The XXXII Summer Olympic Games from June 24 to August 9, 2020 will be held in the Japanese capital Tokyo. From August 25 to September 6, the Paralympic competitions will also be held there.
The 2020 Olympics will be Japan's fourth in history. Twice the country became the host of the Winter Games (Sapporo-74 and Nagano-98) and once held summer Olympics(Tokyo-64).
Who else claimed to host the 2020 Summer Olympics?
Official applications to host the Games were submitted before September 1, 2011. In the final, three cities fought for the right to host the 2020 Olympics: Madrid (Spain), Istanbul (Turkey) and Tokyo (Japan).
How many countries will participate in the 2020 Olympics?
About 203 countries and over 12,500 athletes from around the world are expected to participate in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
What is the logo for the 2020 Olympics?
On July 24, 2015, the official presentation of the emblems of the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games took place. Developed by Japanese designer Kenjiro Sano... For the Olympics, he chose the letter "T", composed of geometric shapes in black, red, gold and gray on a white background. The vertically placed equal sign became the logo of the Paralympics. However, a month later, it became known that the organizing committee of the Games decided to abandon the use of the logos designed by Sano, due to allegations of plagiarism. Belgian designer Olivier Deby immediately after the presentation of the emblems of the Games in Tokyo, he said that two years ago he came up with a very similar logo for the theater in the city of Liege.
2020 Olympics logo designed by Kenjiro Sano
Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Kenjiro Sano
Theater Liège logo designed by Olivier Déby
Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Olivier Debie
After the scandal, the image of a ring from a pattern became the new Olympic emblem chess board indigo. Each rectangle symbolizes different countries and culture, as well as the diversity of the world, united around sports. Logo author designer Asao Tokoro called his work "Harmonious Checkered Emblem".
The history of the Olympic Games is more than 2 thousand years old. They originated in Ancient Greece. At first, the games were part of the festivities in honor of the god Zeus. The first Olympiad was held in ancient greece... Once every four years, athletes flocked to the city of Olympia in the Peloponnese, a peninsula in the south of the country. There were only competitions in running at a distance of one stadium (from the Greek stage = 192 m). Gradually, the number of sports increased and the games became an important event for the entire Greek world. It was religious and sports festival, during which the obligatory "sacred peace" was declared and any military action was prohibited.
History of the first Olympiad
The truce period lasted a month and was called Ekeheiriya. It is believed that the first Olympiad took place in 776 BC. NS. But in 393 A.D. NS. Roman Emperor Theodosius I banned the Olympic Games. By that time, Greece was under the rule of Rome, and the Romans, having converted to Christianity, believed that the Olympic Games, with their worship of pagan gods and the cult of beauty, were incompatible with the Christian faith.
The Olympic Games were remembered at the end of the 19th century, after they began to carry out excavations in ancient Olympia and discovered the ruins of sports and temple structures. In 1894, at the International Sports Congress in Paris, the French public figure Baron Pierre de Coubertin (1863-1937) proposed to organize the Olympic Games on the model of the ancient ones. He also came up with the motto of the Olympians: "The main thing is not victory, but participation." De Coubertin wanted only male athletes to compete in these competitions, as in Ancient Greece, but women also participated in the second Games. Five multi-colored rings became the emblem of the Games; the colors were chosen that are most often found on the flags of various countries of the world.
The first modern Olympic Games took place in 1896 in Athens. In the XX century. the number of countries and athletes participating in these competitions grew steadily, and the number of Olympic species sports. Today it is already difficult to find a country that would not send at least one or two athletes to the Games. Since 1924, in addition to the Olympic Games, which take place in the summer, winter Games have also begun to be held, so that skiers, skaters and other athletes who are engaged in winter sports can compete. And since 1994, the Winter Olympic Games have not been held in the same year as the summer ones, but two years later.
Sometimes the Olympic Games are called the Olympics, which is wrong: the Olympics are the four-year period between successive Olympic Games. When, for example, they say that the 2008 Games are the 29th Olympiad, they mean that from 1896 to 2008 there were 29 periods of four years each. But there were only 26 Games: in 1916, 1940 and 1944. There were no Olympic Games - the world wars interfered.
Greece is truly Wonderland... There the wind plays in the olive groves, the waves gently caress the shores, and the generous sun allows nature to turn green and bloom even in winter. It seems that this fertile land is saturated with some kind of extraordinary ether that helps people create beauty and eternity. Greece, ancient Hellas gave the world so many great scientists, architects, poets, thinkers! There is nothing surprising, therefore, in the fact that it was there that the very first Olympics in the world took place.
Olympian gods and ancient Hellenes
Ancient Hellas was a pagan country. The people there worshiped various gods, the most powerful of which was Zeus. He and his "colleagues" in the heavenly pantheon lived on Mount Olympus and were called Olympians. The Greeks built temples for them, arranged ritual ceremonies and even sacrifices. Zeus was especially revered. At the time of the first Olympics, Hellas often fought. It was necessary to repel the attacks of the invaders, and to seize new lands ourselves. And internecine clashes constantly occurred, because Hellas was divided into dozens of regions. Each of them considered itself a small state with its own rules and ambitions. Physical strength, agility and endurance were highly valued among the people in those years, because without them it was difficult to survive in fights. Therefore, men were extremely proud of their muscular bodies and wore clothes that did not hide their biceps. In Hellas, there was even a certain cult of a strong and healthy body. It was the thirteenth century BC ...
How the Olympic Games were born
The history of the first Olympics is rich in myths and legends. The most popular of them is the pro and king Iphit. He was a brave Argonaut and a good king who wished his people prosperity. Around 885-884 BC, a plague swept across Hellas, claiming thousands of lives. And then there was endless civil strife. Ifit decided to go to Delphi to see the oracle. He wanted to know how to achieve peace in Hellas at least for a short time... The oracle advised to occupy the warlike Hellenes with competitions pleasing to the gods. During their holding, no one had to take up arms, and the competitions themselves had to be held honestly and openly. Ifit rushed to Sparta to the local king Lycurgus. The Spartans attached great importance to physical exercise, and Lycurgus, although he did not like Iphit, agreed to measure his strength. Having agreed, the two rulers drew up an agreement, the text of which was minted on an iron disk. This great event happened in 884 BC. It is a pity that Hercules subsequently threw such a good king off a cliff.
and Hercules
There is another myth about how the first Olympics originated. The year then was 1253 BC. Elis, a small region in the Peloponnese, was ruled by the treacherous and deceitful Augeas. He owned a huge herd, but never removed from his animals. Hercules was instructed to clear the stables of tons of dirt accumulated there in one day. He demanded part of the herd for this, and Augeas agreed. No one believed that Hercules would cope, but he could. To do this, he sent rivers to the stables, changing their channels. Augeas was pleased, but he did not give what he had promised. The hero left empty-handed and a desire for revenge. After a while, he returned to Elis and killed Avgius. To celebrate, Hercules made sacrifices to the gods, planted an olive grove and organized competitions in honor of the powerful Zeus. This was the first Olympics in Greece. There are other myths about this event, for example, that Olympias was arranged by Hercules in honor of his victory over Kronos, who swallowed his sons.
Olympia is the birthplace of the first Olympics
Olympia was designated as the venue for the Olympics. This is the territory in Elis, hundreds of kilometers from Mount Olympus. The legendary Altis olive grove with the altar of the mighty Zeus was located here. It was bordered by a wall and was considered sacred. Also, there was already a temple of Zeus, where rituals were carried out for hundreds of years. Later, by the fifty-second Olympiad, a new temple was founded. It provided training palaestra, gymnasiums, houses for guests and athletes, prototypes. Statues of the winners were also installed there. One of them was engraved with the date - 776. This is how scientists who unearthed Olympia in the 19th century established when the first Olympiad took place. The competition stadium was located at the foot of Mount Kronos. On its slopes, stands were set up that could accommodate up to 45 thousand spectators. Completed this grandiose complex in more than a hundred years, somewhere around 460 BC. The new temple stood safely for 8 centuries, and in 406 it was destroyed by Theodosius II, who hated everything pagan. Nature completed the defeat of Olympia, destroying everything that was still left, with two powerful earthquakes, and then flooding with an unprecedented flood of rivers.
The rules of the first Olympiads, still in force
Modern Olympiads are significantly different from those held over 3000 years ago. However, some of the rules have been preserved to this day. The main one is the honesty of the competition. Now athletes take an oath of allegiance Olympic traditions... Previously, there were no oaths, but if an athlete was caught in deception, he was expelled in disgrace, and copper was cast on the penalty money that he had to pay. Before the start of the competition, they were shown to the participants as a sign of edification. The second immutable rule is to hold the Olympics every four years. Then the Greeks introduced a special calendar called the Olympic year. It was exactly equal to the usual four. And one more important rule of the past and present Olympiads is to stop hostilities during their holding. Unfortunately, both when there was the first Olympics, and now they do not adhere to it at all. Otherwise, the first Olympics are very different from the current ones.
The rules of the first Olympiads, no longer existing
Now representatives of all countries and peoples can compete. When there was the first Olympiad, the rules forbade non-Greeks, the poor, and also slaves and women to participate in competitions. The latter did not even have the right to attend the competitions. Otherwise, they could be thrown off the cliff.
In the entire ancient history of the Olympics, only Ferenia was able to get there. She was her son's fist fighting coach. For the games, Ferenia dressed up in a man's suit. Her son won, and the woman betrayed herself in a surge of joy. She was not thrown off a cliff just because the people stood up. But since then, all the coaches of athletes, the so-called ellanodics, had to strip to the waist. An athlete who wished to participate in the competition reported this one year in advance. All this time, he trained intensively, passed the established standards, and if he passed, he trained for another month with a special trainer. Interestingly, there was no Olympic flame at the first Olympics, this "ancient" tradition was invented in the twentieth century. In Hellas, they carried out a torch race, but not in Olympia, but in Athens - on various holidays.
Types of competitions of the first Olympiads
The first Olympics in Greece took place in just one day and included a 192.14 meter run, the so-called one stage, equal to 600 feet of Zeus. According to legend, the distance was measured by Hercules himself. From the 14th Olympiad, they introduced races for 2 stages, and from the 15th - for endurance. The distance included from 7 to 24 stadia. From the 18th, wrestling and pentathlon (pentathlon), which consisted of wrestling, running, javelin throwing and discus, were included in the regulations. Athletes jumped in length from a place, holding cobblestones in their hands. They were thrown back as they landed. It was believed that this improves the result. The spear was thrown at the target, and the disc was thrown from a special platform. From the 23rd, fist fights appeared in the program, and from the 25th - chariot races. The 33rd Olympiad further expanded the program. Now the athletes competed in horse, foal and donkey races and mutilated themselves in pankration (something like our ultimate fights). In total, 293 Olympiads took place. Thanks to Theodosius II, they were forgotten, but in 1896 the Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin revived the glorious tradition.
How the Winter Olympics was born
The first Winter Olympics took place in France in 1924. Pierre de Coubertin wanted to include figure skating in the program of the first resumed Olympiad, but this happened only in 1908. Figure skating included 4 disciplines. V free program our Russian Panin-Kolomenkin won. This is how the history of the first Winter Olympics began. The IOC proposed to include a week in the program of the Olympic Games winter species sports. But the Swedes, who hosted the 5th Olympiad, refused, because they already had such competitions. They justified the refusal by the fact that there were no winter competitions in ancient Greece. The 6th Olympiad fell on 1916 and did not take place. At the 7th IOC included in the program figure skating and hockey. The year 1924 has come. The Olympics were hosted by the French, who did not mind winter sports. The competition aroused great interest, and the IOC finally approved the law on the Winter Olympics, and the last competition was awarded the status of "I Winter Olympic Games".
Further development of the Olympic movement
The first Winter Olympics had a fairly broad program. It included hockey, curling, figure skating, ice skating, bobsleigh, several types ski racing and ski jumping. Now the list of disciplines has been replenished with freestyle, luge and alpine skiing, skeleton, snowboarding and short track. At first, the winter competitions were held simultaneously with the summer ones, but later they were shifted by 2 years. The list of participating countries has also expanded significantly. Nowadays, not only are they competing northern peoples but also representatives of African countries. The popularity of the Olympic movement is growing every year. Now spend and regional Olympiads, and in 2015 the first European Olympic Games will be held in Baku.
Modern society is spoiled by a huge variety of available entertainment and therefore attractive. It is easily carried away by new fun and just as quickly loses interest in them in pursuit of new, still unusual toys. Therefore, those pleasures that have managed to hold the attention of the windy public for a long time can be considered truly strong attractions. A striking example is sport competitions of a different nature, from team games to doubles. And the title of the main "watchman" is rightfully borne by the Olympic Games. For several millennia, these multi-species competitions have attracted the attention of not only professional athletes, but also fans of all kinds sports directions, as well as just lovers of a colorful, memorable show.
Of course, the Olympic Games weren't always as expensive and high-tech performance as they are today. But they have always been spectacular and fascinating, starting from their very appearance in the days of Antiquity. Since then, the Olympic Games have been suspended several times, they have changed their format and set of competitions, and have been adapted for athletes with disabilities. And now to today a regular two-year organizational system was established. How long? History will show it. But now the whole world is looking forward to every new Olympic Games. Although few spectators, following the tense rivalry of their sports idols, guess how and why the Olympic Games appeared.
The origin of the Olympic Games
The cult of the body inherent in the ancient Greeks was the reason for the appearance of the first sports games on the territory of ancient city-states. But it was Olympia that gave the holiday its name, which has been entrenched for centuries. Beautiful and strong bodies were sung from the stage, immortalized in marble and adorned sports arenas... The oldest legend says that the Games were first mentioned by the Delphic oracle around the 9th century. BC e., than saved Elis and Sparta from civil strife. And already in 776 BC. the first pan-Greek Olympic Games were held, established by the god-like hero Hercules himself. It was a truly large-scale event: a holiday physical culture, religious worship and simply the affirmation of life.
Even the holy wars for the Hellenes were suspended for the duration of the Olympic Games. The seriousness of the event was arranged accordingly: the date of its holding was set by a special commission, which, through the ambassadors-spondophores, announced its decision to the inhabitants of all Greek city-states. After that their best athletes went to Olympia to train and polish their skills for a month under the guidance of experienced mentors. Then, for five days in a row, athletes competed in the following types of physical exercises: 
This set can be considered the first composition of the Olympic sports of the times of Antiquity. Their champions, the winners of the competition, received truly divine honors and up to next Games enjoyed special respect from their compatriots and, according to rumors, Zeus the Thunderer himself. At home, they were greeted with songs, sung in hymns and honored at banquets, making obligatory sacrifices on their behalf to the supreme gods. Their names became known to every Greek. But the competition was tough, the competition was serious, and the level physical fitness competitors - very high, so few people managed to keep the laurels of the winner and next year... The same unique heroes, who were three times the best of the best, were erected a monument in Olympia and equated with demigods.
A distinctive feature of the ancient Olympic Games was the participation in them not only of athletes, but also of artists. The ancient Greeks did not categorize human achievement at all and enjoyed life in all its manifestations. Therefore, the Olympic Games were accompanied by performances of poets, actors and musicians. Moreover, some of them did not refuse to show themselves in sports - for example, Pythagoras was a champion in fistfights. Artists sketched key events and images of athletes, spectators admired the combination of physical and spiritual beauty, enjoyed an abundance of delicious food and drinks. Similar to modern training, is not it? But the original Olympic Games were still far from the current level of organization. This is confirmed by the annoying cessation of their history, albeit temporary.
Banning the Olympic Games
So, cheerfully and amicably, in 1168 years exactly 293 ancient Olympiads were held. Until 394 A.D. Roman emperor Theodosius the first "Bolshoi" did not ban the Olympic Games by his decree. According to the Romans, who brought and imposed Christianity on the Greek lands, shameless and noisy sports competitions were the embodiment of a pagan, and therefore unacceptable, way of life. You could even say that they were right in their own way. After all, religious ceremonies in honor of the gods of Olympus were an integral part of the Games. Each athlete considered it his duty to spend several hours at the sacrificial altar, offering prayers and making sacrifices to divine patrons. Mass ceremonies were accompanied by the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games, as well as the awarding of the winners and their triumphant return home.
The Greeks even adjusted the chronology to hold their favorite sports, cultural and entertainment event, creating the so-called “ olympic calendar". According to him, the holiday was to be held in the "holy month", which begins on the first full moon after the summer solstice. The cycle was 1417 days, or Olympiad - that is, the ancient Greek “ olympic year". Of course, the warlike Romans were not going to put up with this state of affairs and free thinking in society. And although the Olympic Games still continued after Rome conquered the lands of Hellas, the pressure and oppression of Greek culture inevitably affected them, gradually leading to a complete decline.
A similar fate befell other, less significant, but similar in principle, sporting events. Their, starting from about the 6th century. BC. regularly held in honor of various gods and named after the venue: the Pythian Games, the Isthmian Games, the Nemean Games, etc. Mention of them along with the Olympic Games can be found in Herodotus, Plutarch, Lucian and some other ancient authors. But none of these competitions have gone down in history so firmly, have not influenced the development of European culture so strongly and have not been subsequently reinstated in rights as the Olympic Games.
Revival of the Olympic Games
Christian dogmas ruled over the European continent for more than one and a half thousand years, during which there was no question of holding the Olympic Games in their classical format. Even the Renaissance, which revived ancient values and cultural achievements, was powerless in this matter. And only at the end of the 19th century, that is, relatively recently, the restoration of the rights of the ancient Greek traditions of physical culture became possible. This event is associated with the name of Pierre de Coubertin. This 33-year-old French baron, who has succeeded in his pedagogical, literary career and social activities, considered regular sports competitions an excellent opportunity to strengthen mutual understanding around the world in general and raise the national consciousness of his compatriots in particular.
In June 1894, de Coubertin spoke at an international congress at the Sorbonne with a proposal to revive the Olympic Games. The proposal was received with enthusiasm, at the same time the International Olympic Committee was created, and de Coubertin himself was appointed general secretary. And already two years later, it took place for preparation, in 1896 in Athens, the capital of the cradle of the Olympic Games, the first modern Olympic Games were held. And with great success: 241 athletes from 14 countries of the world, and the leaders of these countries, and the flattered Greek government were very pleased sporting event... The IOC immediately established a rotation of venues for the Olympics and a 4-year gap between Games.
Therefore, the second and third Olympic Games were already held in the twentieth century, in 1900 and 1904, in Paris (France) and St. Louis (USA), respectively. Even then, their organization adhered to the Charter of the Olympic Games, approved by the International Sports Congress. Its main provisions remain unchanged today. In particular, those related to the ordinal numbering of the Games, their symbols, venue and some other technical and organizational issues. As for the Olympic sports, their list is not constant and changes from time to time, either including or excluding some individual items. But basically today these are 28 (41 disciplines) sports:
- Rowing
- Badminton
- Basketball
- Boxing
- Wrestling
- Freestyle wrestling
- Greco-Roman wrestling
- Cycling
- Track Cycling
- Mountain bike (Mountain bike)
- Road cycling
- Swimming
- Water polo
- Diving
- Synchronized swimming
- Volleyball
- Beach volleyball
- Handball
- Gymnastics
- Rhythmic gymnastics
- Trampoline jumping
- Golf
- Rowing and canoeing
- Rowing slalom
- Judo
- Dressage
- Show jumping
- Triathlon
- Athletics
- Table tennis
- Sailing
- Rugby
- Modern pentathlon
- Archery
- Tennis
- Triathlon
- Taekwondo
- Weightlifting
- Fencing
- Football
- Field hockey
By the way, modern pentathlon was created also on the initiative of de Coubertin. He also founded the tradition, later enshrined in the Olympic Charter, to hold demonstration competitions in 1-2 sports not recognized by the IOC. But the idea of the Baron to hold Art Contests at the Olympic Games did not take root. But the personalized Pierre de Coubertin Medal is still awarded by the International the Olympic Committee for “outstanding manifestations of the Olympic sports spirit”. This award is a special honor for the athlete, and many value it much higher than the Olympic gold medal.
By the way, Olympic medal was also born with the modern Olympic Games and can be considered the brainchild of de Coubertin's inexhaustible enthusiasm and ingenuity. After all, the ancient Greeks awarded their athletes not with medals at all, but with whatever other prizes they like: olive wreaths, gold coins and other jewelry. One of the kings even granted the victorious athlete his state. V modern world such waste is inconceivable, because all the principles of awarding and the system of awards of the Olympic Games since 1984 are clearly spelled out in the Olympic Charter.
Development of the Olympic Games. Paralympic and Winter Olympic Games.
The Olympic Charter is a kind of charter that contains the rules of the Olympic Games and the activities of the IOC, and also reflects the very concept and philosophy of the Olympics. At the beginning of its existence, it still allowed for corrections and amendments. In particular, since 1924, it also regulates the holding of the Winter Olympic Games, or the "White Olympics", conceived as an addition to the main summer games. The first Winter Olympics were held in Sweden and then regularly held in the same years as the Summer Olympics for nearly a century. And only in 1994 the tradition of separating summer and winter Olympics two years apart. Today the Olympic winter Games include the following 7 winter (15 disciplines) sports:
- Biathlon
- Curling
- Skating
- Figure skating
- Short track
- Skiing
- Ski nordic
- Ski race
- Ski jumping
- Snowboard
- Freestyle
- Bobsled
- Luge
- Skeleton
- Hockey
A little earlier, in 1960, the IOC decided to hold competitions for athletes with disabilities. They are called the Paralympic Games in connection with the generalized term for diseases of the spine. But later it was reformulated into the Paralympic Games and explained by "parallelism", equality with the Olympic Games, since athletes with other diseases also began to compete. By their example, they demonstrate the moral and physical strength necessary for a fulfilling life and sports victories.
Rules and traditions of the Olympic Games
The scale and significance of the Olympic Games has surrounded them with many traditions, nuances and social myths. Each regular competition is accompanied by close attention of the world community, the media and private fans. Over the years, the Games have indeed acquired many rituals, most of which are recorded in the Charter and are strictly observed by the IOC. Here are the most significant ones:
- Olympic Games Symbol- 5 multi-colored rings fastened together, placed in two rows, implies the union of the five parts of the world. In addition to him, there is the Olympic motto "Faster, higher, stronger!"
- Opening and closing of the Olympic Games- This is a grandiose performance, which has become a kind of tacit competition between the organizers in the scale and high cost of this action. They do not spare funds for staging these ceremonies, using expensive special effects, inviting the best screenwriters, artists and world celebrities. The inviting party makes great efforts to ensure the audience's interest.
- Financing of the Olympic Games- the responsibility of the organizing committee of the host country. Moreover, the proceeds from the broadcast of the Games and other marketing activities within their framework are transferred to the IOC.
- Country, or rather the city, the holding of the next Olympic Games is determined 7 years before their date. But even 10 years before the holding, candidate cities provide the IOC with applications and presentations with evidence of their advantages. Acceptance of applications lasts for a year, then, 8 years before the finalists are called, and only then the members of the IOC, by secret ballot, appoint a new host of the Olympics. All this time the world is in a tense expectation of a decision.
- Most Olympic Games were held in the USA - 8 Olympiads. France has hosted the Olympics 5 times, and Great Britain, Germany, Japan, Italy and Canada - 3 times each.
- Title of champion of the Olympic Games- the most honorable in the career of any athlete. Moreover, it is given forever, "the former Olympic champions" can not be.
- Olimpic village- This is the traditional habitat of delegations from each country participating in the Olympics. It is built by the organizing committee according to the requirements of the IOC and lodges there only athletes, coaches and service personnel. Thus, it turns out a whole town, with its own infrastructure, training grounds, post offices and even beauty salons.
Not every athlete could become a participant in the games. The law prohibited slaves and barbarians from performing at the Olympics, i.e. foreigners. Free-born Greek athletes had to sign up with the judges a year before the opening of the competition. Immediately before the opening of the Olympic Games, they had to provide evidence that they had been preparing for the competition for at least ten months, supporting sports uniform daily exercise... An exception was made only for the winners of the previous Olympic Games. The announcement of the upcoming Olympic Games caused an extraordinary stir among the male population throughout Greece. People were heading to Olympia in droves. True, women were forbidden to attend the games on pain of death.
Ancient Olympiad program
Gradually, more and more sports were added to the games program. In 724 BC. Diaul was added to the one-stage run (stadium) - running at a distance of 384.54 meters, in 720 BC. - dolichodrom or running in 24 stages. In 708 BC. the program of the Olympic Games included pentathlon, consisting of running, long jump, wrestling, discus and javelin throwing. At the same time, the first wrestling competitions were held. In 688 BC. fist fight entered the program of the Olympiad, after two more Olympiads - a chariot competition, and in 648 BC. - most cruel look competition - pankration, combining the techniques of wrestling and fist fighting.
The Olympic winners were worshiped as demigods. Throughout their lives, they were given all kinds of honors, and after the death of the Olympian they were ranked among the host of "minor gods".
After the adoption of Christianity, the Olympic Games began to be perceived as one of the manifestations of paganism, and in 394 BC. Emperor Theodosius I banned them.
Revived Olympic movement only at the end of the nineteenth century, thanks to the Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin. And, of course, the first revived Olympic Games took place on Greek soil - in Athens, in 1896.