The Olympic Games
The Olympic Games
The Olympic Games have a long history. The first
recorded Olympic Games took place in 776 B.C. though their origin may
date back even earlier. Originally they began as a competition between
the different Greek States and the early Olympiads had only one event –
a simple race covering a distance of about 200 metres. Other sports
like boxing, chariot racing and pentathlon were added over a period of
time.
Around 100 B.C. Greece was conquered by Rome. The
Games lost their glamour under the Romans who did not encourage them
and in A.D. 394 the Roman Emperor ended the Olympic Games because of
the decline in the quality of the spectacle. No Olympic Games were held
for the next 1500 years.
The credit for beginning the modern Olympic Games
goes to a Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin. He had discovered the
ruins of the stadium at Olympia in Greece where the ancient games used
to be held. This find gave him the idea of the Modern Olympics. In
1894, he presented his idea at an international meeting on amateur
sports and the group voted to organize the games.
The International Olympic Committee was set up and
the first modern Olympic Games took place in Athens in 1896. Encouraged
by the success of these Games, de Coubertin felt that the Olympics
should be held in a different place each year. Since then, the Olympic
Games have been celebrated every four years except in 1916, when they
were cancelled because of World War I and in 1940 and 1944, when the
Second World War caused them to be cancelled.
The Olympics celebrate man’s physical prowess and
have come a long way since they first began. From a total of 311
athletes in 1896, today the Olympic Games have over 10,000
sportspersons participating from more than 200 countries.------Stories-----------
The One-Eyed Doe Fable
The Ox and the Frog
The Peacock and Juno Fable
The Serpent and the File Fable
The Shepherd's Boy FableThe Sick Lion Fable
The Sick Stag
The Stag at the Pool
The Swallow and the Other Birds Fable
The Thief and the House-Dog
The Tortoise and the Birds Fable
The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse Fable
The Tree and the Reed Fable
The Trees and the Axe
The Trumpeter Taken Prisoner Fable
The Two Crabs Fable
The Two Fellows and the Bear Fable
The Two Frogs
The Two Pots Fable
The Vain Jackdaw
The Vine and the Goat
The Wind and the Sun Fable
The Wolf and the Crane Fable
The Wolf and the Horse
The Wolf and the Kid Fable
The Wolf and the Lamb Fable
The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing Fable
The Woodman and the Serpent Fable
The Young Thief and His Mother Fable
The Dogs and the Hides
The Dove and the Crow
The Eagle and the Arrow Fable
The Fisher Fable
The Fisher and the Little Fish Fable
The Fisherman and the Little Fish
The Four Oxen and the Lion Fable
The Fox and the Cat Fable
The Fox and the Crow Fable
The Fox and the Goat Fable
The Fox and the Grapes Fable
