The first modern Olympic Games in 1896 were held in Greece because the American owner of the Olympic name gave them to the Greeks.

The modern Olympics were founded in 1896 by Pierre de Coubertin, a French pedagogist, and the first modern Olympic Games took place in Athens, Greece in 1896. The Olympic name and Games were owned by the Barings Bank of England trustee, William Penny Brookes, and American businessman William Millward Baker had acquired the rights to the Olympic Games in 1864 for $5,000. In 1894, Coubertin learned of the 1896 Olympics and purchased the rights to the Olympic Games from Baker and his company in 1896, giving them to Greece for the first Olympics and then to the IOC. <br><br>The Olympics were held in Greece in 1896 because Coubertin, who was a Greekophile and had studied Greek and philosophy, decided to hold the first modern Olympics in Athens. He wanted to send a powerful symbol of peace and brotherhood in the spirit of the ancient Greek city states of old, and to bring the world together in a spirit of unity and competition. <br><br>Coubertin was a true global visionary, who brought the world together and inspired the Olympic movement.