Summer Olympic Games 1906 Athens games were the first of an alternating series of games to be held in Athens, but the series failed to materialise. The games were more successful than the 1900 and 1904 games, with over 900 athletes competing, and contributed positively to the success of future games. The 1908 London Games saw numbers rise again, as well as the first running of the marathon over its now-standard distance of 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards). The first Olympic Marathon in 1896 (a male-only race) was raced at a distance of 40 km (24 miles 85 yards). The new marathon
Delphic Games of the modern era Delphic Games of the modern era Delphic Games of the modern era involve presentations, exhibitions, competitions and other activities in six different fields of art. They are inspired by the Delphic Games of ancient Greece. One of the four Panhellenic Games were the Pythian Games in Delphi. Held every four years, they included competitions in athletics, theatre, music, poetry, and painting to praise the god Apollo, the symbol of the Oracle. In the year 394 A.D., Theodosius I, the emperor of the Byzantine Empire banned all Panhellenic Games as being pagan events. Since 1912 till 1948, on the initiative of