The Olympics Games originated in Ancient Greece. The Games were held for religious reasons, to pay tribute to their pagan gods. Zeus, the king of the gods, was more commonly worshipped. People would go to the Temple of Zeus to worship him.

For the ancient Greeks, speed and skill in hand to hand combat, was a necessity of life in order to survive. It was even more important for human leadership. Physical excellence was also important, but it was not everything. As well as the physical aspect, ancient Greeks also valued fame through poetry writing and song writing. The poets as well as other people were always eager to sing praise for the victors in battle, but also, the victors in athletic contests, which involved skill and strength.

All of this was brought together and joined on the plains of Olympia, at the feet of Zeus, and it is here, where the first Olympics began.

The winner would receive a laurel or a wild olive wreath. Coroebus of Elic, a cook, received a wreath when he raced to victory in the first recorded Olympic Games, thereby marking the beginning of the first Olympiad. This was the first, four-year period in which the Greeks began their written records of their story of the Olympics. By modern day calendars, the year was 776 BC

Only males, who were freeborn citizens, could compete in the Olympics. It was forbidden for a woman to take part or to even see the games. If they did see, they were punished with the death sentence. In time, women were allowed to take part. In 264 B.C, Belinische, a woman of Macedonia was a winning driver in the chariot races.

Eventually, this form of competition became so important to the Greeks, that the festivals had a peaceful influence on the war like city-states. It became known as the sacred month,' of the games, because it was a time for peace and friendship.

Unfortunately, after Rome conquered Greece in the 2^nd Century B.C, the Olympic standards declined. After more than 1000 years, the Olympic Games had become an influence for the bad rather than the good. In AD 394, the Roman emperor, Theodosius I ordered the games to be stopped. As time passed, the temples were robbed, and earthquakes had changed the path of the Alpheus River, thereby covering the ruins.

In 1880, German archaeologists uncovered evidence of a great and wonderful civilisation that had once thrived there. Baron Pierre de Coubertin put forth the idea of starting the Olympics once again. In 1896, at Athens, Greece, the games started. The perfect place to rekindle the spirit of the early Olympics Games.