The Ancient Greek Olympics for Kids

The first Olympics games are usually given the start year of 776 BCE, but they probably began even sooner.  The ancient Greeks loved competitions of all sorts, especially sporting competitions. The Olympics were not the only competition games held in ancient Greece, but they were the most popular by far.

The Olympic competition was held once every four years for 1000 years! The games were held in honor of the mighty god, Zeus, king of all the gods. The games were held in the city-state of Olympia. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Athletes came to compete in the Olympics from all over ancient Greece, and around the Mediterranean where the Greeks had established outposts and colonies. The only requirements were that the athlete was Greek, male, and naked when competing.

At first, the games were made up of foot races. But other sports were gradually added. Besides the foot races, there were boxing and wrestling matches, discus and javelin throwing, and chariot races. Other sports over time were added as well.

The Greeks took the Olympic games quite seriously. Nearly all the ancient Greek cities sent teams to participate in the ancient Greek Olympics. If two or more Greek city-states happen to be at war with each other when the game date arrived, war was halted for the duration of the games.

Women were not allowed to attend the games because men did not wear clothes when they competed in the events, but they could visit Olympia and shop in the markets and see the sights. It was quite a site, too. Flags flew. People were everywhere. And everywhere, there was excitement.

 There was a winner of each competition at the games. Everyone wanted their city-state to win! All the winner won at the games was a crown made of leaves to wear on his head, but it was the honor of winning that was so important, and of course, the bragging rights. Since the games were only played once every four years, winners could brag for four years by winning just once! When the winning athletics returned home to their city-state, they were treated like superstars whether they won or lost! Competing in the Olympics was a very big deal, just as it is today!

How did the Olympic Games begin? (According to myth, it was Hercules who had the idea of the Olympic Games, and making them special by having them occur only once every four years.)

Story of the Olympic Games (British Museum)

A Humorous Look at Five Ancient Greek City-States Contestants as they prepare to represent their city-state at the ancient Greek Olympic Games - Athens, Sparta, Megara, Corinth, Argos (scroll down to find your city-state)

The Origins of the Olympics (Ted-Ed, animated, video)

Ancient Olympic Games - compare and contrast, interactive worksheet

Ancient Olympics compared to Modern Olympics - and more

The Real Story of the Ancient Olympic Games

QUIZ: Ancient Greek Olympics (Interactive with answers)