Olympia is known as the birthplace of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece.
The sanctuary of Olympia stood in the western Peloponnese, in the region of Elis. Ancient competitions were held there in honour of Zeus, the chief god of Greek religion. Traditional ancient dates place the first recorded Olympic festival in 776 BCE, although athletic contests may have existed earlier.
The games were part of a wider religious festival and were held every four years. Athletes competed in events such as running, wrestling, boxing, pankration, horse racing, and the pentathlon. Competitors came from Greek communities across the Mediterranean, and a sacred truce was associated with travel to the festival.
The ancient games ended after the Roman emperor Theodosius I’s late-fourth-century policies against pagan cults. Archaeological excavations later revealed temples, sporting facilities, and statues at the site. The modern Olympic Games began in Athens in 1896, but the Olympic flame tradition is connected symbolically with ancient Olympia. Modern events are not a continuous competition from antiquity.