In ancient Greece, athletic events were held not solely for the sake of the contest itself but, rather, within the context of religious festivals in or near sanctuaries in honour of the gods. The athletes competed first for the gods and then for their native city and themselves. It was believed that the victors in the games did not distinguish themselves through their superior ability alone, but because they enjoyed divine favour.

Modeled after physical exercises and competitions that existed in earlier Near Eastern cultures, hundreds of athletic games took place in Greek antiquity, extending across every area of the Mediterranean in which Greek culture flourished.

Founded as early as the 8th century BC, the games held at Olympia, however, were the oldest and most important and surpassed all the others in their fame and glory.

Games and Sanctuaries in Ancient Greece celebrates the athletes, the games, the sanctuaries, the cities and, above all, the inspiring spirit of the ancient Greeks over a span of a millennium and a half - from the earliest mentions of athletics in Homer’s Iliad and other literary sources, through the Classical age, and into the Hellenistic, Roman and late antique periods.