthened the Greek sense of national unity . Ancient Greeks were highly competitive and their ultimate goal was to be the best. All aspects of life, especially athletics centered round this concept. So it was a great honor for a Greek to win a victory in Olympiad , even if there was no material reward for winning. Games were closely connected to worship in Greece . Summer Games were held as a part of the religious ceremonies in honor of heroes . Games were also a part of many ancient fertility festivals . The Greek calendar was based on the concept of the four year Olympiad . Every event was referred to in respect of the years between the two consecutive Summer Games . Messengers known as the "spondorophoroi" carried the word of the sacred truce and the dates of the Summer Games through out Greece . All hostilities were ceased in the country to give a safe passage to the athletes to and from Olympia.
Revival of Summer Games: The Summer Games sports festival was held in Much Wenlok, Shropshire in England in the 17 th century . Then, in 19 th century , the National Summer Games were held. Later other events had been organized in France and Greece . The ruins of ancient Olympia were discovered by German archeologists in the mid-nineteenth century . It was that time, when Baron Pierre de Coubertin campaigned for the revival of Summer Games as an international event. Coubertin thought this to be a way to bring the nations close together to compete in the sports, rather than fight in war. His urge was accepted and the Modern Summer Games were born in the year 1896 .
