Mondo Knows Facts
The ancient Olympics are traditionally dated to 776 BC
They were held at Olympia in Greece for about twelve centuries
The earliest recorded Olympic Games are traditionally dated to 776 BC at Olympia, in honour of Zeus. The first events were foot races, and the programme later grew to include wrestling, boxing, chariot racing and the pentathlon. The Games continued until the late fourth century AD.
Where this comes from
Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.
Go further
More facts like this
Michael Phelps has won 23 Olympic gold medalsNo other Olympian has won more golds or more medals overallA perfect 10 once broke the scoreboardNadia Comaneci's routine at the 1976 Olympics displayed as 1.00The Olympic rings stand for five continentsPierre de Coubertin introduced the symbol in 1913Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 OlympicsHe took the 100 m, 200 m, long jump and 4x100 m relay in BerlinThe marathon is 42.195 km because of a royal viewThe odd distance comes from the 1908 London Olympics courseAthenian forces defeated Persia at the Battle of MarathonA surprise Greek victory in 490 BCE halted the first Persian invasion of Greece
Tags: olympics, ancient, greece
The ancient Olympics are traditionally dated to 776 BC: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- They were held at Olympia in Greece for about twelve centuries. The figure is taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a sports fact?
- Yes. It sits on the Sports shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.