Myths and Legends of the World

The Olympic Games are a celebration dedicated to Zeus, King of the Greek Gods. Zeus is the Lord of the Sky and Ruler of Mount Olympus and  the  gods and goddesses of the Olympian pantheon. Not an easy job for they were quite an unruly bunch! When the Olympians won the war against the ruling Titans, Zeus and his siblings wrested the throne from his father Cronus (Kronos) and the Olympian Age began. Zeus, God of the Sky: As Ruler of the Sky, the God Zeus is responsible for bringing (or not, if he so chose) rain, drought, and thunderstorms. No one dared challenge the authority of the mighty Zeus since he was prone to release his fearsome thunderbolts to express his displeasure . . . an awesome way to keep the peace and maintain order, but it worked for several centuries! The birth of Zeus was to be a fateful event . . . and it certainly was an unusual one! Sixth child of the ruling Titan Cronus and the Titaness Rhea, Zeus was the first to escape the fate of being ...

Olympia Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games, is in the western part of the Peloponnese which, according to Greek mythology, is the island of "Pelops", the founder of the Olympic Games. Imposing temples, votive buildings, elaborate shrines and ancient sporting facilities were combined in a site of unique natural and mystical beauty. Olympia functioned as a meeting place for worship and other religious and political practices as early as the 10th century B.C. The central part of Olympia was dominated by the majestic temple of Zeus, with the temple of Hera parallel to it.   The Games were usually held every four years, or  olympiad , as the unit of time came to be known. During a celebration of the Games, an Olympic Truce was enacted so that athletes could travel from their countries to the Games in safety. The prizes for the victors were wreaths of laurel leaves. The Games became a political tool used by city-states to assert dominance over their rivals...