This is a somewhat ironic, but very informative story about the origin, development and decline of the Greek Olympiad tradition, set out with the help of an off-screen commentary read by Z. Gerdt. Ancient history is described in great detail and exciting. In the graphic decision, artists were guided by the ancient Greek monuments, first of all - vase paintings, stylized for them and characters, and decorations, up to imitation cracks. In the film there are a lot of full-scale shots, and in particular it is interesting to frame the photographs of the bas-reliefs of the Pergamon altar shot by Yuriy Norshtein. The film ends with documentary shots of the opening of the Olympics-80 in Moscow.