The Olympic Games were held every four years, in the second week of July, and lasted for four to five days in the Classical period, even though there were many changes regarding their duration through their long history.
Up to the 24th Olympiad (684 BC) they were conducted in only one day, while in the 37th Olympiad (632 BC) three more days were added. Through the centuries, the games developed and new events were added in their programme. During the Olympic Games, the Greeks made sacrifices to Zeus and the other gods of the sanctuary. Various athletic competitions took place and the organization came to an end with large festivities of religious character.
Season and duration of the Olympic Games
The Olympic Games, like the other panhellenic contests, were held once every four years, according to the Greek eight-year calendar. The exact dates of the games were based on the basis of the 28-day lunar month. The games took place during the first full moon after the spring solstice, which coincides with the present day middle of July. This was the hottest period of the year and many athletes found the heat unbearable.
The term "Olympiad" referred both to the time between two Olympic Games and to the days of the games themselves. During two Olympiads, Greeks assembled in various panhellenic festivals that were held at other sanctuaries. The series of the festivals was as follows:
| Year | Season | Games |
| 540 BC | end of the summer | 55th Olympiad |
| 539 BC | summer | Nemea |
| 538 BC | spring | Isthmia |
| 537 BC | summer | Nemea |
| 536 BC | spring | Isthmia |
| 536 BC | end of the summer | 56th Olympiad |
The Olympiads were the basis of a national system of dating. Every Olympiad took the name of the athlete who had won the stade race of that year. Later, in the beginning of the 4th century BC, Hippias of Elis, the sophist, numbered all the Olympiads based on the first one, which took place in 776 BC. The catalogue of the Olympiads was later completed by Aristotle, Eratosthenes, Phlegon of Tralles and Iulius Africanus.
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