Olympic Games of Ancient Greece

The legends surrounding the beginning of the Olympic games are many, but it is generally believed that Heracles, the son of Zeus, founded the ancient Greek Olympic games. There is some evidence that the games had been going on for longer than we have written records for. The first records of the games at Olympia are from 776 BC.

The first Olympic games were not the games of today that represent a worldwide competition between the best athletes of the world. The ancient Olympic games were dedicated to the Gods and only involved Greek athletes. There are mythological origins of the games. One myth is that Pelops, the son of Tantalus (who defied the Gods), wanted to marry Hippodamia. Hippodamia was the daughter of Oenomaus, the king of Pisa. The king lusted after his own daughter and strived to kill all of her potential mates...
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