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Origins

The origins of the Ancient Olympic Games are unknown, but legends and myths have survived. One myth about the festival at Olympia involved Pelops, king of Olympia and eponymous hero of the Peloponnesus, to whom offerings were made during the Games. The Christian writer Clement of Alexandria asserted, "[1] Olympian games are nothing else than the funeral sacrifices of Pelops." That myth tells of how Pelops overcame the king and won the hand of his daughter Hippodamia so that he could become king, with the help of Poseidon, his old lover. This is a myth linked to the later fall of the house of Atreus and the sufferings of Oedipus. Another myth tells of the hero Hercules, or Herakles, who won a race at Olympia and then decreed that the race should be re-enacted every four years. Yet another myth claims that Zeus initiated the festival after his defeat of his predecessor, the Titan Cronus. Some people state that the Greeks believed that the gods enjoyed watching sporting events. These games also served as a way to ready men for battle with skills like running, wrestling, throwing the javelin for accuracy, and throwing the discus for distance. Read full entry

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