The games began in 776 B.C. to honour Zeus. Pelops， the king of the PeloponnesePeloponnese 伯罗奔尼撒半岛［希腊南部］(即摩里亚半岛) was， according to mythology， their founder. The games， that， from beginning to end were dominated by religious character and austereaustere adj.严峻的， 严厉的， 操行上一丝不苟的， 简朴的 ritual， were taking place in the area in front of the temples to start with， but later as the athletes taking part in the games， as well as the spectators increased， in well organised installations. At the same time the events were enrichedenriched 浓缩的， 富集的， 强化的 in number and variety.
The innumerable offeringsoffering n.提供， 奉献物， 献礼， 祭品 of the 7th～6th centuries B.C. were placed outside on trees， altars or in alcoves of the sanctuary. The most important of the offerings were bronze tripodstripod n.三脚桌， 三脚架 and cauldrons of excellent quality， war loot (hanging on poles) and other art objects and instruments for the games. In the passing of centuries the architecturalarchitectural adj.建筑的，建筑学的 plan of the sanctuary takes shape， until the end of the 4th century B.C. when it is finally completed.
Olympia was always functioning as a place of political projection and the games often fell， especially during late antiquity， victim to political exploitation from important personalitiespersonality n.个性， 人格， 人物， 名人， (复数)诽谤、人身攻击 like Philip II， Alexander the Great and his successors. Romans， proving their authentic Greek origin， also took part in the games， after the total submission of Greece to Rome， but by then the glamour and idealisticidealistic adj.唯心论的， 空想主义的， 唯心主义者的 spirit of the games was considerably weakened.
Directly depending on the the games and the sanctuary of Olympia was the town of Elis， whose sole interest was the preparation and performance of the games.
Heraklion伊拉克里翁
伊拉克里翁是克里特岛的首府、交通枢纽，几乎每一位到克里特岛的游客都会先来这里，再转往其他各地尤其是离伊拉克里翁不远的米诺安文明最重要的遗址——克诺索斯(Knossos)。
伊拉克里翁还是克里特岛最现代、资讯最发达的城镇，同时在这里却有着雅典最重要的博物馆——伊拉克里翁考古博物馆。在伊拉克里翁的威尼斯广场(Venizelou)和艾拉弗瑞亚广场之间就是伊拉克里翁最热闹的商业中心。
伊拉克里翁的中心地标是威尼斯广场附近的莫若西尼喷泉(Morosini)，喷泉已不喷水了，白色的喷泉座上蹲坐数只石狮，另称狮子喷泉。
现代化的伊拉克里翁，城市景观没太大的特色，城墙将市区围成面海的扇形状。你只在地图上认出威尼斯广场(Venizelou)和艾拉弗瑞亚广场，两个主要广场之间就是伊拉克里翁最热闹的血拼逛街的地方。
Located almost in the center of Crete， Heraklion has since the early years played a significant part in the history of the island. It has worn different names during the years： Heraklion， Hanclakas， Candi and Heraklion again， officially in 1922. The city of today is modern and large commercial， industrial and agrarianagrarian adj.有关土地的， 耕地的， provincial center. As the largest communication center of Crete it is connected with our country，s largest cities and with several foreign cities.