OLYMPIC Games were solemn games amongst the ancient Greeks, and so called from Olympian Jupiter, to whom they were dedicated. By some they are said to have been first instituted by him after his victory over the sons of Titan; whilst others ascribe their institution to Hercules (not the son of Alemena, but one of much greater antiquity), others to Pelops, and others to Hercules the son of Àlemena. The festival, which lasted five days, began and ended with a sacrifice to Olympian Jupiter. The intermediate time was chiefly filled up by the gymnastic exercises, in which all freemen of Grecian extraction were invited to contend, provided they had been born in lawful wedlock, and had lived untainted by any infamous or immoral conduct. The preparation for this part of the entertainment was made in the gymnasium of Elis, a spacious edifice surrounded by a double range of pillars, with an open area in the middle. Adjoining were various apartments, containing baths, and other conveniences for the combatants. The neighbouring country was gradually adorned with porticos, shady walks, and groves, interspersed with seatsand benches; the whole being originally destined to relieve the fatigues and anxiety of the candidates for Olympic fame, and frequented in later times by sophists and philosophers, who were fond to contemplate wisdom and communicate knowledge in those delightful retreats. The order of the athletic exercises, or combats, was established by Lycurgus, and corresponded almost exactly to that described by Homer in the twenty-third book of the Iliad, and the eighth of the Odyssey. Iphitus, we are told, appointed the other ceremonies and entertainments; settled the regular return of the festival at the end of every fourth year, in the month of July; and gave to the whole solemnity that form and arrangement which it preserved with but little variation for more than a thousand years; a period exceeding the duration of the most famous kingdoms and republics of antiquity. Amongst the benefactors of Olympia at a much later period was reckoned Herod, afterwards king of Judaea. On his way to Rome, seeing the games neglected or dwindling into insignificance, from the poverty of theEleans, be displayed great munificence as president, and provided an ample revenue for their future support and dignity. Such an institution, even in its least perfect form, must have been attended with advantages to society. It is sufficient to mention the suspension of hostilities which took place, not only during the celebration of the festival, but for a considerable time both before and after it. Considered as a religious ceremony, to which the whole Grecian race was invited, and even enjoined to assist in its celebration, it was well adapted to facilitate intercourse, to promote knowledge, to soften prejudice, and to accelerate the progress of civilization. Greece, particularly Peloponnesus, was the centre from which the adventurous spirit of its inhabitants had diffused innumerable colonies throughout the surrounding nations. To these widely-separated communities, which, notwithstanding their common origin, seemed to have lost all connection and correspondence, the Olympiad served as a common bond of alliance and a point of re-union. The celebrity of this festival continually attracted to it the characters most distinguished for genius and enterprise, whose fame would have otherwise been unknown and lost in the extent of the Grecian territory. The remote inhabitants, not only of European Greece, but of Asia and Africa, being assembled at the worship of their common gods, were thus trained to the sense of a general interest, and excited to the pursuit of national honour and prosperity. Strangers of similar dispositions might confirm in Elis the sacred and indissoluble ties of hospitality. If their communities were endangered by any barbarous power, they might there solicit assistance from their Grecian brethren; and, upon other occasions, they might explain the benefits which, in peace or war, their respective countries were best qualified to communicate. And thus the Olympic festival might serve the purpose of resident ambassadors, and of other institutions alike unknown to antiquity.