Greek Mythology

Myths are early man's attempts to explain how something was created or why it happened. For example, the Greeks used  myths to explain how spiders were created and the changing of the the seasons.

Man also held the gods responsible for all physical movements and geographical formations of the earth. When the earth shook, it was because the gods were not pleased with man or were fighting among themselves. 
 

                   The Greeks that came to the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia
                   shared the same religious beliefs and spoke the same
                   language. The athletes were all male citizens of the
                   city-states from every corner of the Greek world, coming
                   from as far away as Iberia (Spain) in the west and the Black
                   Sea (Turkey) in the east.                                       
                                         How we got from the Ancient
                                Olympics to the Modern Games 

                                         Although the ancient Games were
                                         staged in Olympia, Greece, from 776
                                         BC through 393 AD, it took 1503
                                         years for the Olympics to return. The
                                         first modern Olympics were held in
                                         Athens, Greece, in 1896. The man
                                         responsible for its rebirth was a
                                         Frenchman named Baron Pierre de
                                         Coubertin, who presented the idea in
                                         1894. His original thought was to
                                         unveil the modern Games in 1900 in
                                         his native Paris, but delegates from
                                         34 countries were so enthralled with
                                         the concept that they convinced him
                                         to move the Games up to 1896 and
                                         have Athens serve as the first host.

                  Did you know? 
                                          The marathon was NOT an event
                                          of the ancient Olympic games. The
                                          marathon is a modern event that
                                          was first introduced in the Modern
                                          Olympic Games of 1896 in Athens,
                                          a race from Marathon northeast of
                                          Athens to the Olympic Stadium, a
                                          distance of 40 kilometers.

                                          The race commemorates the run of
                                          Pheidippides, an ancient
                                          "day-runner" who carried the news
                                          of the Persian landing at Marathon
                                          of 490 B.C. to Sparta (a distance of
                                          149 miles) in order to enlist help for
                                          the battle. According to the fifth
                                          century B.C.ancient Greek historian
                                          Herodotus, Pheidippides delivered
                                          the news to the Spartans the next
                                          day.

                                          The distance of the modern
                                          marathon was standardized as 26
                                          miles 385 yards or 42.195 km. in
                                          1908 when the Olympic Games
                                          were held in London. The distance
                                          was the exact measurement
                                          between Windsor Castle, the start
                                          of the race, and the finish line inside
                                          White City Stadium.
 

                  The Modern Olympic flag of five linked
                    rings, each with a primary color used
                    in the flags of the nations competing in
                    the games, was introduced in 1908.
                    There is no ancient basis for this
                      modern symbol.

                   The Olympic Flame The idea of the Olympic torch or
                    Olympic Flame was first inaugurated in the 1932 Olympic
                    Games in Los Angeles. The design of the Los Angeles
                    colosseum included a facilty for a large flame. There was no
                    torch relay in the ancient Olympic Games. There were
                    known, however, torch relays in other ancient Greek
                    athletic festivals including those held at Athens. The modern
                    Olympic torch relay was first instituted at the 1936 Olympic
                    Games in Berlin.

                   The Olympic Oath was introduced in 1920..