Olympics Did you Know ?

As the lighting of the Olympic cauldron and the Olympics opening ceremony on 27 July in London will mark the beginning of the Summer Olympics 2012,

London 2012 bring some interesting facts brings eight amazing facts you did not know about Olympic Games.

 

1. Olympic Games are thought to have originated from Ancient Greece when several competitions were held among various kingdoms.

However, the actual origin of Olympics is still a mystery. The most popular legend has it that Heracles, a hero of Greek and Roman mythology, first called the ancient Greek games Olympic and started the custom of holding them over a period of four years, known as Olympiad. Heracles, a son of the God Zeus, was one of the most famous heroes of ancient Greece, the strongest man in the world and a symbol of power, courage and superhuman strength.

2. Olympic Games in ancient Greece acted as peace buffers as it was during the games that participating cities would put their feuds and disputes or wars on hold until the games were over.

3. The ancient Olympic Games were first held in Olympia beginning in the eighth century BC (BC 776) until fourth century AD (394 AD) to honour the God Zeus.

4. Remains of ancient stadium and other sports architecture erected for the Olympic Games today form a part of the archaeological site of Olympia, in a valley in the Peloponnesus. The site was in World Heritage List in 1989.

5. The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896 with 14 participating countries, followed by 24 countries in the second Olympiad in Paris in 1900. Summer and Winter Olympic Games have been held separately since 1992, every two years, to promote summer and winter sports respectively.

6.  No Olympics took place  in 1916, during World War I, and in 1940 and 1944, during World War II, but the subsequent Olympiads have been numbered. The 2012 Summer Olympics in London is the 30th Olympiad of modern Olympics.

7. Olympics begin with lighting of the Olympic Flame at Olympia from where the flame, carried on Olympic Torch, is taken across the participating countries to the host country. The Olympics Flame is ignited by the reflection of sunlight through a parabolic mirror.

8. The tradition of relaying Olympic torchbearers to open the games was not a part of ancient Olympics in Greece. The Greek rather lit the fire for religious beliefs. The first modern Olympics Flame was lit in 1928 in Amsterdam.