also invited the king of Sparta Lycurgus to take heed of the advice and participate in the Olympic Games. *
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As another legend goes, the founder of the Games is Pelops. King Oenomaus of Pisa had a very beautiful daughter Hippodamia. The king had been informed of a prophecy that he was going to die from the hand of his son-in-law. Oenomaus challenged each of the suitors for a chariot race under the guarantee that any young man who won the chariot race could have Hippodamia as a wife. If the pretender lost, he would be slain by Oenomaus. One of the suitors was prince of Lydia Pelops, son of the Asia Minor king Tantalus. King of Lydia pelops agreed to Oenomaus's terms, who allowed him to have a head start. Pelops kept the advantage for almost the whole of the race. But his lead was shrinking, because Oenomaus had the fastest horses in Greece, a gift from Ares, the god of war. Oenomaus was closing the gap and was almost level. Pelops turned his head and saw Oenomaus raise his spear for the kill. At that very moment Oenomaus's chariot fell apart and he was thrown to his death. After the wedding, Pelops decided to institute an Olympic festival to be held every four years to celebrate his victory. This is believed to have happened in 884 BC.
Pelops and Hippodamia in a chariot 17