Because the Olypmics were considered a pagan festival, they were banned in 393 A.D. The Olympics were originally held to honor the Greek god, Zeus. A revival of them, for sport only, was proposed by the French educator, Baron Piere de Coubertin.
There may be seven continents, but the five Olympic rings represent the whole world. This is because the Americas count as one country and Antarctica is a barren country.
The current summer Olympics have been held every four years since 1896. However, the winter Olympics are young. They only started being held in 1924 and the summer and winter Olympics have started alternating every two years starting in 1994.
The five rings that is the symbol or logo of the Olympics is not a mascot. Every Olympics has its own mascot. The 2012 mascot looks phallic.
Over 30 countries have at some point boycotted the Olympics. This was due to different reasons. Sometimes it was the inclusion of teams. Other times it was the exclusion of teams.. There were also political reasons.
select one here...