2004 Olympic Games emblem
'The games were banned in 394AD by the Roman emperor Theodosius, who associated them with paganism.'

By Andrew Chapman

The Athens 2004 Olympic Games are almost upon us, starting on 13 August. Follow the flame as surefish offers a potted history of the games through some of the landmark events down the centuries!

Prehistory
Even before the Olympic Games began, athletic events were popular across the ancient world: evidence from Egypt and Mesopotamia dates back to 3000BC; wrestling, bull-leaping and boxing are depicted on a Cretan relief dated around 1600BC; and in Greece itself, Homer described numerous athletic activities, including the Phaeacian games in the Odyssey.

776BC
This is the date of the first written account of the Olympic Games at Olympia. The 'stadion' foot race was the only recorded event then, but numerous other sports were added over time. Numerous accounts of the period survive.

394AD
Having persisted every four years for at least 12 centuries, the games were banned in 394AD by the Roman emperor Theodosius, who associated them with paganism. An outline of fourth century history gives some of the context.

1838AD
The Greek municipality of Letrini planned to revive the games in the town of Pyrgos, although no evidence remains that this actually happened.

1859
Wealthy Greek landowner Evangelos Zappas succeeded in reviving the games in Greece, with a mixture of athletics and agricultural and industrial competitions. These 'Zappian Games' were held four times, in 1859, 1870, 1875 and 1889.

1896
The first of the modern, revived Olympic Games as we know them was held in Athens in 1896, with 14 nations participating in nine different sports. They were founded by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, an educationalist who wanted to foster international relations. They were successful, although games of 1900 and 1904 were sidelined by other events. The 1906 Olympics saw the importance of the event properly established.

Recent times
Since 1908, the Olympic Games have been held every four years, with exceptions only during the two world wars. Here are a few notable dates:

• 1924: the first Winter Olympic Games were held

• 1936: the Nazi party used the games for propaganda purposes, especially through its film Olympia

• 1972: the year of the Munich Massacre, when Palestinian terrorists abducted the Israeli wrestling team

• 1976: various African nations boycotted the games in protest at New Zealand's rugby tour of South Africa

• 1980: the US and numerous other nations boycotted the games because of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan

• 1984: the Eastern Bloc retaliated by boycotting these games in Los Angeles.

London, Madrid, Moscow, New York and Paris are currently competing to host the 2012 games.