When were the first Greek Olympic Games?
Evangelos Zappas
On 15 November 1859 the first Olympic Games was held, in a city square in central Athens. These athletic contests were the first Olympic Games of modern times with the provenance of ancient Greek roots and the intention of using an, as yet unready, ancient Greek stadium. That stadium, the Panathenaic Stadium, was first used for a modern Olympic Games in 1870 and for the first time since the ancient Panathenaic and Olympic Games. The athletes competed in a variety of disciplines, similar to that of the ancient Olympic Games: running, discus, javelin throwing, wrestling, jumping, and pole climbing.
Hippodrome of Olympia
Horse and chariot races were one of the most popular and spectacular sports of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece. The equestrian sports of the time were the tethrippon, the apene, the synoris, the tethrippon for foals, the synoris for foals, the perfect keles race, the kalpe and the pole horse race. According to mythology, the first chariot race took place in Olympia between King Pelops and King Oenomaos of Pisa. In the ancient Olympic Games the jockeys were not the owners of the horses. The owners of the horses were declared winners, they were awarded the wreath and enjoyed all the honors although they did not take part in the race. The jockeys won only a small portion from the glory of the winner, such as a wool band that the owner would tie on their head.