Olympiad
A four-year period between Olympic Games used as a dating system in ancient Greece, now applied to the modern Olympic Games and international athletic competition generally
The Meaning of Olympiad
The term Olympiad originally referred to the four-year interval between celebrations of the Olympic Games at Olympia in the Peloponnese. The games were traditionally founded in 776 BCE, and the Greek historian Timaeus of Tauromenium established the convention of dating events by Olympiads, making it one of the first standardised chronological systems in the Western world. Each Olympiad was named after the winner of the stadion, the premier footrace. The games themselves were held in honour of Zeus at Olympia, where athletes from across the Greek world competed in running, wrestling, boxing, chariot racing, and the pentathlon. A sacred truce, the ekecheiria, was declared before each celebration, halting warfare so that athletes and spectators could travel safely. The modern Olympic movement, revived by Pierre de Coubertin in 1896, adopted the term Olympiad to designate the four-year cycle, even though common usage now applies it to the games themselves. The word connects modern international sport directly to its Greek religious and athletic origins at the sanctuary of Olympian Zeus.
Parents
None recorded
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Fun Fact
The ancient Greeks used Olympiads as their primary calendar system — events were dated as occurring in the second year of the forty-third Olympiad, for example
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Olympic Games
💭 conceptAthletics, Zeus, Olympia
Panhellenic athletic festival held every four years at Olympia in honour of Zeus
Pan-Hellenic Games
💭 conceptCulture
The four great athletic and religious festivals that united the Greek world in sacred competition
Olympic Truce
💭 conceptpeace, athletics
The sacred truce declared before and during the ancient Olympic Games, protecting athletes, spectators, and pilgrims from violence across the entire Greek world.
God of Athletes
💭 conceptAthletics, competition, physical excellence, gymnastics
Hermes presides over athletic contests, protecting competitors and rewarding speed, skill, and fair play.
Stadium
💭 conceptLanguage and athletics
An English word for a large sports venue, derived from the Greek stadion, both a unit of measurement of approximately 185 metres and the footrace of that distance at Olympia
Isthmian Games
💭 conceptathletics, Poseidon
One of the four Panhellenic Games held at Corinth every two years in honour of Poseidon, with victors crowned in pine or celery wreaths.
Pythian Games
💭 conceptathletics, music
One of the four Panhellenic Games held at Delphi every four years in honour of Apollo, unique for combining athletic events with musical competitions.
March
💭 conceptLanguage and timekeeping
The third month of the Western calendar, named after Mars, the Roman god of war identified with the Greek god Ares, reflecting its original position as the first month of the Roman calendar
Nemean Games
💭 conceptathletics, funeral
One of the four Panhellenic Games held at Nemea every two years, traditionally founded as funeral games for the infant Opheltes, with victors crowned in wild celery.
January
💭 conceptLanguage and timekeeping
The first month of the year in the Western calendar, named after Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, gates, and transitions who looked simultaneously forward and backward
Marathon
💭 conceptAthletics and military history
A long-distance running event of 42.195 kilometres, named after the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE and the legendary run of a messenger bringing news of victory to Athens
Pentathalon
💭 conceptathletics, excellence
The five-event Olympic competition combining running, jumping, discus, javelin, and wrestling, considered the test of the complete athlete.