Which came first? · Tricky

Which came first: the ancient Olympic Games or the birth of Confucius?

The ancient Olympic Games came first, in 776 BC (traditional date). The birth of Confucius followed about 230 years later, in c. 551 BC.

  1. First776 BC

    The ancient Olympic Games

    event · traditional date

    By tradition, the first ancient Olympic Games were held at Olympia in 776 BC.

    Checked against Wikipedia and Wikidata

  2. Secondc. 551 BC

    The birth of Confucius

    person · born

    Confucius was born in China around 551 BC.

    Checked against Wikipedia and Wikidata

All which-came-first pairs · About Older Than You Think · Quiz games

Years from Wikidata, each checked against the item’s English Wikipedia article on 2026-10-18. A year stands for what its label says: a founding, a first patent, a premiere.