The very term, the Olympic Games generates a spirit of competition and the desire to do your very best. That desire to succeed comes from Mt. Olympus, the revered home of Zeus, the head of the Greek Gods. The Olympics began as a tribute to Zeus with a few contests and a few participants. It continued to grow on the peninsula of Greece and gradually expanded to countries across the Mediterranean Sea. The Games continued well into the Roman era. In the 300s AD, the Roman Emperor Theodosius I was supposed to have banned the Olympics because the Games were a pagan festival and the Roman Empire was embracing Christianity. The Games were brought back in 1896 under the assistance of Pierre De Courbertin who helped establish and finance the effort. The Games are played every four years in cities around the world. Various sports have been added and deleted over the years. Come and hear the stories of the beginning of the Games and the modern renovation beginning in 1896 up through the Games in Rome in 1960. The stories are amazing.
