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13. The Olympic Games revived. 1896

1st August 2001 by Arthur Eedle

Of all the games held throughout Greece, the Olympic Games are the most famous. Held every four years between August 6 and September 19, (though later beginning on July 1st) they occupied such an important place in Greek life that time was measured by the interval between them–an Olympiad.

Although the first Olympic champion listed in the records was one Coroebus of Elis, a cook, who won the sprint race in 776 BC, it is generally accepted that the Games were probably at least 500 years old at that time. According to one legend they were founded by Heracles, Son of Alcmene, the Greek legendary hero. But other traditions speak of the games being introduced in 1453 B.C. by the Idæi Dactyli in honour of Zeus, or by Pelops, 1307 B.C., then revived byIphitus, 884 B.C.

The Games, like all Greek games, were an intrinsic part of a religious festival. They were held in honour of Zeus on the banks of the Alpheus at Olympia in the city-state of Elis, on a track about 32 metres wide. The racing length was one stade, a distance of about 192 metres. In the early Olympics a race, called a stade, covered one length of the track. Horse racing, which became part of the ancient games, was held in the hippodrome, south of the stadium. At the meeting in 776 BC there was apparently only one event, the stade, but other events were added over the ensuing decades. In 724 BC a two-length race, diaulos, roughly similar to the 400-metre race, was included, and four years later the dolichos, a long-distance race possibly to be compared to the modern 1,500- or even 5,000-metre event, was added.

Wrestling and the pentathlon were introduced in 708 BC. The latter was an all-around competition consisting of five events–the long jump, javelin throw,

discus throw, foot race, and wrestling. Boxing was introduced in 688 BC, and in 680 a chariot race. In 648 the pancratium, a kind of all-strength, or no-holds-barred, wrestling, was included. Kicking and hitting were allowed; only biting and gouging (thrusting a finger or thumb into an opponent’s eye) were forbidden.

Between 632 and 616 BC events for boys were introduced. And from time to time further events were added, including contests for fully armed soldiers, for heralds, and for trumpeters. The program must have been as varied as that of the modern Olympics, although the athletics (track and field) events were limited; there was no high jumping in any form and no individual field event, except in the pentathlon. Until the 77th Olympiad (472 BC) all the contests took place on one day; later they were spread, with perhaps some fluctuation, over four days, with a fifth devoted to the closing-ceremony presentation of prizes and a banquet for the champions. Sources generally agree that women were not allowed as competitors or, except for the priestess of Demeter, as spectators. In most events the athletes participated in the nude.

The Olympic Games were originally restricted to freeborn Greeks. The competitors, including those Who came from the Greek colonies, were amateur in the sense that the only prize was a wreath or garland. The athletes underwent a most rigorous period of supervised training, however, and eventually the contestants were true professionals. Not only were there substantial prizes for winning but the Olympic champion also received adulation and unlimited benefits from his city. Athletes became full-time specialists–a trend that in the modern Games has caused a long and bitter controversy over amateurism.

The Games continued unabated for a great length of time, and were only abolished finally by Theodosius in 394 A.D.

Revival of the Olympics

The architect of the modern Olympics was Pierre de Fredi, Baron de Coubertin, (born inParis on New Year’s Day, 1863, and lived until 1937.) As a young man he was intensely interested in literature and in education and sociology. Family tradition pointed to an army career or possibly politics, but at the age of 24 Coubertin decided that his future lay in education. At the same time, he had the idea of reviving the Olympic Games, and he propounded his desire for a new era in international sport when on November 25, 1892, at a meeting of the Union des SportsAthlétiques in Paris, he said :

“Let us export our oarsmen, our runners, our fencers into other lands. That is the true Free Trade of the future; and the day it is introduced into Europe the cause of Peace will have received anew ad strong ally. It inspires me to touch upon another step I now propose and in it I shall ask that the help you have given me hitherto you will extend again, so that together we may attempt to realise, upon a basis suitable to the conditions of our modern life, the splendid and beneficent task of reviving the Olympic Games.”

The speech did not produce any appreciable activity, but Coubertin was not fainthearted. At a conference on international sport in Paris in June 1894 at which Coubertin raised the possibility of the revival of the Olympic Games, there were 79 delegates representing 49 organizations from nine countries. Coubertin

himself wrote that except for his co-workers Dimitrios Vikelas of Greece, who was to be the first president of the International Olympic Committee, and Professor William M. Sloane of the United States, from the College of New Jersey (Later Princeton University), no one had real interest in the revival of the Games.

Nevertheless, and to quote Coubertin again, “a unanimous vote in favour of revival was rendered at the end of the Congress chiefly to please me.”

It was at first agreed that the Games should be held in Paris in 1900. Six years seemed a long time to wait, however, and it was decided to change the venue–what better site thanAthens, the capital of Greece–and the date, to April 1896. A great deal of indifference, if not opposition, had to be overcome, including a refusal by Athens to stage the Games at all. But Coubertin and his newly elected International Olympic Committee of 4 members won through, and the Games were opened by the King of Greece  on April 6th 1896, which was also the 75thanniversary of Greek independence. The ancient stadium, capable of seating 50,000 was renovated by M. Averoff of Alexandria. The King was accompanied by the royal family, and 129 foreign athletes participated. In all there were 311 competitors, representing 13 nations in 9 sports. The Marathon, won by  Louis, a Greek peasant on April 10th,  was watched by an estimated 70,000 people. The Games were concluded on April 15th with many speeches, and the recitation of the Pindaric Ode by Mr. G.S.Robertson.

The modern Olympics have been held ever since, with the exception of 1916, 1940, and 1944, due to the two world wars.

What has been the purpose of this historical sketch? Interesting as it is, what reason has been behind the inclusion of it in this series of essays? Two factors stand out, first the date – 1896, and second, the fact that the revival brought onto the world stage one important event that was part of the scene in A.D. 29 – 33, the years when Jesus ministered. In the following chapters, we shall see that other revivals have likewise restored a world chess-board to its earlier format, and there seems to be some special reason for this in connection with God’s end-time judgements.


 

[Information for this chapter has been selected from Britannica 2001, the Macmillan Encyclopaedia, and Haydn’s Dictionary of Dates.]

Filed Under: Recognising the Hand of Judgment

About Arthur Eedle

Arthur was born in 1931, and became a Christian in 1948. At London University he gained a 2nd honours degree in Physics. He went on to get a Teaching Diploma, and throughout his career life taught physics in England, Kenya, and Hong Kong. Coupled with his love of science, he was a keen student of Greek and Hebrew, and gave many lectures on Biblical subjects. Read more

Recognising the Hand of Judgement

Introduction

1st August 2001 By Arthur Eedle

1. St. Augustine. The 14th Centenary of his arrival in Britain

1st August 2001 By Arthur Eedle

2. The fire at York Minster, July 9th 1984

1st August 2001 By Arthur Eedle

3. Louise Brown. First test-tube baby. 1978

1st August 2001 By Arthur Eedle

4. “Papal infallibility” 1870

1st August 2001 By Arthur Eedle

5. The Great Seal of the United States of America

1st August 2001 By Arthur Eedle

6. Benjamin Crème and the Maitreya

1st August 2001 By Arthur Eedle

7. Helena Blavatsky and Theosophy

1st August 2001 By Arthur Eedle

8. Counterfeit miracles

1st August 2001 By Arthur Eedle

9. The testimony of a Messianic Jew

1st August 2001 By Arthur Eedle

10. “Spiritualism” and “Enlightenment”. Karl Marx and Charles Darwin

1st August 2001 By Arthur Eedle

11. San Francisco Earthquake, and Azusa Street

1st August 2001 By Arthur Eedle

12. The Llanelli Vision of July 1914

1st August 2001 By Arthur Eedle

13. The Olympic Games revived. 1896

1st August 2001 By Arthur Eedle

14. The emergence of the European Union. Revival of the Roman Empire

1st August 2001 By Arthur Eedle

15. The Dreyfus Case, 1894 – 1906

1st August 2001 By Arthur Eedle

16. Dr. Theodor Herzl

1st August 2001 By Arthur Eedle

17. Dr. Theodor Herzl and the Zionist Congress

1st September 2001 By Arthur Eedle

18. Russia, Lenin, and Aristocoli’s prophecy to Valentina

1st September 2001 By Arthur Eedle

19. The loss of the Titanic, 1912

1st September 2001 By Arthur Eedle

20. The loss of the Airship R101

1st September 2001 By Arthur Eedle

21. Suffragettes and Women’s Liberation

1st September 2001 By Arthur Eedle

22. The Angels of Mons and the White Cavalry. 1914 – 1918

1st September 2001 By Arthur Eedle

23. The House of Windsor, Balfour, Allenby, 1917

1st September 2001 By Arthur Eedle

24. The Upper Hand and the Lower Hand – Two Systems

1st September 2001 By Arthur Eedle

25. The Twenty Year Truce. 1919–1939

1st September 2001 By Arthur Eedle

26. Mist and Rainbow. 1940 – 1944

1st September 2001 By Arthur Eedle

27. The Nazis and the Nuremberg Trials

1st September 2001 By Arthur Eedle

28. Queen, Archbishop, and Church

1st September 2001 By Arthur Eedle

29. Lawlessness in British Politics

1st September 2001 By Arthur Eedle

30. The Royal Family

1st September 2001 By Arthur Eedle

31. The Puppet Masters

1st September 2001 By Arthur Eedle

32. Drawing the threads together

1st September 2001 By Arthur Eedle

Article Series

  • All our Yesterdays (30)
  • Before He comes (13)
  • God's Spoken Word (37)
  • Mysteries of Science & Faith (8)
  • New Series (101)
  • Newsletter (2)
  • Original Series (109)
  • Prophecy considerations (5)
  • Recognising the Hand of Judgment (33)
  • Resurrection and Change (16)
  • Seekers Corner (14)
  • Simple Statements on Serious Subjects (6)
  • The City of God (18)
  • The Millennial Octave (23)
  • The Restitution Times (22)
  • The Song of Solomon (6)
  • The Standard (19)
  • The Wayside Pulpit (107)
  • The Wayside Pulpit 2015 (96)
  • The Wellspring (101)
  • The Wellspring 2017 (55)

Index of Topics

Arthur & Rosalind Eedle's Personal Testimonies Discipleship Expository Items Good and Evil Human Pre-Existance Jane Leade. Philadelphian Numerology in the Bible Quotations from other Authors Resurrection and the Change Ron Wyatt. Archaeology Science Topics The Kingdom of God the Millennium and the Return of Christ The Sabbath Day Universal Reconcilliation

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