Good day, dear Take in Mind readers! Unfortunately, together with a very rich diversity of political, economic and, social events (and, once more, unfortunately, mostly non-positive), the year 2020 turned out to be extremely modest of sport’s events. Really, would the Tokyo Olympic Games, Euro 2020, or the Ice Hockey World Championship, have a festive atmosphere if athletes should compete in empty stadiums? It’s very sad to see how the atmosphere at the stadiums is maintained… by the recorded soundtrack of cheerleader noise and chants.
Of course, it is clear that there are no complaints towards the organizers of these competitions – they are trying to somehow maintain the sport’s spirit. All these measures are undoubtedly correct – the health of athletes and spectators is above all! We can only hope that 2021 will give us a double dose of these pleasures.
In order to cheer our readers up, those who have not yet reached Japan, we decided to recall some little-known facts of the richest Olympic history from the Renaissance till the first Modern Olympic Games in 1896.
We know about the ancient Olympic Games quite a lot. In 776 BC, when the moon was full for the first time after the summer solstice in the Peloponnesian Olympia, a grand pan-Hellenic festival took place for the first time. We know the program of the games, the name of the first winner (Coroebus of Elis), and even the fact why he was not awarded with the olive crown (and not because of the organizers’ greediness, but because this tradition was introduced 24 years later at the seventh Olympics). We want to start our story from the year 394 AD when in the year of the 293th Olympic Games, the Roman emperor Theodosius declared the games as a pagan event and forbade them.
Unfortunately, history has not preserved any mention of any Olympic initiatives in medieval Europe. Only in the middle of the 15th century, the Italian Renaissance statesman Matteo Palmieri (1405 or 1406-1475) took an attempt to revive the “Olympic Games” concept. On the pages of his treatise (c. 1450), he developed the ideas of civic humanism, using the experience of the ancients. Johannes Aquilla organized an “Olympic Exhibition” in Baden, in 1516. In the middle of the 16th century, the Italian physician and scientist Hieronyrnus Mercurialis (1530–1606), in his work The Art of Gymnastics (De arte gymnastica, 1569), described the Olympic idea as the example of the ancient physical culture that should be followed up. Thomas Kyd, English playwriter (1558-1594), used the Olympic idea in his satirical play to protest against social problems.
With the support of King James I of England, the Crown Prosecutor Robert Dover organized in 1604 a competition-series called “Olympic Games” for athletes, wrestlers, and horsemen, in which everyone, regardless of gender and class, could participate. The games were accompanied by a specific cultural program that included hunting, dancing, singing, and chess. The competitions have been very popular and have been held for almost 100 years.
Gilbert West’s Dissertation on the Olympic Games is the first modern history of the ancient games. The Dissertation incorporated a bibliographic essay, historical conjecture and narrative, and descriptions of the venue, athletes, and events at Olympia. English poet, translator, and Christian apologist Gilbert West (1703–1756) included the Dissertation on the Olympic Games in his 1749 collection of translations of the Odes of Pindar, Lucian’s Of Gymnastic Exercises, Plato’s Menexenus, and several other short Classical pieces. in 1766, English antiquary Richard Chandler (1737 –1810) described the ruins of the sports facilities of Olympia and reminded the world about the huge cultural heritage left by the ancient Hellenes. For eight years (1772-1779), Leopold Friedrich, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau held competitions in accordance with the program of the ancient Olympic Games in honor of his wife.
Russia did also not stay aside from such initiatives, however, in a very peculiar way. On June 16 and July 11, 1766, at the court of Catherine II, the so-called Petersburg Olympic Games were held. Their program consisted of the competitions of horsemen, wrestlers, and fist fighters in addition to various attractions and a tournament for the best costume. The winners of the battles were awarded special gold and silver medals with the inscription: “From the Alfeios’ to Neva’s shores”.
At the end of the 18th century, the German teacher Johann Guts-Muts (1759-1839), one of the founders of pedagogical gymnastics, tried to recreate the Olympic Games but did not find enough support. In 1820, similar proposals came from a few French government members. In 1834 and 1836, the “Olympic Games” competition was held near the Swedish city of Helsingborg. These Games were organized by the initiatives of Gustav Johan Schartau from Lund University in order to revive the ancient Olympic Games in Sweden and Norway. Despite the great audience interest, there were only a few people willing to take part in the competitions. In 1844, a similar competition was organized in Montreal, Canada.
In 1859, Major Evangelis Zappas with the support of King Otto I Of Greece initiated the first Pan-Greek Olympic Games at the antique stadium restored in Athens. The Games included an athletics competition and an exhibition of visual arts and handicrafts. Taking held in 1870, 1875, 1888, and 1889, these cultural and sporting events had an important role in the idea of reviving the Olympic Games.
We come to the end of our story (and to the beginning of the modern Olympic epoch). On November 25, 1892, the French educator and historian Charles Pierre de Fredy, Baron de Coubertin (1863 –1937) presented a project for the Olympic Games’ revival. On June 23, 1894, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was found during the Athletic Congress at the Sorbonne, Paris. And in 1896, the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece.
Well, returning to our days – we do not lose hope to enjoy the magnificent sports festival, which is supposed to take place from July 23 to August 8, 2021.
Featured image by StockSnap from Pixabay.
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