OLYMPIC
HISTORY
The ancient Olympic Games (named place in the city of
Olympia) were religious festivals, cultural and sporting events held in ancient
Greece (776 a. C. - 392 AD.) in honor of the Olympian gods. Athletes
participating in them, they should be citizens and men, and who trained for
years in gyms.
There are many legends about the origin of the ancient
Olympic Games. One associates the first Games with the concept of ancient
Greece ἐκεχειρία (ekecheiria) or Olympic truce or peace. One of the
most popular myths identifies Heracles and Zeus, father of the progenitors of
the Games. According to a legend mentioned by Pindar, Heracles who was called
"Olympics" to a series of sporting events in honor of his father Zeus
and the custom of celebrating four years in addition to the idea persists that
after completing his twelve labors, built the Olympic stadium in honor of Zeus.
After its completion, he went straight 200 steps and called this "distance
Stadion" (Greek: στάδιον, Latin: stadium, "stage"), which later
became a unit of distance. The date of commencement of such calendar serves as
a reference to Hellenic and is considered in the year 776. C., although the
views of some scholars place it among the year 884 a. C. and 704 a. C.
The modern Olympic Games were established in the
sporty look in 1896 by Pierre de Coubertin and until today still practiced.
In 1829 the French government, and in 1875, the German
government, made excavations to unearth Olympia. In 1881 the ruins were
completely bare.
Though always spoken of the rebirth of the Olympic
Games, the fact is attributed to Pierre de Coubertin France and is called the
father of the modern Olympic Games, the truth is that the first attempt was
made in Greece, thanks to the enthusiasm of a Greek called Zappas Gospels, long
before it was thought in France. So in Greece were made the first modern
Olympic Games on November 15, 1859, the November 15, 1870, on May 18, 1875 and
May 18, 1889. [Citation needed]
The attempt failed due to lack of enthusiasm and
support from other countries. Another important factor was that the sponsor did
not have many ideas of organization, unlike the Baron de Coubertin, who sought
out the leaders of college and amateur athletics school in the world, who
received his help.
Lighting the Olympic Flame at the opening ceremony of
the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City 2002
Thrilled with the splendor of ancient Greece and the
beauty of the Olympic Games Gospels Zappas, who lived in Romania, first
contributed to the project and, after the first failure, at his death
bequeathed his entire fortune for the rebirth of the Olympic Games Greece.
Although the games that were part of this first
attempt did not achieve success - we must remember that the first was in 1859,
thirty-seven years before the first modern Olympic Games officially - formed a
bond between past and future .
Baron Pierre de Coubertin wrote in the early twentieth
century: "Olympia and the Olympics are symbols of an entire civilization,
superior to countries, cities, military heroes and ancestral religions."
As a cadet at the Military Academy St. Cyr, the noble Frenchman gave up his
studies in political science and became interested in sociology and education.
He traveled around the world and was impressed by the interest of the
Anglo-Saxons (British and American) in sports. Attracted by the exploration
work in Olympia, and the vain efforts to revive the Olympic Games made in
Greece by Zappas, and believed that athletic competition could result in
international understanding, is dedicated to the task of reviving himself , the
Olympics, with the participation of all countries of the world. He had the
courage and the help of a Dominican Catholic priest Henri Didon, which would be
the inspiration of the Olympic motto "Citius, Altius, Fortius"
(Faster, Higher, Stronger).
Coubertin presented his project to the Athletic Sports
Union and Paris in late 1892, after careful public relations work.
Coubertin was a persistent man and soon had an
opportunity to request support from other countries, when the French Sports
Union organized an international conference on Amateurism. The congress was
held in 1894, Coubertin was a surprisingly strong support from such prominent
men as the Duke of Sparta, Prince of Wales, Crown Prince of Sweden, King of
Belgium and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Also present were delegates
from Argentina, Greece, Russia, Italy and Spain. There were also official
statements from Germany and Austria-Hungary, expressing interest in the
project.
The enthusiastic delegates decided not to wait until
1900, the year that was deemed appropriate to begin computing the Olympics, but
the event scheduled for the year 1896, in Athens, near the site of the ancient
Olympics. It was agreed that the Games are held every four years, moving the
headquarters to different cities in the world and to be elected an
International Olympic Committee with full authority to govern the Games.
Olímpicos1 or
Olympics Games, 2, or simply shorthand and Olympics are multidisciplinary
sporting events involving athletes from around the world, in ancient Greece
were dedicated to the god Zeus. There are two types of Olympics: Summer Olympics
and Winter Olympics, which take place in a range, including four years. The
organization responsible for conducting them is the International Olympic
Committee (for short, IOC). The current Olympic Games were inspired by the
eighth century BC by the ancient Greeks organized in the city of Olympia,
between 776 to. C. and 393 d. C. In the nineteenth century, the idea of making
some events similar to those organized in antiquity, which would be realized
primarily through the efforts of the French nobleman Pierre Fredy, Baron de
Coubertin. The first edition of the so-called Olympics of the modern era was
held in Athens, capital of Greece. Since that time, the Summer Olympics have
been held every four years in various parts of the planet, the only exceptions
being the editions of 1916, 1940 and 1944, due to the outbreak of the First and
Second World War. The Olympic symbol consists of five rings represent the five
continents of the world: Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Are
intertwined to symbolize the friendship of all peoples sport. The Winter
Olympics were first held in 1924 in the French town of Chamonix. Originally
performed as part of the summer event, the IOC considered them as a separate
event retroactively, and from that date began to be held in the same year as
the original games. Subsequently, in order to foster the development of winter
events, the IOC decided to delay the implementation of the Winter Olympics from
Lillehammer 1994. Since then, the Winter Olympics are held in even years
between two Summer Games. In 2007, the IOC decided to incorporate a new type of
event: Youth Olympic Games, which began to be held from 2010 and 2012 editions
of summer and winter, respectively. The next Summer Olympics be held in London,
UK, in 2012, while the Winter Olympics will be held in Sochi, Russia in 2014.
