August 31st - The second full moon of the month; a super blue moon!
The opening ceremony of the ancient Olympic Games, held every four years, in honour of Zeus and staged in Ancient Olympia from 776 BC-393, was always held on the day of the August full moon.
The tradition still holds today, the modern Olympic Games are held every four years, in August, it is a matter of luck though, if the opening ceremony falls on the day of the full moon.
After the Romans gained power over Greece, the games came to a close; the last Olympic Games was played out in 393 AD.
However, this was not to be the end, in 1894 Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founded the International Olympic Committee and in 1896, the first modern Olympics, were held in Athens; the games were back.
As is only to be expected, things had changed quite a bit since the crowds last cheered on the athletes in the Ancient Stadium at Olympia,1,500 years ago.
The participants now wear clothes, which were banned back in the day, as were female athletes.
The first ancient games had only one event on one day; a race of about 200 metres, a second event, a race of 400 metres, was not added until the 14th Olympics.
Gradually, new events were introduced, extending the ceremony to the great god Zeus, into a five day festival.
On the day of the August full moon archaeological sites throughout Greece stay open well after midnight and the entrance is free.
Years ago, the Acropolis remained open all night, not only for the full moon of August but for all twelve full moons of the year.
Athenians would prepare picnics, to be eaten in the glow of the magnificent marble columns of the Parthenon and spend the night there, dreaming of magical nights in faraway ancient Greece.
Read more facts and myths about the glorious full moon of August by clicking on the link below:
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