| After waiting for four long years the time | | | | gold and ivory statue of Zeus, who sat upon |
| for the winter Olympics has finally arrived | | | | his throne in the high temple which was one |
| again and is only a month away. For the | | | | of the seven wonders of the ancient world. |
| fanatics out there many of you have probably | | | | Enough about the ancient Olympics and on to |
| arranged your tickets to Torino, Italy a long | | | | the actual "birth" of the modern Olympics. Do |
| time ago but certainly those of you not | | | | you know when this was? |
| fortunate enough to be able to travel there | | | | |
| have been able to schedule some time of from | | | | The very first modern day Olympic Games were |
| work in order to stay home as much as | | | | held in Athens, Greece in 1896 and was much |
| possible to follow the Olympic games. | | | | smaller than what the Olympics are today. The |
| | | | 1896 Olympics had about 245 athletes, who |
| Not very many people knows how long the | | | | were all men, and they were from 14 nations. |
| Olympics have actually been held or how and | | | | As you can see over the hundred+ years since |
| where it all started. Historians' knowledge | | | | the first Olympics the games have grown quite |
| about the most ancient Olympics has long been | | | | a bit. This was a little information about |
| lost but according to tradition the first | | | | the very first modern Olympics which was a |
| recorded Olympics took place in 776 BC and | | | | summer event. |
| took place in Greece. From this knowledge it | | | | |
| is fair to assume that in the beginning there | | | | Five years after the first Olympics in Athens |
| was no winter Olympics. | | | | the winter games were held in Sweden. It was |
| | | | not called the Olympics at this time but was |
| Basically there are two legends on how the | | | | called the Nordic games. All the athletes |
| Olympics got started, one which states these | | | | taking part in this first winter event were |
| games were established by Heracles (Hercules) | | | | from Scandinavia. It took until 1924 before |
| who brought a sacred olive tree to Olympia. | | | | they (the Olympic committee) decided to |
| The other legend myth has it that the hero | | | | actually call these games the winter |
| Pelops started it all after defeating King | | | | Olympics. In 1924 the winter Olympics were |
| Oenomaus in a chariot race. Regardless of the | | | | held in Chamonix, France |
| actual origin of the Olympics they became a | | | | |
| central aspect of Greek culture very early on | | | | With this you may have gained some new |
| and were among the most important factor in | | | | knowledge about the Olympics that you did not |
| uniting the Greeks. | | | | already know. All the sports fans out there |
| | | | are now anxiously awaiting February when the |
| Over time the site of Olympia became famous | | | | games are to begin, may the best athlete win. |
| for its temples and monument especially the | | | | |