© Getty Images

The first Olympic Games took place in 776 BCE -

The original Olympics began as part of an Ancient Greek festival celebrating Zeus, the God of the sky and thunder. The competition lasted for six months and included games like wrestling, javelin, discus, and chariot racing.

© Getty Images

A Roman ruler canceled the games -

In 393 CE, Emperor Theodosius I banned the Olympics as he considered it to be a pagan festival, which had no place in his Christian empire.

© Getty Images

The Olympic comeback -

The Olympics only came back in 1893, when a French Baron, Pierre de Coubertin, started a revival of the games. He became known as the father of the modern Olympic Games. 

© Getty Images

The symbol of the fire -

Fire is significant in Greek mythology due to Hestia, the Goddess of the hearth. Sacred flames were often kept lit throughout the Ancient Games in temples like Olympia.

© Getty Images

The Olympics are proud of their Greek heritage -

The Olympic torch is lit in an ancient ceremony at the temple of Hera, in Greece. Actresses, wearing costumes of Greek priestesses, use a parabolic mirror and sun rays to kindle the torch.

© Getty Images

The torch relay was invented in Nazi Germany -

The tradition of moving the Olympic flame from country to country until it reaches the host nation was invented by German Olympian Carl Diem for the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. The Nazis used the torch relay and the games as propaganda, with filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl creating the film 'Olympia' (1936).

© Getty Images

The first Summer Olympics had just 14 participating countries -

Teams from 11 European countries originally joined those of Australia, Chile, and the US at the first host city, Athens. Now, 206 countries compete in the Olympics. 

© Getty Images

The Olympic Games used to be long by today’s standards. -

Although the formal opening ceremony of the 1908 Olympics in London wasn't until July 13, the Games opened on April 27 with the racquet competition and ended on October 31 with the field hockey final. The 1900 Paris Games, the 1904 St. Louis Games, and the 1920 Antwerp Games all spanned more than five months.

© Getty Images

Olympic sports have changed quite a bit -

Many sports, like hot air ballooning, rope climbing, and tug of war, were once part of the Olympics but have since been removed. 

© Getty Images

The design of the Olympic symbol -

Designed by de Coubertin, the five colors (along with the white backdrop) reflect colors found on the flags of all participating nations. The overlaps also represent international cooperation and participating countries coming together.

© Getty Images

Artists used to compete in the Olympics -

Between 1921 and 1948, painters, sculptors, architects, writers, and musicians competed in the Olympic Games by making works of art. These pieces typically included athletes and Olympic sports as their subjects.

© Getty Images

Gold, silver, and bronze -

The traditional awarding of gold, silver, and bronze medals to the top three athletes began in 1904.

© Getty Images

Olympic champions last received solid gold medals in 1912 -

Until 1912, first-place Olympic medals were made of solid gold!

© Getty Images

Gold medals today -

Modern Olympic gold medals are gold-plated and primarily comprised of 93% silver. 

© Getty Images

Women couldn't always compete -

Women have been allowed to compete in the Olympics since 1900, though many events didn't permit women to compete until several years later.

© Getty Images

The first Olympian to fail a drug test -

Olympic drug testing debuted in 1968, and Swedish pentathlete Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall was the first to test positive for a banned substance. His drug? Two beers he had to calm his nerves before the pistol shooting event. The Swedish team eventually had to return their bronze medals.

© Public Domain

Figure skating was once part of the Summer Olympics -

Before the advent of the Winter Olympics in 1924, figure skating was part of the program of the 1908 and 1920 Summer Olympics. Ice hockey also made its Olympic debut at the 1920 Summer Games.

© Getty Images

A gymnast with a wooden leg won six medals -

In the 1904 St. Louis Games, American gymnast George Eyser competed with a wooden prosthesis for a left leg, having lost his leg after being run over by a train. He won gold in the parallel bar, long horse, and rope climbing, and won silver in the side horse and all-around competitions. He also won bronze on the horizontal bar.

© Public Domain

America's first female Olympic champion had no idea she was even competing -

While studying art in Paris in 1900, 22-year-old Margaret Abbott saw an advertisement for a golf tournament and decided to enter. After shooting a 47 on the nine-hole course, she won. Unbeknownst, she had entered the poorly organized Paris Games, and became the first American woman to win an Olympic event.

© Public Domain

The equestrian events at the 1956 Melbourne Games were held on the other side of the world -

While most of the athletes traveled down under for the 1956 Olympics, the horses and riders in the equestrian events didn't. Due to Australia's strict quarantine rules for animals entering the country, the equestrian competitions were moved to Stockholm, Sweden, and held five months before the rest of the Games. 

© Getty Images

A symbol of friendship -

During the 1936 Berlin Games, Japanese pole-vaulters Sueo Ōe (left) and Shuhei Nishida tied for second place. Instead of competing again, they cut the silver and bronze medals in half and fused the two different halves together. 

© Public Domain

Winners' names are engraved on the stadium walls -

Medal winners aren't only inducted into their nation's history and Olympic history, they are also honored at the Olympic stadium of that year's tournament. 

© Getty Images

A shoeless marathon -

In 1960, Ethiopian Abebe Bikila won the Olympic marathon at the Rome Olympics. Amazingly, he did it without the benefit of footwear. Bikila also became the first African in history to win a gold medal.

© Getty Images

Asia wasn't represented at the Olympics until 1912 -

Japan was the first Asian country to participate in the Olympic Games when it competed for the first time in the 1912 Stockholm Games.

© Getty Images

The Olympics has official languages -

English and French are considered the official languages of the Olympic Games, as is the language of the country hosting the Games.

© Getty Images

A historical moment for equality -

The 2012 London Games were the first Olympics in which all participating countries sent female athletes. 

© Getty Images

Host cities -

The Games of the Olympiad have been hosted in 23 cities and 20 countries. 

© Getty Images

South America didn't host the Olympic Games until 2016 -

The Olympics were held in South America for the first time in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

© Getty Images

Only five countries have competed in every single Olympic Summer Games -

These diehard countries are Greece, Switzerland, Great Britain, Australia, and France. 

© Getty Images

It won't be Paris' first time -

Paris will join London as the only cities to host the Olympics three times. The Games were held in Paris in 1900, 1924, and now in 2024, while London hosted in 1908, 1948, and 2012.

Sources: (History) (National Geographic) (Country Living) (Olympics) 

See also: Major scandals in Olympic history

© Getty Images