Source: pxleyes.com

Olympic Games were originally a festival for Zeus, later the sporting events were added and became competition of city-states to show their superiority. The first Olympic was held in 776 BC and lasted until Roman rule era. The game was finally stopped in 393 AD under Emperor Theodosius I, because he wanted to make Christianity state religon of Roman Empire. So, as a Christian it didn't make sense for him to celebrate Zeus, right?

The Olympic Games was reborn in 1896 in Athens. That was the first Olympic Games in modern era. In 1894 International Olympic Committee (IOC) was founded. Two years later in 1896 the first Olympic Games under IOC was held in Athens. 241 athletes from 14 countries were participated and competed in 43 events. IOC then planned to rotate Olympic Games host cities around the world. Paris was the second Olympic Games host city.

Source: Wikimedia

Can you imagine you were there attending this historical event?