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The origin of the Olympics is shrouded in mystery and legend;{{sfn|Young|2004|p=12}} one of the most popular myths identifies [[Heracles]] and his father [[Zeus]] as the progenitors of the Games.<ref name="elis1-7-9" />{{sfn|Richardson|1992|p=227}}{{sfn|Young|2004|pp=12–13}} According to legend, it was Heracles who first called the Games "Olympic" and established the custom of holding them every four years.<ref name="elis1-7-7" /> The myth continues that after Heracles completed his [[Labours of Hercules|twelve labours]], he built the [[Olympic Stadium]] as an honour to Zeus. Following its completion, he walked in a straight line for 200 steps and called this distance a "[[stadion (unit of length)|stadion]]" ({{lang-grc|στάδιον|links=no}}, [[Latin]]: {{lang|la|stadium}}, "stage"), which later became a [[Stadion (unit of length)|unit of distance]]. The most widely accepted inception date for the Ancient Olympics is 776 BC; this is based on inscriptions, found at Olympia, listing the winners of a footrace held every four years starting in 776 BC.<ref>{{cite web|title=Olympic Games|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/428005/Olympic-Games/59589/The-ancient-Olympic-Games|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|url-access=registration|access-date=29 April 2009}}</ref> For the first thirteen Olympics, the stadion footrace was the only event contested,<ref>Parrottet at 145, and "Olympic Games" in ''Oxford Classical Dictionary'' (2004) at 1066,</ref> and victory in that sprint was so valued that the next [[Olympiad]] was named after the winner, e.g. "the third year of the eighteenth Olympiad when Ladas of Argos won the stadion."<ref>Parrottet at 145.</ref> The Ancient Games varied over time, but they came to feature running events, a pentathlon (consisting of a jumping event, [[Discus throw|discus]] and javelin throws, a foot race, and wrestling), boxing, wrestling, [[pankration]], and [[Equestrianism|equestrian]] events.{{sfn|Crowther|2007|pp=59–61}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Ancient Olympic Events|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/sports.html|publisher=Perseus Project of [[Tufts University]]|access-date=29 April 2009}}</ref> Tradition has it that [[Coroebus of Elis|Coroebus]], a cook from the city of [[Elis (city)|Elis]], was the first Olympic champion,{{sfn|Golden|2009|p=24}} which indicates that the competition was not limited to the aristocracy.<ref>Parrottet at 50-51.</ref>
The Olympics were of fundamental religious importance, and the sporting events, which were held alongside ritual sacrifices honouring both Zeus (whose [[Statue of Zeus at Olympia|famous statue]] by [[Phidias]] stood in his temple at [[Olympia, Greece|Olympia]]) and [[Pelops]]
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