Where did the olympic games originate?

Perhaps the most anticipated event at the WATCH: Ice Skating Evolves Over Centuries The earliest evidence of ice skating By the 14th century, the Dutch forged skates with sharpened steel blades and edges that allowed for greater speed and control.Following the The technical discipline of figure skating developed in 18th century Britain as people gained more time for recreational activities. The first organized figure skating club—which formed in the 1740s in Edinburgh, Scotland—required new members to pass an entrance test in which they completed a circle with each foot and jumped over a stack of three hats. In 1772, Englishman Robert Jones penned figure skating’s first instructional book, A Treatise on Skating, which offered directions on how to create shapes such as circles, serpentine lines, spirals and figure eights on the ice. The book helped to popularize an “English style” of figure skating in which competitors were judged on the precision of the patterns they etched on the ice rather than on the techniques used to make them. By the late 1800s, figure skating competitions required participants to perform compulsory figures, 41 designs derived from a figure eight, as well as “special figures” of the skater’s own imagination. An American Ushers in a Figure Skating Revolution An 1875 illustration of skaters in New York City's Central Park. A skating craze swept over the United States in the years before the Growing up in New York City, Haines left the United States for...

The first ancient Olympic Games took place almost 2,800 years ago in the town of Olympia. They were the oldest, and largest, of the four PanHellenic Games - four separate sports festivals held in ancient Greece. The Olympics became an integral part of ancient Greek society. Every four years from 776BC to 393AD, thousands of people from all over the Greek world congregated for the competition. The event was so popular, that when the Persians invaded in the summer of 480BC, the allied Greek city states had to delay military preparations as so many men were at the Olympics! But unlike the modern Olympics, there was no torch relay, no female competitors, and events would often become brutal. Below, we take a look at ten interesting facts you may not have known about the ancient Olympic Games, including why they came to an end. Greek gymnast Lefteris Petrounias runs through the ancient stadium at Olympia before the Rio 2016 modern Olympic Games. (2016 Getty Images) 1 - The ancient Olympic stadium The Olympics were named after Mount Olympus, but they were actually held in the rural sanctuary of Olympia, in Greece’s western Peloponnese region. It was a hugely sacred area, featuring picturesque olive tree plantations and a giant statue of the god Zeus. By the second century BC, the main stadium held approximately 45,000 people, who stayed in tents around the building. 2 - Religious origins of the Olympic Games There is some historical dispute over the reason behind the ancient Oly...

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To most Americans, the sonic signature of the Olympic Games can be summed up in seven notes in E-flat major, a soaring BUM—BUM—ba-ba-ba-BAH-BAH that fades in and out of the competitions. The fanfare of brass and percussion, titled "The Bugler's Dream," has come to represent the Olympics almost as much as a torch or five-rings—but the piece wasn't written for the games, and it wasn't composed by John Williams, the creative genius behind the familiar themes to Star Wars, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark and many more memorable movie scores. For all its focus on athletic competition and international unity, music factors into the Olympics in a complicated, and at times overlooked, way. Little is known about the role of music in the original Greek Olympics, though Olympic historian and professor of music Bill Guegold notes that it probably played a least some part, perhaps in marches or other festivities. In modern times, however, music has been an important part of the Olympic games from their first revival in 1896. "In the late 1800s, when Pierre de Coubertin decided to resurrect the Olympics, so to speak, he felt that the arts should be part of it, not just music but all the arts," Guegold says. "At the first Olympics, in 1896, they had a request for someone to write an Olympic hymn." The man chosen was the young Greek composer Spyros Samaras, whose compisition, dubbed "Olympic Hymn" was played at the opening ceremonies. In 1957, International Olympic Committee named it the Un...

The Olympic Games, which originated in ancient Greece as many as 3,000 years ago, were revived in the late 19th century and have become the world’s preeminent sporting competition. From the 8th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D., the Games were held every four years in Olympia, located in the western Peloponnese peninsula, in honor of the god Zeus. The first modern Olympics took place in 1896 in Athens, and featured 280 participants from 12 nations, competing in 43 events. Since 1994, the Summer and Winter Olympic Games have been held separately and have alternated every two years. The 2022 Winter Olympics will be held from February 4 to February 20, 2022 in Beijing, China and feature figure skating, ice hockey, curling and more. WATCH: The Olympics Begin in Ancient Greece The first written records of the ancient Olympic Games date to 776 B.C., when a cook named Coroebus won the only event—a 192-meter footrace called the stade (the origin of the modern “stadium”)—to become the first Olympic champion. However, it is generally believed that the Games had been going on for many years by that time. Legend has it that Heracles (the Roman The ancient Olympics were held every four years between August 6 and September 19 during a religious festival honoring Zeus. The Games were named for their location at Olympia, a sacred site located near the western coast of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece. Their influence was so great that ancient historians began to measure tim...

The first Olympic Games had achieved major importance in Greece by the end of the 6th century BCE. They began to lose popularity when Greece was conquered by Rome in the 2nd century BCE, and the Games were officially abolished about 400 CE because of their pagan associations. The Olympics were revived in the late 19th century, with the first modern Games being held in Greece is 1896.

Who was Pierre de Coubertin? • Baron Pierre de Coubertin was the founder of the modern Olympic Games. Inspired by the ancient Olympic Games held in Olympia, Greece, which ended in 393 AD, Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin decided to pursue his project to revive the Olympic Games. A man who devoted his life to education, history and sociology, in 1894 he founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to help build a peaceful and better world by educating young people through sport. The first Olympic Games of the modern era were held in 1896 in Athens. Born in Paris in 1863, Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin, came from an aristocratic family. He was a very keen sportsman, who enjoyed boxing, fencing, horse-riding and rowing. He firmly believed that sport was the key to developing mental energy. He was behind the creation of the five-ring Olympic symbol in 1913, the Olympic Charter and protocol, the athletes’ oath and the main components of the Games opening and closing ceremonies. It was also he who said: “ The important thing in life is not the triumph but the fight; the essential thing is not to have won, but to have fought well.” Between 1896 and 1925, he was IOC President. He died in Geneva, Switzerland, on 2 September 1937. In accordance with his last wishes, his heart was laid to rest in Olympia, Greece, in the marble stele which commemorates the revival of the Olympic Games. Learn more: • Educational series: The modern Olympic Games, p. 4 • Pierre de Coubertin • What...