The Secret Religious History of the Olympics

The 2024 Olympic Games are upon us! But how much do you know about the Olympics, really?

You probably know that the Olympics derive from Ancient Greece, and that the modern games look a lot different from their millennia-old counterparts.

The modern Olympic Games are a global spectacle, featuring the world’s greatest athletes fighting for personal and national glory before the eyes of millions watching around the world.

Related: Did the Olympics Opening Ceremony Mock Christianity?

But did you know that the original games were actually one big religious ceremony, with each astounding athletic feat a tribute in and of itself to Zeus and other Greek gods?

This is the secret religious history of the Olympic Games.

An Ancient Ceremony for the Gods

The Olympic Games were held in the ancient Greek city of Olympia from the 8th century BCE to the 4th century AD. Local city-states would send their greatest athletes to compete in a series of athletic games all in honor of Zeus, the king of the gods who resided in Mount Olympus. 

Now, you might be picturing an event where homage is paid to the gods to begin the festivities – similar to how we sing the national anthem before baseball games today.

But to the ancient Greeks, everything about the games were meant to honor Zeus and the other gods: from the camaraderie, to the athleticism, to the location of the games themselves in a holy sanctuary all Greeks were welcome to worship at, regardless of their home city-state.

Winners of the games were crowned with olive tree wreaths that were cut directly from the sacred olive tree of Zeus (which also doubled as the finish line for races).

To watch the games, let alone compete in them, was a deeply spiritual experience.

“At its heart, the Ancient Olympic Games was a religious festival held in a religious sanctuary,” explains Paul Christesen, professor of Ancient Greek History at Dartmouth College.

What Happened to the Ancient Olympics?

For much of the original Olympic Games’ run, they were an immensely popular fixture of Greek life and culture.

Though it’s unclear why the games stopped in the late 4th century, historians believe a variety of factors contributed, including flood and earthquake damage to Olympia’s interior, as well as invasions from barbarians.

The last confirmed Games in the archeological record were held under Theodosius I in 393, and some historians believe that he banned the games after, banishing what he believed to be a pagan ritual as the Roman Empire shifted away from the ancient faiths and towards Christianity and Theodosius I himself sought to purge any and all pagan influence from Greco-Roman culture and life.

The Modern Games Are Born

We don’t often associate faith with the modern Olympic Games, but even those have their roots in religion.

In 1894, Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee, and two years later, in 1896, the first modern version of the Olympic Games was held in Athens. Coubertin, a French intellectual born of an aristocratic family, was inspired by his own strict Jesuit upbringing when initially seeking to revive the Olympic Games, believing that a global test of strength and skill would build unity and peace in a distraught world.

Coubertin also found inspiration in one of his heroes: Thomas Arnold, a deacon who taught of “muscular Christianity,” or the sentiment that strong faith and strong bodies creates strong men. Coubertin thought that the bodies of Olympians "would embody a personal kind of sacred temple ... he would be his own representation of the sacred body of followers," according to Olympic scholar Anthony Moretti. Armed with faith in God and man, Coubertin was successful in reviving the Olympic Games.

Olympics Religious Elements

What originated in the ancient world as a sacred athletic tribute to mythological gods was revived centuries later by individuals guided by a different type of faith, but who nonetheless saw overlap in athletic competition and spirituality, believing that a global spirit of competition could bring together the world. 

Indeed, one can see elements of religious ritual in these modern traditions, including the carrying and lighting of a sacred flame, the raising of a flag, and the singing of an anthem in the opening ceremony – which was originally called the Olympic Hymn.

Now the world turns its eyes to Paris, where over a billion people around the globe are expected to watch the 2024 Olympic Games.

How many of those viewers will know that they're witnessing the modern version of an ancient religious festival?