Event

Ancient Olympic Games

776 BCE–4th century CE · 4th century BCE

The ancient Olympic Games were a religious and athletic festival held every four years at Olympia in honour of Zeus, traditionally from 776 BCE. Free Greek men competed in running, wrestling, boxing, the pentathlon and chariot races, and a sacred truce protected travellers to the festival. Elis organised the games through its officials, the Hellanodikai, and they continued under Roman rule until the late 4th century CE.

Ancient Olympic Games
Image: Bgabel · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Elis

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ancient Olympic Games. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ancient-olympic-games
MLA
“Ancient Olympic Games.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ancient-olympic-games. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Ancient Olympic Games.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ancient-olympic-games.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ancient Olympic Games’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ancient-olympic-games (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻