OLYMPIC GAMES: THE REVIVAL
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| Panathinaiko stadium in 2008. |
The vision of the revival of the Olympic Games was based on the desire to unite athletes and nations of the world in peaceful celebration and competition.
“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well”. These were the words used by Baron de Coubertin to describe the ideology of the modern Olympics.
In 1833, after the founding of the new Hellenic State, poet Alexandros Soutsos showed interest in
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Panathinaiko stadium in 1896. |
reviving the Olympic Games. In 1859, Evaggelos Zappas (a Greek philanthropist) sponsored the first modern Olympics. He paid for the refurbishment of the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens for the Games held there in 1870 and 1875. The revival sponsored by Zappas, a dedicated Olympiad, consisted of athletes from two countries: Greece and the Ottoman Empire.
Prominent figures of the Greek political and cultural society, such as Kostis Palamas who wrote the lyrics of the Olympic Hymn, participated in the efforts to revive the Games, based on the ancient ideals.
The interest in reviving the Olympics as an international event grew further when the ruins of Olympia were discovered by German archaeologists in the mid-19th century.
As a result, a union for athletic sports was constituted in Europe. In June 1894, at a conference on international sport held in Paris, Baron de Coubertin raised the possibility of an international Olympic Games. Along with the Greek delegate Dimitrios Vikelas, they persuaded the 79 delegates from all over the world to unanimously vote for the restoration of the Olympic Games and the creation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Dimitrios Vikelas became the first president of the IOC, established in Switzerland for the promotion of the Olympic ideals.
The right to host the first revived Olympic Games was given to Athens, Greece. The opening ceremony took place on 25 March 1896 (according to the old calendar, butthe date of 6 April with the new calendar) at the Panathinaiko Stadium and 80,000 spectators attended the event. The Games lasted ten days.
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Athens 1896 report cover. |
The most anticipated event was the marathon. This race claims its origin from the village of Marathon, located on the eastern coast of Attica. It was there that the Athenians defeated and stopped the invading Persians in 490 BC, and saved Athens. As history records, at the end of the Battle of Marathon, a young warrior named Phidippidis ran to Athens to announce the good news. Upon his arrival and after having run 40 km, Phidippidis shouted, “Nenikikamen” meaning: we won and then died.
For the first time after almost 2,500 years, the original distance of those 42.194m was covered again. A Greek runner, Spyros Louis, entered the stadium first, covering the distance with a time of 2:58:50. The prize for the winner was a beautifully crafted silver cup.
On 6 April 1896, the 27-year-old American, James Brendan Connolly, was crowned the first Olympic champion of the modern Olympic Games. He jumped 13.71m in the triple jump.
Tfhe fourteen countries which took part in the games were Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the USA. The sports were cycling, fencing, gymnastics, weight-lifting, wrestling, swimming, tennis and shooting.
Palamas’ Olympic Hymn with music composed by the Greek composer Spyros Samaras was heard for the first time. The impact of the Hymn was so great that the audience demanded an encore. Since that time, it has been played and sung at every Olympiad.
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The marathomian trophy. |
The Olympic Hymn
Immortal spirit of antiquity,
Father of the true, beautiful and good,
Descend, appear, shed over us thy light
Upon this ground and under this sky
Which has first witnessed thy imperishable fame.
Give life and animation to those noble games!
Throw wreaths of fadeless flowers to the victors
In the race and in strife!
Create in our breasts, hearts of steel!
In thy light, plains, mountains and seas
Shine in a roseate hue and form a vast temple
To which all nations throng to adore thee,
Oh immortal spirit of antiquity.
The Athens Olympic Games of 1896 were successful beyond the expectations of even the most optimistic supporters of their revival. The youth of the world had participated as athletes and became vivid examples of the importance of sport competition.
By Magda Apostolopoulou