VERONA, Italy (AP) — A city forever associated with Romeo and Juliet, Verona will host the final act of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on Sunday inside the ancient Roman Arena, where some 1,500 athletes will celebrate their feats against a backdrop of Italian music and dance.

The ancient Olympic games were crowded with male athletes, but were there opportunities for females to compete in sports?

Davidson College Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics Allison Smith examines the "distant echoes" of the original Olympic Games and how they compare to the modern global competition. The discussion explores the evolution of the games from a sacred religious sanctuary at Olympia to today's "moving circus" of international host cities.

A view of the ancient ruins of the Stadium at Olympia with its centerpiece 210-yard track. Roger Wood/Corbis In the hills above Olympia, I awoke before dawn, feeling bleary-eyed from the Greek wine I’d drunk with some rowdy archaeologists the night before.

So before we bid the Games adieu in just a few short days, let's commemorate the "Olympics" for this iteration of NPR's Word of the Week. The word "Olympics" is rooted in ancient Greece. In Greek mythology,

The timing of the games originated with the first Olympics, which were believed to have been held in 776 BC in ancient Greece, according to the International Olympics Committee. Time was then measured in “Olympiads,” which demarcated a four-year period. The Olympics were held at the beginning of each Olympiad to honor the Greek god Zeus.