2985 AM · 776 BCE · world history
The First Olympic Games
Games at Olympia give the Greeks their first shared way of counting years.
Every four years Greeks gathered at the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia under a sacred truce that obliged warring cities to let competitors pass. The first event was a single sprint; wrestling, boxing, pentathlon and chariot races followed. The prize was a wreath of wild olive — and the Games became Greece's shared calendar.