According to historic records, the first ancient Olympic Games can be traced back to 776 BC. They were dedicated to Greek gods and were staged on the ancient plains of Olympia, famous as the location of magnificent temples of the gods Zeus and Hera. They initially had a religious character and combined a number of ancient sporting events, many of which were based on ancient Greek myths.
The ancient Games actually occupied such an important position in the life of Greece that time was measured by the four-year interval between each Games - an Olympiad. Participants came to compete from every corner of the Greek world aiming at the ultimate prize: an olive wreath, and a "heroic" return to their city-states. But apart from the glorious victory, Olympic values such as noble competition and the effort to combine body, will, and mind in a balanced whole, also added special meaning to the Games.
As the Games developed, so did a set of procedures such as a standardised schedule of events and the practice of the Olympic Truce. They continued for nearly 12 centuries, until Emperor Theodosius decreed in 393 AD that all such 'pagan cults' be banned. He asserted that the Games placed an excessive public focus on athletic and spiritual affairs and abolished them.
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