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Ancient Greek Olympic Sports With the almost complete abandonment of classical studies in the later half of the 20th century, most educated individuals know next to nothing about the Ancient Greeks. One exception to this general ignorance, however, is the near universal knowledge (probably due to the publicity of the modern Olympics) that the Ancient Greeks had a powerful love of competition and sport. The Ancient Olympic Games are traditionally dated to 776 B.C.E.; …

…Many times the athletes were slaves or gladiators. Higher class Romans were unwilling to display themselves in public athletic competition. The Olympic Games went on every fourth year for another few centuries. In 312 C.E., the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great accepted Christianity and declared it the faith of the Roman Empire. In 391 C.E., the Emperor Theodosius I banned all pre-Christian cults, thus ending a tradition that had lasted for almost 1,200 years. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**