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Olympia
The ancient Greeks were architectural innovators. The temple of Zeus, designed by the architect Libon, was one of the largest Doric temples built in Greece. Libon tried to build the temple in an ideal system of proportions, so that the distance between the columns was harmoniously proportional to their height, along with the other architectural elements, which were also sized proportionately. The Greek city-states began to establish colonies from the mid-8th century on. After the 2nd century A.D., the Roman empire brought even more competitors to the Olympic Games, but regional differences always gave the Olympics an international flavor. The ancient Olympics were rather different from the modern Games. There were fewer events, and only free men who spoke Greek could compete. The games were always held at Olympia instead of moving around to different sites each time.
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The
ancient Olympic Games began in the year 776 BC, when Koroibos, a
cook from the nearby city of Elis, won the stadion race, a foot race
of 600 feet. Although the ancient Games were staged in Olympia,
since 776 BC through 393 AD, it took 1503 years for the Olympics to
be established. 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. The first
modern Olympics were held in Athens, and shall be held there again
in 2004.
The
ancient Olympic Games, part of a major religious festival honoring
Zeus, the chief Greek God, were the biggest event. They were the
scene of political rivalries between people from different parts of
the Greek world, and the site of controversies, boasts, public
announcements and humiliations. 
The
Greeks referred to the Sanctuary of Zeus as the Altis. The name
Altis came from a corruption of the Elean word for grove, “alsos”.
Sanctuaries were centers of religious worship where the Greeks built
temples, treasuries, altars, statues, and other structures. The
crowns made of olive leaves came from a wild olive tree in the
Altis, which was called the olive of the Beautiful Crown. Olive
trees, which supplied the Greeks with olive oil, olives, and a base
for perfumes, were an important resource in the rocky and dry Greek
environment. A Greek legend credited the hero Herakles (Hercules)
for introducing the olive tree to Greece.- RAM UNIVERSAL STUDIOS -