OLYMPIAD (from Gk. OXIy.unds, olympias, from 'OXIIArta, filympia. Olympia). The period of four years that elapsed between two successive celebrations of the Olympic games (q.v.). The use of Olympiads as a convenient system of chronological reckoning among the Greeks was of comparatively late date. Tinneus (c.300 n.c.) seems to have been among the first to date events by Olympiads, and after him the addition of the separate years in the period was introduced. The name of the winner of the foot-race in the games was frequently used with or instead of the num ber of the Olympiad. The first Olympiad, or that of Corcebus, corresponds with n.c. 776. As the Olympic games did not coincide with the begin ning of any calendar year in use among the Greeks, most of the writers call the Attic or Macedonian or some other year in which the genies fell the first year of the Olympiad, though even here there are many variations, and the usage of each author must be determined sep aratively. This system is confined to literature, and never appears on coins and only very rarely in late inscriptions. It is sometimes used now
by historians in dating Greek events, though commonly the year according to our era is added. The ordinary rule for changing Olympiads to years before or after Christ is as follows: tiply one less than the number of the Olympiad by 4, add the number of the year in the Olym piad, and subtract this from 777 for dates before Christ, or subtract 776 for dates after Christ. Thus 01. 51.3 is reduced (SO X 4) 4- 3 = 323: 777 — 323 = B.C. 454; 01. 215.2 is reduced (217 X 4)+ 3 = 870; 870 — 776 = 94. Simpler is Unger's rule: to find the first year of any Olympiad multiply the number of the Olympiad by 4 and either subtract front 750 or subtract 779, as the ease requires. 1t should be noted that if the date is from an author who reckons by Attic years allowance must be made for the fact that such years begin about July 1st, so that dates in the spring are in an earlier Julian year than those in the autumn.