Initially, only freeborn male Greek citizens were allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. Married women were prohibited from attending the Games, and all women were barred from competition. During the early years of the Olympic Games, all the competitions were held in a single day. Later, the Games were spread over four days, with a fifth devoted to the closing ceremony, a banquet for the champions, and the presentation of prizes. In most events, the athletes competed in the nude. The ancient Greeks, especially the men, found no shame in being naked. After losing its independence to Rome in the second century BCE, Greece lost support for the competition the following century. But while the Romans detested the Games and thought it vile to go naked in public while competing, they acknowledged the political value such competitions possessed. And so, the Roman Emperor Augustus held contests for Greek athletes in a provisional stadium set up in Rome by the Circus Maximus. New athletic competitions were also set up in Italy and Greece. While the Greeks referred to the festivals as “contests,” the Romans called them games. The name change reflected changing attitudes concerning the festivals—the former were seen as competitions, and the latter as entertainment. The Greeks held Games for the competitors, but the Romans organized theirs for the public's pleasure. The Roman Emperor Theodosius I eventually outlawed the Olympic Games around 400 CE because he believed the Games were mere acts of paganism. Birth of Modern-Day Olympics Born in Paris on New Year's Day in 1863, Pierre de Coubertin is the most well-known founder of the modern Games. At the Congress of Paris in 1894, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was given command and development of the current Olympic Games, and de Coubertin was one of the original fourteen members of that committee. The IOC is in charge of upholding the customary celebration of the Olympic Games, ensuring that they are conducted in the spirit that led to their resuscitation, and encouraging the global growth of sports. In 1896, the first modern Olympics was hosted in Athens, Greece, where King Georgios the 1st welcomed 280 male competitors from twelve different nations. These athletes participated in forty-three activities, including track and field, gymnastics, swimming, wrestling, cycling, tennis, weightlifting, shooting, and fencing.
Panathenaic Stadium of Athens, Greece
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