If you're a fan of the Olympic Games, you may wonder how it all started. In ancient Olympia, Greece, the Olympic Games were held every four years. The first Olympic game was recorded in 776 B.C. almost 3,000 years ago.

At the time, this festival was a great gathering that took place in order to honor the Greek gods. Olympics were held during this festival period. Though multiple Gods were thought to be appeased by the festival, the most important among them was Zeus. It was thought that if the gods weren't pleased, children died, lands were conquered, crops didn't grow, and civilization couldn't flourish. The Greeks called their festival Olympiad.

In the first 13 Olympic Games, there was only one event that took place: the sprint. The sprint event was about 108 meters long at the time, and only the finest Greeks were allowed to compete. The games were allegedly suspended for some 9 centuries. Upon returning, the Pentathlon was added, and it had different events. There was the discus throw, javelin toss, jumping, running, and wrestling.

More Greeks were making the grade for the Olympics, and it became something to aspire to in the culture. Every young man wanted to make his family proud by pleasing the gods with a victory in one of the events. After a few more Olympics passed, they added Equestrian events that included chariot racing and horseback riding. The Ancient Olympics didn't come close to the level of events we see today, but their athletes were the finest that Greece had to offer.

Over the years, the idea of the Olympics spread to other regions like Rome, Egypt, Asia, Germany, etc, and eventually, every nation wished to showcase their talent and compete for pride and the International Olympic Committee was founded in 1894. Some of the Olympic Games are the oldest games on the planet. Though, obviously, most of the games we see today are relatively new.

The 5 rings we know as the Olympic symbol were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914, and debuted at the Games at Antwerp in 1920. Almost every nation in the world competes in the Olympics. We now have both winter and summer Olympics (held on the same year until 1992), youth Olympics, and Special Olympics.

The 2008 Olympics are to be held in Beijing China, which is the cause of some controversy due to the way the Chinese Government treats its citizens, and will feature 302 events in 28 sports. Women's Softball and Men's Baseball are being removed from the Olympics after this year.

Some speculate that they're being removed due to the fact that Team USA has dominated the sport in the few short years they've been part of the Olympic makeup, and the United States' war makes them a prime target for dismissal. Other games currently part of the Olympics include Archery, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Diving, Field Hockey, Gymnastics, Swimming, Shooting, Soccer, Taekwondo, Tennis, Triathlon, Wrestling, and more.

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