Olympic Games
The Olympic Games were named after the town of Olympia in Greece. The games were first held among the Greeks in Olympia long before the Christian era began. At first, contests included running and leaping, boxing and wrestling and throwing the discus and the javelin. Latter contests with horses were introduced. But in 394 A.D. the Roman emperor stopped the games. For over 1500 years no games were held again. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, a French man called Baron Pierre de Coubertin suggested that the ancient Olympic Games should be revived and that they would be held as a contest not among the Greeks but among the nations of the world. He hoped that athletes and sportsmen meeting every four years and competing with one another would make themselves friendly to one another. Though at first, his suggestions did not get a favourable response, they were ultimately accepted and the first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896 in Athens, the capital city because the original site at Olympia was no longer suitable. Nowadays the Olympic Games take place every four years and are participated in almost all the nations of the world. They cause great excitement all the world over. In fact, the Olympic Games give rise to a world festival and millions of people all over the world enjoy them on television.