
Here’s Why The Olympic Games Were Banned For 1,500 Years
The modern quadrennial Olympic Games are an occasion for countries to compete for gold medals and bragging rights while they showcase their best athletes in a competition that’s as much about bringing the world together as it is countries attempting to dominate each other athletically. The world watches the events from the comfort of their living room, and there are plenty of betting options for the compulsive gamblers in your life. But these modern games are the second iteration of the Olympics, having first begun in April of 1896, according to History. The tradition itself is much older.
The first record of the games comes from around 776 BCE, long before television, in a time when the Ancient Greek belief in their pantheon of gods was still alive and well. Some scholars believe the games were around for at least 500 years before then. Every four years, the Olympic Games would be held during a festival to honor the father of fathers, king of the gods, the lightning bolt slinger himself, Zeus. Foot races, boxing, wrestling, and chariot competitions were the forerunners of the Olympic games we have now, but there was a period between the old and the new when the Olympics were believed to have been banned. A period of about 1,500 years. Here’s why.
A pagan tradition denounced by Christianity
As Greece’s glory waned coming up to year zero, the Roman Empire was on the rise. The history books will show you that the two cultures had a lot of crossover due mainly to being a short skip across the Ionian Sea from each other. Their religious traditions were echoes of each other, including the adoption of the Olympic Games during what’s known as the Roman Period, but that only lasted until Christianity came into the mix.
The Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology & the Ancient World at Brown University details how the Roman empire killed the Olympics with edicts banning all pagan religions, festivals, and sacrifices under emperor Theodosius I in 393 CE. It’s hard to know the real motives behind such a move; religion has been used as a political tool more than once, and this is especially true of Rome’s use of Christianity. It’s believed by many that Theodosius I banned the games to promote the fairly new Roman religion, which makes sense, but there’s no way to know if he did so because he was a pious man or if banning the games was a move meant to breed conformity in Roman society. A society that thinks the same and believes the same things would surely be more orderly than a society that clashes about old gods and the new. That is, if Theodosius I actually banned the games at all.
The games likely survived Theodosius I's reign
The study of history is all about piecing bits of recorded information together with fragments of physical evidence before making big guesses to fill in the gaps. Many sources will tell you Theodosius I and Christianity caused a 1,500-year gap in the Olympic traditions, but historians have found evidence to suggest the games lived until at least the mid-fifth century. This may be a small extension in the games’ lifespan, but it’s an important one that clears Theodosius I of blame.
According to The Conversation, there’s no specific mention of canceling the Olympics in Theodosius I’s edicts; rather, they call for the end of sacrifices during the events. In fact, there are references by Theodosius I’s court poet that mention games taking place after the emperor’s death. Another piece of literary evidence has been found, written by an anonymous source, stating that the games were ended during the mid-fifth century under the reign of Theodosius I’s grandson, Theodosius II. Leontios, a Christian senator of Rome, corroborates this evidence further by bidding to run his own Olympic Games around the same time, something that no sane person would do if the event had been outlawed by the emperor.
If this new evidence is to be believed, it’s likely the Olympic Games ended in an even more shocking scenario for a tradition that was over 1,000 years old: It fizzled out.
59 thoughts on “Here’s Why The Olympic Games Were Banned For 1,500 Years”
Leave a Reply

The Untold Truth Of The Book Of Psalms

The Horrible Medieval Weapon That Was Used To Torture Wives

Why Women Were Once Banned From Playing Soccer

The Truth About Caitlyn Jenner's Car Racing Career

Details You Didn't Notice In The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl LV Ring

The Hard Truth About Being An Olympian

The Tragic Death Of Anne Frank

A Look At Lewis And Clark's Surprising Arsenal

The Real Reason Michael Jordan Didn't Want To Sign With Nike

Who Trained Bruce Lee?
order tricor online cheap buy tricor 200mg fenofibrate 160mg brand
buy cialis 5mg without prescription cialis 20mg cost buy generic viagra 50mg
buy ketotifen 1 mg generic order imipramine for sale buy tofranil online
mintop online generic tamsulosin 0.2mg best ed drugs
acarbose 25mg pills buy griseofulvin 250mg online fulvicin 250 mg cheap
aspirin oral order aspirin 75 mg online zovirax order
dipyridamole cost generic pravachol pravachol 20mg cost
meloset pill meloset uk order generic danocrine 100mg
buy generic dydrogesterone buy duphaston 10mg where to buy jardiance without a prescription
florinef usa order bisacodyl 5mg generic loperamide 2mg sale
buy cheap generic monograph mebeverine 135 mg drug generic pletal 100 mg
purchase prasugrel detrol 1mg canada cost tolterodine
ferrous sulfate cheap purchase sotalol for sale betapace 40 mg generic
mestinon generic purchase feldene online cheap where can i buy rizatriptan
order vasotec 5mg pills order bicalutamide lactulose bottless
buy generic xalatan buy generic zovirax rivastigmine 6mg canada
oral premarin 0.625mg premarin 0.625mg uk order viagra 50mg for sale
order prilosec 10mg online montelukast 10mg oral metoprolol 50mg drug
purchase micardis purchase movfor pills buy molnupiravir 200 mg
cialis online canada cialis 20mg brand buy sildenafil 50mg online cheap
buy generic cenforce online buy cheap generic naproxen aralen 250mg us
modafinil 200mg pills prednisone order online prednisone 10mg drug
buy pepcid cheap tacrolimus usa prograf 5mg price
azelastine 10ml us order astelin 10ml without prescription irbesartan over the counter
order esomeprazole pill order mirtazapine for sale purchase topiramate generic
order allopurinol for sale order allopurinol 300mg sale order rosuvastatin online
sumatriptan 50mg us avodart online order buy generic dutasteride
brand zantac where to buy mobic without a prescription celecoxib 200mg canada
purchase buspin sale order buspar pill amiodarone 200mg pill
buy domperidone generic cheap domperidone brand sumycin
flomax buy online brand tamsulosin order simvastatin 10mg
spironolactone cheap order valtrex pill propecia over the counter
custom research paper writing my future essay writing write research paper
how to buy fluconazole buy generic ampicillin 500mg purchase cipro pill
sildenafil cheap buy estrace without prescription estradiol for sale
flagyl for sale buy bactrim 960mg without prescription cephalexin order
lamictal 50mg brand minipress 2mg generic nemazole pills
order cleocin 300mg generic erythromycin 250mg drug sildenafil 50mg us
order retin gel for sale order stendra pills order avanafil 100mg generic
order nolvadex 20mg without prescription nolvadex 10mg cheap buy budesonide without prescription
order tadacip online cheap cheap tadalafil 20mg order indomethacin 50mg without prescription
cefuroxime 500mg price buy generic lumigan online robaxin where to buy
buy desyrel 50mg sale purchase clindac a without prescription purchase clindamycin sale
lamisil order terbinafine online buy caesars casino online
order aspirin 75mg online best real cash online casinos online poker sites
where can i buy a research paper suprax for sale online order generic suprax 200mg
paperwriter websites for essay writing play blackjack online
purchase trimox generic anastrozole online order macrobid price
order calcitriol 0.25mg generic order fenofibrate 200mg sale cost tricor 160mg
catapres 0.1mg canada oral clonidine 0.1mg tiotropium bromide 9 mcg without prescription
teenage acne treatments that work acne medication by prescription buy trileptal generic
order minomycin online cheap requip ca ropinirole ca
buy alfuzosin 10 mg pills home remedies for gerd in adults over the counter stomach relief
new drug to quit smoking medication to quit smoking antidepressant how to buy painkillers online
generic provera microzide 25mg generic buy hydrochlorothiazide for sale
cost of remdesivir without insurance comparison of glp 1 agonists safe diet pill for diabetics
cheap periactin 4 mg fluvoxamine pill ketoconazole buy online
most common antifungal drugs pictures of fungus on skin blood pressure medicine recalled today
duloxetine order order glipizide 10mg sale buy modafinil 100mg online cheap