Twelve years after its first edition, the book "Sanctuaries and Games in Ancient Greece" by Professor of Archaeology Panos Valavanis is reissued, enriched and improved. New conclusions from historical and archaeological research about the pan-Hellenic sanctuaries and games, along with enhanced photographic material, provide the reader with a fully updated book related to the pan-Hellenic games and ancient Greek athletics.

Countless games —inspired by events and competitions from earlier cultures of the Near East— took place in the ancient Greek world, in every corner of the Mediterranean, where Greek culture flourished. Of these numerous games, four became pan-Hellenic: the games at Olympia in honor of Zeus, at Delphi, during the festival of Apollo, at Isthmia in the sanctuary of Poseidon, and at Nemea in the sanctuary of Zeus.

The Panathenaic games, held during the Panathenaea festival in Athens in honor of Athena, were, at their peak, as glorious as the games that took place in the pan-Hellenic sanctuaries. In these five competitions, more than anywhere else, the splendid culture and ideas of ancient Greece were showcased. The celebration of the games created a sporting tradition that remains alive today throughout the world.

Older and more significant were the games of Olympia, founded in the 8th century BC, which surpassed all other games in fame and glory. The book "Sanctuaries and Games in Ancient Greece" honors the athletes, the games, the sanctuaries, the cities, and, above all, the ancient Greek spirit that inspired them for over 1,500 years — from the early athletic references in Homer's Iliad and other literary sources, and from the Classical to the Hellenistic and Roman periods, as well as late antiquity.

The fact that athletes compete today, every four years, in events such as the pentathlon, discus, javelin, boxing, long jump, wrestling, and running, just as their ancient ancestors did centuries ago, is a legacy that confirms that competition, victory, and defeat will continue to coexist for many more years to come.