The Story of The Olympic Games

Every four years, we have the festival of Olympic Games in which athletics, individual and team sports are played. Sportsmen and sportswomen feel honored  to take part in them. 
The Olympic Games took place in Greece from 776 BC to 393 AD. They took place as a religious festival at the stadium of Olympia to please the spirits of the dead. They began with with a race on foot and then other sports were introduced.
After the Roman  Empire Conquered Greece, The athletes became interested in  money, So the Emperor banned the competition. 
The stadium was destroyed in an earthquake and was covered with a landslide. In 1875, German archaeologists discovered its ruins. 
A french educator and thinker thought that athletics were important in forming a person's character and that international sports competitions would encourage world peace .
In 1896 the first modern Olympic Games were held in Greece for amateurs only. 
Success at the Olympics became a political question for some countries. Governments trained their athletes from a very early age. This meant that not all the competitors in the Games were amateurs any more. 
Competition led to the problem of drug abuse. Drugs were taken to improve the performance. so athletes were tested for drugs. Athletes were stripped of their medals for using drugs