The Olympic Games started on 776 BC in Olympia, ancient Greece, and  lasted for more than a thousand years. However, the religious ceremony that originated the Games is even older and might be from the 13th century BC.

As well as the Modern Olympics, the Games were held from 4 to 4 years. But, different from the Modern Games, they always happened in Olympia, there were less sports and only Greek language speaking men could compete. 

Olympia attracted men (women were forbidden in the city) from all the Greek World. We don't how many people went to Olympia to watch the Games, but the Olympic Stadium  had the estimated capacity between 45,000 and 50,000 spectators. The athletes arrived at Olympia one month before the official start of the Games and spent this month doing moral, physical and spiritual training under the judges supervision. 

The reason the females presence was forbidden in Olympia didn't have any relation to the fact that the men competed naked, but it was because the city was dedicated to Zeus and was a sacred place for males. In the chariots competitions, held outside the sacred area of the city, women presence were allowed. There was also female festivals, where males were banned, and the most famous was Heraean, in Argos, that also included javelin throwing competition.

Running was the only sport in the first 13 Olympics. The race length was one "stadia", about 85 meters. Later longer races were included like the "diaulos" (365 meters) and the "dolichos" (24 "stadias" or 2 km). In 708 BC, pentathlon and wrestling were included, in 688 BC the boxing, and in 680 BC the chariots racing. 

The winners prize was a simple crown made by olive branch. However, the winners turned into celebrities and often had benefices like free food for the rest of the life and the reservation for the theaters first accent.

With the Roman domination over the Greeks, the Games gradually lost its identity. During the Emperor Nero ages, in the place of free citizens, slaves competed for their lives fighting against wild animals. In 393 AC, the glorious Games were abolished by the Emperor Theodosios I.

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