The Brief History of the Ancient Olympic Games:
According to legend,the ancient Olympic Games were founded by Heracles (the Roman Hercules),a son of Zeus.Yet the first Olympic Games for which we still have written records were held in 776 BCE (though it is generally believed that the Games had been going on for many years already).At this Olympic Games,a naked runner,Coroebus,won the sole event at the Olympics,the stade - a run of approximately 192 meters (210 yards).This made Coroebus the very first Olympic champion in history.The ancient Olympic Games grew and continued to be played every four years for nearly 1200 years.At ancient Olympic Games,women were not allowed to compete,even to be the spectators.There were fewer events,and only free men who spoke Greek could compete,instead of athletes from any country.Also,the games were always held at Olympia instead of moving around to different sites every time.
In 393 AD,the Roman emperor Theodosius I,a Christian,abolished the Games because of their great influences.