Title: The History of the Olympic Games | Scholastic
Headings: The History of the Olympic Games
The History of the Olympic Games
Compare the ancient Olympics to the modern games. Plus, learn how money, politics, and performance-enhancing drugs have become major influences, often causing controversy.
The Ancient Olympics
The Modern Olympics
Politics and the Olympics
Money and the Olympics
Performance-Enhancing Drugs

Content: many winners erected statues to deify themselves. In A.D. 394 the Games were officially ended by the Roman emperor Theodosius I, who felt that they had pagan connotations. The Modern Olympics
The revival of the Olympic Games in 1896, unlike the original Games, has a clear, concise history. Pierre de Coubertin (1863–1937), a young French nobleman, felt that he could institute an educational program in France that approximated the ancient Greek notion of a balanced development of mind and body. The Greeks themselves had tried to revive the Olympics by holding local athletic games in Athens during the 1800s, but without lasting success. It was Baron de Coubertin's determination and organizational genius, however, that gave impetus to the modern Olympic movement. In 1892 he addressed a meeting of the Union des Sports AthlÃ©tiques in Paris. Despite meager response he persisted, and an international sports congress eventually convened on June 16, 1894. With delegates from Belgium, England, France, Greece, Italy, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and the United States in attendance, he advocated the revival of the Olympic Games. He found ready and unanimous support from the nine countries.