Etienne Skouloudis was a Greek who served on the Organizing Committee for the 1896 Summer Olympics. He noticed that costs for the Games were rising beyond the original estimates given by Pierre de Coubertin and gave a report to the president of the committee, Crown Prince Constantine, recommending that Greece withdraw from hosting the Games. The 1896 Summer Olympics, formally called the Games of the I Olympiad, were the first modern Summer Olympic Games and the first Games since Roman emperor Theodosius I banned the Ancient Olympic Games in AD 393 as part of the Christian campaign against paganism. ... Baron Pierre de Coubertin Baron Pierre de Coubertin (January 1, 1863-September 2, 1937), born as Pierre de Frédy, was a French pedagogue and historian, but is best known as the founder of the modern Olympic Games. ... Constantine I, King of the Hellenes (2 August 1868 - 11 January 1923), ruled Greece from 1913-1917 and from 1920-1922. ...

Skouloudis, and a number of others who agreed with him, resigned the committee at that point. However, Constantine decided to allow the Games to continue and the first modern Olympics were widely considered to be highly successful, especially in comparision to the 1900 and 1904 Summer Olympics. The 1900 Summer Olympics, formally known as the Games of the II Olympiad, were held in 1900 in Paris, France. ... The 1904 Summer Olympics, formally known as the Games of the III Olympiad, were held in St. ...