Every four years, the world comes together for two weeks of competition, comradery and national pride for the Olympic Games. Athletes from around the world have the chance to gain national and international fame while capturing the attention of spectators around the world.

There is a rich history behind the founding and development of the Olympics that has many twists and turns. Ten of the historical Olympic facts are included below. Some of the facts may surprise you:

1.Record of the Olympics dates back to 776 BC. But it is believed that the god greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus founded the games many years before.

2.The Olympics were created to honor 12 Olympian gods and were hosted in the gardens of the ancient Greek city Olympia.

3.After 12 centuries, Roman Emperor Theodosius banned them in 393 AD under accusations of pagan motivations. But French Baron Pierre de Coubertin reinstated the Games in the late 19th century.

4.The first and only Games event was a 192 meter run; which is about 0.1 mile. The race was referred to as a stadio which is where the term stadium derives. Only men were allowed to compete in this event.

5.Women were allowed to compete in Equestrian events during the ancient Olympics. The first modern Olympics allowing women to compete (only in Tennis) was in 1900, in Paris, France. Additional sports were added over 30 years.

6.The most decorated Olympian is American swimmer Michael Phelps. The swimmer broke a 48-year record held by Ukranian and former USSR athlete Larissa Latynina with 18 total medals (nine gold, five silver, four bronze). They were earned in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics. Michael Phelps broke this record during the 2012 London Olympics. His medal count is 15 gold, two silver, and two broze.

7.The most decorated country competing in the Olympics is the United States. Over the span of 28 Olympic Games, the United States accumulated 2,511 medals (Based on records from 1896-2008).

8.A Winter Olympics were added to the competition in 1924 in Chamonix, France. The original events were alpine and cross-country skiing, ice hockey, Nordic compined, ski jumping, speed skating and figure skating.

9.The most expensive Olympics to-date is Bejing, China in 2008. The country spent nearly $42 billion to host the event. While there is much debate over the cost of hosting the Olympics and the return value, many believe that the spike in international attention will positively affect tourism for many years.

10.British artist David Watkins designed the medals for the 2012 London Olympics. There is usually an architectural theme for all Olympic Games and the artists chosen to design medals must follow the guidelines for the Games.