Pindar, the Greek poet wrote in the 5th century BC:"As in the daytime there is no star in the sky warmer and brighter than the sun, likewise there is no competition greater than the Olympic Games.
According to historic records, the first ancient Olympic Games can be traced back to 776 BC. They were dedicated to the Olympian Gods and were staged on the ancient plains of Olympia. Initially they had a religious character and combined a number of ancient sporting events, many of which were based on ancient Greek myths.
The ancient Games actually occupied an important position in the life of the Greek ancestors. An Olympiad was a time unit, measuring the four-year interval between two Games. Participants came to compete from every corner of the Greek world aiming at the ultimate prize: an olive wreath and a "heroic" return to their city-states. But apart from the glorious victory, it was the Olympic values themselves which accorded special meaning to the Games: noble competition and the effort to combine body, will, and mind in a balanced whole.
As the Games developed, so did a set of procedures such as a standardized schedule of events and the practice of the Olympic Truce. They continued for nearly 12 centuries, until Emperor Theodosius decreed, in 393 AD, that all such 'pagan cults' be banned. He asserted that the Games placed an excessive public focus on athletic and spiritual affairs. The games was abolished until the 19th Century. Intellectuals such as Evangelos Zappas and Demetrios Vikelas who believed in the spirit of noble contests and the Olympic ideals, lent their voices and efforts to the revival of the Olympic Games.
However, it was French Baron Pierre de Coubertin who orchestrated the re-establishment of the Games, by advocating the marriage of sports and Greek classicism, leading the way to the first Modern Olympic Games in 1896.
The Greek public embraced the revival, and joined the efforts to organize the Games. Any financial difficulties faced by the Greek state at the time, were met through the mobilization of people and benefactors alike. The marble renovation of the ancient Panathinaikon Stadium that hosted the first modern Games was financed by George Averoff, a Greek benefactor from Northern Greece.
With the revival of the Olympic Games, a number of symbolic Olympic Traditions were also developed and established (i.e. the Olympic Anthem, the Olympic Creed, the Olympic Flag, the Olympic Flame and Torch).
Over the years, the Olympic Games traveled to different countries and continents, and now finally in 2004, they returned to the country of their birth and the city of their revival for the hosting of the XXVIII Modern Olympic Games.
公元前五世紀的希臘抒情詩人品達曾寫道：“正如在白天天空中沒有星星比太陽更溫暖，更明亮，同樣，沒有比奧運會更激烈的比賽。
據歷史記載，第壹屆古代奧運會可以追溯到公元前776年，為紀念奧林匹亞神在奧林匹亞的古代平原上舉行。起初他們信仰宗教並綜合了許多古代運動項目，其中很多都源於古希臘神話。
古代奧運會在古希臘人的生活中占據了很重要的地位。奧運會每四年舉行壹屆，來自希臘各地的參賽者參與角逐，目標就是最終獎賞：壹個橄欖花圈和“英雄”般的返鄉。除去勝利的光榮，奧林匹克價值本身賦予了奧運會特殊的意義：高尚競爭，把身體、意誌和精神平衡的結合於壹體。
隨著奧運會的發展，壹系列程序，如標準化的項目時間表和奧林匹克休戰的實踐也在完善。這樣持續了近 12個世紀，直到西奧多斯大帝在公元393年頒布法令，取締所有“異教徒”。他宣稱，奧運會使公眾過於註意運動及精神。 18世紀，奧運會被廢止。知識分子們，如塞帕斯和維克拉斯，堅信高尚比賽的精神和奧林匹克理想，為復興奧運會而努力奔波。
法國人顧拜旦通過提倡運動和希臘古典主義的結合，使奧運會復興起來，為1896年第壹屆現代奧運會的舉行鋪平了道路。
希臘民眾迎接了奧運會的復興，並努力組織起了這次奧運會。當時希臘政府所面臨的資金難題，都被人民和捐助者所解決。舉行第壹屆現代奧運會的古潘那斯那康體育場，其大理石更新便是由來自希臘北部的捐助者艾沃奧夫資助的。
隨著奧運會的復興，形成了很多具有象征意義的奧運會傳統，如奧林匹克 會歌、奧林匹克格言、奧林匹克旗、奧林匹克火焰和火炬。
經過許多年，奧運會旅行了許多不同的大陸和國家，今年，也就是2004年，她回到了自己的出生地，回到了當年復興的城市，舉行第 28屆現代奧運會。