After waiting for four long years the time for the winter Olympics has finally arrived again and is only a month away. For the fanatics out there many of you have probably arranged your tickets to Torino, Italy a long time ago but certainly those of you not fortunate enough to be able to travel there have been able to schedule some time of from work in order to stay home as much as possible to follow the Olympic games.

Not very many people knows how long the Olympics have actually been held or how and where it all started. Historians knowledge about the most ancient Olympics has long been lost but according to tradition the first recorded Olympics took place in 776 BC and took place in Greece. From this knowledge it is fair to assume that in the beginning there was no winter Olympics.

Basically there are two legends on how the Olympics got started, one which states these games were established by Heracles (Hercules) who brought a sacred olive tree to Olympia. The other legend myth has it that the hero Pelops started it all after defeating King Oenomaus in a chariot race. Regardless of the actual origin of the Olympics they became a central aspect of Greek culture very early on and were among the most important factor in uniting the Greeks.

Over time the site of Olympia became famous for its temples and monument especially the gold and ivory statue of Zeus, who sat upon his throne in the high temple which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Enough about the ancient Olympics and on to the actual birth of the modern Olympics. Do you know when this was?

The very first modern day Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece in 1896 and was much smaller than what the Olympics are today. The 1896 Olympics had about 245 athletes, who were all men, and they were from 14 nations. As you can see over the hundred+ years since the first Olympics the games have grown quite a bit. This was a little information about the very first modern Olympics which was a summer event.

Five years after the first Olympics in Athens the winter games were held in Sweden. It was not called the Olympics at this time but was called the Nordic games. All the athletes taking part in this first winter event were from Scandinavia. It took until 1924 before they (the Olympic committee) decided to actually call these games the winter Olympics. In 1924 the winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France

With this you may have gained some new knowledge about the Olympics that you did not already know. All the sports fans out there are now anxiously awaiting February when the games are to begin, may the best athlete win.