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What are the Olympics? At this very moment, the Paris Olympics 2024 is happening. It is one of, if not, the biggest, sporting competitions in the entire world. But where did it come from? What is its history? Was it always such a massive event? In this worksheet we will answer these questions and go through the history of the Olympic Games.   

Let us begin in Ancient Greece… 

The Olympic Games were one part of four athletic games that occurred in Ancient Greece, called the Panhellenic Games. Panhellenic can be broken down into ‘Pan’, meaning ‘all’, and ‘Hellenic’, meaning Greek. These games were to unite the Greek people together to compete with one another, and in dedication to the god Zeus as part of a massive religious festival. They were called the Olympic Games since they always took place in the town of Olympia where the temple to the Olympic Zeus was kept, containing one of the wonders of the ancient world: the Olympic Statue to Zeus.

The first recorded game was in 776 BC, and continued to be held until the 4^th century AD. It involved much less sports than the modern Olympics – check out this video to see how the games proceeded and what it was like to be a spectator! 

During the Olympic Games, there would be a truce in Greece, wherein travellers and pilgrims to the Games would not be harmed and different city-states of Greece would cease to declare war on one another. All of Greece, despite their disagreements, would come together for a single week to worship the gods and participate in Games. The Greeks highly valued athleticism and fame, as we see in this quotation from Homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey:

And he [Alcinous] spoke, quickly, to the sea-faring Phaeacians: ‘Leaders and Counsellors of the Phaeacians, hear me. We have enjoyed sharing our rich feast and the music of the lyre, its companion. Now let us go outside and try our skill in various sports, so this stranger [Odysseus] when he is home can tell his friends how much better we are than other men in boxing, wrestling, running, and leaping.’ 

Homer’s Odyssey, VII, ll.102-103

The Olympics were also a fostering ground for Panhellenic social interaction. It was the time of the year when all the big names of Greece would be present in one town. It was a place for men to make a name for themselves. This was integral since the Olympics had the ability to make a competitor and their city remembered for centuries. The ancient historian Pausanias records here:

Naxos was founded in Sicily by the Chalcidians on the Euripus. Of the city not even the ruins are now to be seen, and that the name of Naxos has survived to after ages must be attributed to Tisander, the son of Cleocritus. He won the men’s boxing-match at Olympia four times… 

Pausanias’ Description of Greece, 6.13.8 

The prize that you would gain for victory would be an olive wreath, a crown made of olive branches, traditionally taken from the branch of the Sacred Olive Tree of Zeus, and combined with another olive tree by a child who had both parents still alive. This signified your victory and you being blessed as a champion of Zeus.

By the 3^rd century, the Olympic Games had begun to lose popularity and Olympia itself was hit with multiple floods and earthquakes, making it harder for the town to manage the big crowds that would come. The last recorded games were under Theodosius I in 393 AD, although archaeological evidence suggests that there were games held after this point, but on a much smaller scale. One of the reasons for the end of the original Olympic Games was the end of Pagan festivals being celebrated in the Roman Empire, and the establishment of Christianity as the religion of Rome. For 16 centuries, the Olympic Games would remain dormant.  

The Modern Olympics

It was not until the late 19th century that the Olympics returned, as an athletic competition. This was headed by a French aristocrat called Pierre de Coubertin, who, in 1894, held a Congress which declared the revival of the Olympic Games in Athens for 1896. Here, the competition would be between nation states from around the world, instead of city-states within Greece. He divested the Olympics of its religious nature and made it something which the world could all participate in. He developed a philosophy around the Olympics which emphasised the competitive nature of the games:

L’important dans la vie ce n’est point le triomphe, mais le combat, l’essentiel ce n’est pas d’avoir vaincu mais de s’être bien battu. 

The important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle, the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well. 

Pierre de Coubertin

He further intended to focus competition upon amateurs and wanted to extend participation to members of the working-class. He felt that the truce and peace the Olympics brought to Greece could be applied to the world. Furthermore, he considered the athletic competition between nations would be better output for competition than violent warfare. To this end, he saw many political benefits that would come out of the Olympic Games.  

From then on, every 4 years – as was counted in the ancient Olympiad, there would be an Olympic competition in cities all around the world. Now we come to the present era where the Olympics are being held!