During the first Olympic Games in 776 B.C.E., there was a sacrifice of a hundred oxen to Zeus, and a priest stood at the end of the stadium holding a torch. The athletes raced to the end of the stadium toward the priest. The victor had the privilege of taking the torch and lighting the fire at the altar for the sacrifices. The flame burned symbolically during the games in honor of this sacrifice to Zeus.

It links the Games about to be held with the religious expression sanctified over the centuries.”

The Games Revived

The original Olympics were designed to fan the flames of worship. They were born as a religious festival to honor Zeus, supreme among the Olympian gods. These games were held every four years, from 776 B.C.E. until 394 C.E., when the “Christianized” Roman emperor Theodosius “decreed that ‘pagan festivities’ should cease.”