The Official Report of the Games of the First Olympiad

Note on the Dual Dates
You will notice that a second date appears in parentheses for the official report of each day of the Games (in the box at right). The reason for the dual dates is that during the time of 1896 Olympic Games, Greece recognized the Julian Calendar rather than the Gregorian Calendar used by most of the world then (and now used universally). In 1896 Greek terms, the Games were held from March 25 to April 3, 1896. In today's terms, the Olympic Games lasted from April 6 to 15; a 12-day difference.

Perfect Timing
The date that Coubertin chose for the opening of the revived Olympics was significant for two reasons. First of all, March 25 was the 75th anniversary of Greek independence. In addition, the day before (March 24) was Easter Sunday. It was on this day that the Olympic festivities were opened with the unveiling of the marble statue of the primary benefactor, Georgios Averof, which had been erected in front of the Panhellenic Stadium. It is believed that Coubertin foresaw that in 1896 the Christian and Eastern Orthodox Easters would coincide, and thinking of the symbolism of the Resurrection, he scheduled the resurrected Olympic Games to open on Easter Monday.

Participation
Coubertin had difficulty getting interest in the Olympics among many of the nations of the world. Only 15 countries participated in the Athens 1896 Olympics. Many of the top athletes in the world did not compete, as the Games were not well advertised. The athletes who wished to compete had to pay their own way to Athens. In addition, the qualifying trials were conducted only in Greece.

Lack of Women
Coubertin did not approve of the idea of female sports and resisted female competition throughout his life. In 1896, women's sports had little organization and there was no impetus to include events for women in the program of the first revived Olympics. They were officially excluded.

The Visual Icon of the I Olympiad
No official poster was made for the 1896 Olympic games, but the cover page of the official report (pictured above) is often used to represent the Athens 1986 Games. The cover is described in Athens 1896: "The inscription '776-1896' symbolizes the connection between the Games of antiquity and the first Games of modern times, and so do the other elements of the drawing: the newly erected Olympic stadium in the shape of a horseshoe, the Acropolis, and a young woman as the goddess Athena, who is holding the crown awaiting the winner."

The Games 0f 1906
In an attempt to regain enthusiasm for the Olympic games, the IOC started Games that would be held in Greece every four years (between the regular Olympic games). In 1906, these "interim" Games were held in Athens. Twenty countries were represented by 887 athletes. It was in here that the United States first had an official U.S. team and had official team uniforms. The enthusiasm for these Games was great and the Olympics seemed to regain their popularity. Unfortunately, because of political unrest in Greece around 1910, the "interim" Games were cancelled for that year and never continued. Though originally the 1906 Games were officially considered Olympic games, the IOC now considers them the "Unofficial Olympic Games" and they are not included in Olympic records.