Many local festivals, including the Panathenaia in Athens, were modeled on these four games.Įach Panhellenic festival was marked by a truce, or ekecheiria, which literally means “holding of hands.” Inscribed on a bronze diskos displayed at Olympia, the truce not only allowed athletes and fans to travel safely, but also provided a common basis for peace among the Greeks. By the sixth century B.C., Panhellenic games-from pan (all) and hellenikos (Greek)-were also held at Delphi, Nemea, and Isthmia and attracted athletes from all over the Greek world. Surviving inscriptions and literary sources list the names of about eight hundred ancient Olympic champions the first recorded victor was Koroibos of Elis, who won the stadion (footrace) in 776 B.C. The ancient Olympic Games, held every four years at Olympia in honor of the god Zeus, were celebrated for over a millennium and serve as the inspiration for the modern competition.
