<P> Several groups fought over control of the sanctuary at Olympia, and hence the games, for prestige and political advantage . Pausanias later writes that in 668 BC, Pheidon of Argos was commissioned by the town of Pisa to capture the sanctuary from the town of Elis, which he did and then personally controlled the games for that year . The next year, Elis regained control . </P> <P> The Olympic Games were part of the Panhellenic Games, four separate games held at two - or four - year intervals, but arranged so that there was at least one set of games every year . The Olympic Games were more important and more prestigious than the Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian Games . </P> <P> The games were in decline for many years but continued past 385 AD, by which time flooding and earthquakes had damaged the buildings and invasions by barbarians had reached Olympia . In 394 Theodosius I banned all pagan festivals, but archeological evidence indicates that some games were still held . </P> <P> The ancient Olympics were as much a religious festival as an athletic event . The games were held in honor of the Greek god Zeus, and on the middle day of the games, 100 oxen would be sacrificed to him . Over time Olympia, site of the games, became a central spot for the worship of the head of the Greek pantheon and a temple, built by the Greek architect Libon was erected on the mountaintop . The temple was one of the largest Doric temples in Greece . The sculptor Pheidias created a statue of the god made of gold and ivory . It stood 42 feet (13 m) tall . It was placed on a throne in the temple . The statue became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world . As the historian Strabo put it, </P>

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