Did you know that the Olympic games once disappeared for a long time?奥运会衰落

        公元前4世纪后，马其顿入侵希腊，奥运会逐渐衰落。The decline of the ancient Olympic Games started since 4 BC. Rome conquered Greece in 146 BC. The Romans treated all sports games as shows to entertain themselves.

        Also, people began to think about money, violence, cheating and bribery more than before during competitions. The quality of the Games and the ethical values of the participants were lowered.

        公元426年，当政的国王狄奥多西是基督徒，认为奥运会是一种异教活动，二世又下令烧毁了奥林匹亚残存的庙宇。Christian Emperor Theodosius II in 394AD finally banned them. He put a stop to the games, as he deemed them a pagan festival. The worst thing was he ordered that the site and temple be burned to the ground. Hundreds of years later, earthquakes also had their effect on the deserted buildings. Fires and earthquakes also had their effect and over time destroyed the buildings. So nobody knew their exact locations. Little by little, the site disappeared under the earth and vanished from memory.

        于是，从公元前776年至公元394年历时1170年，共举行了293届的古代奥林匹克运动会便渐渐被人们遗忘了。古代奥运会虽然消失在历史的长河中，但它给人类社会留下了一笔宝贵的文化财富。