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According to a legend, Heracles, son of Greek God Zeus, founded the ancient Olympic games. These games originated at the ancient stadium in Olympia, Greece. Known to be linked to the religious festivals of Zeus, Olympic Games aimed to showcase the physical strength and performance of the youth. Besides this these games were founded to encourage good relations among the different cities of Greece.
Winners in the early Olympic games were crowned with wreaths from a sacred olive tree that was there behind the temple of Zeus in Greece. Legends say, that this sacred tree was planted by the founder of the games, Hercules. Written records mention that Olympic games were first held in 776 B.C., but people believe that they were played for many years prior to this too. It was in 77s B.C Olympics, when a naked runner, named Coroebus, won the only event. Since then, Coroebus has been known as the first Olympic champion in the Olympics history.
Gradually the popularity of the ancient Olympics rose and these games were played every four years for around 1200 years. Then the Roman emperor Theodosius I came in to the scene and abolished these historical games because of some pagan influences. However, this abolition was not for long, Olympics were revived some 1500 years later by a Frenchman named Pierre de Coubertin.
On the other hand, according to the Olympics history, modern Olympics started in Athens in 1896. Modern Olympics included sports like swimming, cycling, shot put, sprints, pole vaulting, marathon, tennis, gymnastics, target shooting and weight lifting. After Athens, Olympic Games were organized every four years in places like Paris, St. Lousi, London, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Tokyo, Melbourne, Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta, Mexico, Munich and Sydney. 1916, 1940 and 1944, were the years when due to some reasons Olympics were not held.
Get to know more about Olympics History and Beijing Olympics 2008 at WebTravels.in.
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