Friday 11 April 2014

Olympia

History

Olympia is the place where the very first Olympic Games were organized. These Games were held in honour of Zeus, once every four years, as part of a religious festival. They were greatly respected and even had the power to suspend wars for a period of three months.


In the beginning these games had a local character and only Greeks from the area of Olympia could take part. Over time, however, they got a Pan-Hellenic character and Greeks from all over the then known Greek world would travel to Olympia in order to be part of this feast. The highest moral award for an Olympic winner was a wreath made out of the branches of a wild olive tree. Victory symbolized by a wreath meant rather more than sponsors, deals and advertising campaigns. The Olympic winners won immortal fame.