The first Olympic Games were held ….

The Olympiad Games originated in 776 B.C in Olympia, a small town in Greece. Only Greek amateurs were allowed to participate in this festival in honour of the god Zeus. The event became a religious, patriotic, and athletic occasion where winners were honoured with wreaths and special privileges. There was a profound change in the nature of the Games under the Roman emperors. After they became professional circuses and Carnivals, they were banned in 394 A. D. by Emperor Theodosius. The modern Olympic Games began in Athens in 1896 as a result of the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a French educator whose desire was to promote international understanding through athletics.