Publisher's Synopsis
According to legend, the ancient Olympic Games were founded by Heracles (the Roman Hercules), a son of Zeus. The first Olympics were held in 776 BCE and continued to be played every four years for nearly 1200 years. In 393 CE, the Roman emperor Theodosius I, a Christian, abolished the Games because of their pagan influences. Approximately 1500 years later, a young Frenchmen named Pierre de Coubertin began their revival and the first modern day Olympics were held in Athens in 1896.
