The Ancient Greeks
The Olympic Games
The Olympic Games can be traced back to as early as 776 BC by ancient records. They always took place in Olympia and representatives from each Greek city-state participated.
This event took place in honor of Zeus, the king of the Gods and God of the skies. This explains why it took place in Olympia because right at the heart of this city-state was the magnificent temple of Zeus.
These Games went on for almost twelve centuries. However, a while after the Romans took over and Christianity came into power, Emperor Theodosius banned them in 393 AD, proclaiming that it was a pagan event. The event did not take place for many centuries following until they were taken up again more recently.
If you want to know more about the Ancient Greek Olympics, please visit the following sites:
This site is the official Olympics website and gives a brief summary of the Ancient Greek Olympics. It also has a short video on the side.
This site also has a brief summary of the Ancient Greek Olympics and below it also has a brief description of some of the city states that participate.