I found out that the Olympics may have been instituted in an unusual way. Many legends profess the inception of the games in ancient Greece. Pindar tells that Hercules initiated the games after cleansing the Augean stables. Augeas, the ruler of Elis, made Hercules clean out his enormous stable and Hercules did it in just one day with a promise to give Hercules a tenth of his herds. Since the king did not keep his side of the bargain, Hercules killed him and his entire family, keeping the entire stock of cattle to himself. Thus, he instituted the Olympic Games to remember the occasion.