The Olympic Games (English: Olympic Games Greek: Ολυμπιακο? Αγ?νε?; Olympiakoi Agones), or simply the "Olympic Games", is a worldwide multi-sports event organized by the International Olympic Committee. The Olympic Games, or "Games" for short, are a worldwide competition organized by the International Olympic Committee, including the Summer Olympics, Winter Olympics, Paralympic Games, Junior Olympics, and Special Olympics. The Olympic Games are held once every four years (there have been three interruptions in the two world wars, respectively, in 1916, 1940 and 1944 AD), and each session lasts no more than 16 days.
The Olympic Games were named for their origins in Olympia, ancient Greece. The ancient Olympic Games lasted 293 sessions from 776 B.C. to 393 A.D.***, and were abolished by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I on the charge of cultic activities.The International Sports Conference held in Paris in 1894 established the International Olympic Committee on the initiative of the French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin and decided to revive the Olympic Games. The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896, and have since rotated around the world. Since the Winter Olympic Games were established in 1924, the Olympic Games are also known as the "Summer Olympic Games". The Olympics have now become a symbol of peace and friendship.
The 2008 Beijing Olympics are currently underway, with 28 major sports and 302 minor sports. The most recent Winter Olympics were the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, *** with 7 major and 84 minor sports. The next Olympic Games will be the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
I. Ancient Olympic Games
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See words: Ancient Olympic Games
The Greeks stipulated in 776 BC that the games be held every four years at Olympia. During the Games, all the Greek competitors and the people of the neighborhood gathered in Olympia, a scenic town in southern Greece. When the first Olympic Games were held here in 776 B.C., Dorian Cross won the championship in the 192.27-meter sprint and became the first person to win the first laurel in the first event of the International Olympic Games. Later, the Ancient Greek Games grew in size and became a show of national spirit. The winners of the games received wreaths of laurel, wild olives and palms.
Beginning in 776 B.C. and ending in 394 A.D., over a period of 1,168 years,*** 293 ancient Olympic Games were held. They were banned by Roman Emperor Theodosius I in 394 AD.
Legends
There are many legends about the origin of the Ancient Olympics, the most important of which are the following two: one is that the Ancient Olympics was a regular sports competition held in honor of Zeus, and the other legend is related to Heracles, the son of Zeus (Zeus). Heracles was known as "Hercules" because of his great strength. He accomplished the impossible in the city-state of Elis, sweeping the king's dung-strewn barn in less than half a day, but the king did not want to fulfill his promise of 300 cows, and Heracles drove the king away in anger. To celebrate his victory, he held games at Olympia.
Initiation and Flourishing (776 BC to 388 BC)
In 776 BC, Iphitus, the ruler of Peloponnesus, endeavored to merge religion with athletic competition. It not only innovated religious ceremonies, but also organized large-scale sports competitions, events, and decided to hold them every four years. The time was set after the summer solstice in leap years. So the Ancient Olympics in 776 BC was officially recorded in the history books and became the 1st of the ancient Olympic Games. At that time there was only one competition event. That is, the field run with a distance of 192.27 meters.
This period of strife between the city states, but Greece is an independent country, political, economic and cultural are more developed, is the golden period of the Games. Especially in 490 BC, Athens, Greece, in the Marathon Valley after the defeat of the Persian army, the people's mood, the country's prestige, built many sports facilities, temples, etc., participants throughout the Greek city states, the Olympic Games flourished for a while, becoming the biggest festival in Greece.
Decline (388 BC to 146 BC)
Due to the prolonged Peloponnesian War (431 BC to 404 BC) between Sparta and Athens, the power of the Greek state was greatly diminished, and Macedonia gradually annexed Greece. Philip, the Macedonian monarch, also made his own self to participate in the horse race. Subsequently Alexander the Great, although he himself does not like sports activities, but still actively support, and regarded the Olympic Games as the opening ceremony of the highest sports activities in Ancient Greece, adding facilities for it. However, the spirit of the ancient Olympic Games has been greatly diminished in this period, and began to appear professional athletes.
Demise (146 BC to 394 AD)
After the Roman Empire ruled Greece, the Games were still held at first, but Olympia was no longer the only place of competition. For example, the 175th Olympic Games in 80 B.C., the Roman economic laws called the best athletes to compete in Rome, while Olympia held only the Junior Games. By this time professional athletes had begun to appear in large numbers, and the Olympics became a competition for professionals, in which the Greeks lost interest. After the 2nd century A.D., Christianity ruled all of Europe, including Greece, advocating asceticism, advocating the separation of spirit and flesh, and opposing sports, which put Europe in a dark age, and the Olympics declined until it existed in name only. In 393 A.D., Roman Emperor Theodosius I declared Christianity to be the state religion, and considered the ancient Olympic Games to be against the tenets of Christianity and a pagan activity, and announced the abolition of the ancient Olympic Games the following year. In 895 A.D., the Byzantines and the Goetheans fought a fierce battle on the Alpheus River, which resulted in the destruction of all the facilities at Olympia. In 426 AD, Theodosius II burned down the remnants of the Olympia buildings. In 522 and 511 A.D., two powerful earthquakes occurred one after another, causing Olympia to be completely destroyed. From then on, the ancient Olympic Games, which had lasted for more than 1,000 years, ceased to exist, and the prosperous Olympia was reduced to ruins.
Two, recovery
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See words: 1896 Athens Olympic Games
1875 to 1881, the German Kutius people in the site of Olympia unearthed unearthed artifacts, aroused the world's interest. 1889 July, in Paris, France, held in the International Athletics Congress, was later honored as the Pierre de Coubertin, the French educator who was later revered as the "Father of the Olympics," first made public his vision for the restoration of the Olympic Games. in January 1891, in his capacity as Secretary General of the French Federation of Athletic Associations, Coubertin sent invitations to virtually every athletic organization and club in the world --to participate in the International Congress of Physical Education and Sport to be held in Paris, France, in June 1894, which was held on June 16, 1894, as scheduled, at the Sorbonne Seminary in Paris. A week later, on June 23, the Congress adopted a resolution to establish the International Olympic Committee, which became International Olympic Day. At that time, Coubertin became the first Secretary General. The General Assembly decided to hold the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, and the historic city of Athens, Greece, was awarded the right to host the games.
Three, the modern Olympic Games
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See the entry: modern Olympic Games
Birth of the modern Olympic Movement
The Olympic Movement emerged in the era of capitalist industrialization in Europe. It is based on a solid socio-economic, political and cultural foundation, conforms to the needs of social development and the trend of sports development, and is a great social practice started after the human society entered the industrial civilization, and its emergence has the following background.
Six major backgrounds
1. Three major ideological and cultural movements laid the ideological foundation for the rise of the Olympic Movement. 14-18th century, the European continent appeared three large-scale ideological and cultural movements, namely: the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Enlightenment. The three major ideological and cultural movements broke open the feudal shackles that bound people's minds in the Middle Ages, cleared the main ideological obstacles on the road to the development of capitalism, and ushered in a period of emancipation of the mind, the emergence of talented people and the prosperity of science. Adapted to the new development of productive forces and the new relations of production, new ideas and culture and new science and art have been produced, at the same time, a new sports thought of modern sports thought also came into being.
A large number of great figures in the three major ideological and cultural movements were in confrontation with the dark Christian asceticism of the European Middle Ages. They denounced asceticism as a violation of human nature, pointed out that human desire is the legitimate purpose of life, believed that harmony must be established between the soul and the body, advocated that emphasis be placed on the unity of the body and the spirit, paid attention to the balanced and coordinated development of the body, and attached importance to the body's health and fitness, which made people rediscover the value of physical education. People have rediscovered the value of sports and realized that only through good health can they enjoy happiness in life. The rise and establishment of this kind of thinking has led to a fundamental change in the traditional moral standards and the concept of beauty and ugliness, and has laid the ideological foundation for the rise of the Olympic movement.
In the three major ideological and cultural movements, the humanists discovered and organized the rich heritage of ancient Greek sports, such as the ancient Olympic Games and other ceremonial games, ancient Athenian sports and Spartan sports, the ancient Greek educational ideology of the harmonious development of the body and mind, and the various means and methods of sports in ancient Greece. Humanists believe that ancient Greek sports are in line with "human nature" and attach importance to personal happiness, so they vigorously publicize and inherit the heritage of ancient Greek sports in modern sports thought and practice, to a large extent, so that modern sports are influenced by ancient Greek sports in terms of organizing regular games, focusing on the overall development of the body, and the content and form of sports programs, and so on.
2. Capitalist industrialized production and the bourgeois way of education provided a suitable soil for the rise of the Olympic Movement. The capitalist industrial revolution brought a series of profound changes to human society, which promoted the development of modern natural science and gave modern sports a strong economic foundation, prompting sports to gain a stronger vitality. Because the production and lifestyle in industrialized society brought a series of serious challenges to human physiology and psychology, prompting people to seek a new, ideal lifestyle and a new understanding of physical activity. People began to turn their attention to the improvement of the human body itself, and sports were further developed as a new social need.
From the Renaissance era, bourgeois educators strongly advocated physical education as an important means of cultivating talents, not only restoring the ancient Greek system of physical education, but also further formulating a variety of measures to exercise the body, and actively researching various methods of exercise, and endeavoring to enable students to achieve all-round development of the body, physical education has become an important and indispensable educational activities. 1423, the Italian humanist educator Vittorio Vittorio, was the first to promote physical education in Italy. Italian humanist educator Vittorino founded a new school, modeled on the ancient Greek gymnasium, called the "Sports Palace". The school implemented the policy of giving equal importance to physical, moral and intellectual education, and carried out colorful sports activities, becoming a representative of bourgeois education in the Renaissance era. Vittorino's educational ideas and sports practices contributed to the unprecedented attention paid to physical education, and physical education as a component of education began to be implemented in schools.
The Reformation and Enlightenment explorations of education further established the status of physical education. Martin Luther, a representative of the bourgeois Reformation, argued that physical education should be part of education. The Czech educator Comenius, in accordance with the educational requirements of the bourgeoisie, made a systematic discussion of school sports and introduced sports into school education in a more mature form. He advocated that schools should have spacious playgrounds and should conduct a wide range of sports activities, and encouraged students to participate in sports activities for the healthy development of their bodies and minds. Comenius made an important contribution to the development of school sports and is known as the "father of school sports". Locke, a famous British educator, clearly divided education into moral education, intellectual education and physical education into three parts in his "Gentleman's Education" system, pointing out that physical education is the foundation of all education, making physical education an indispensable and independent part of school education. The French Enlightenment thinker Rousseau in his famous book "Emile" elaborated his naturalism education ideal, he asked for education and sports closely, advocating physical education according to the laws of nature, according to the different characteristics of children of all ages, as well as children's interests and hobbies to organize sports activities, in order to cultivate "physical and mental health" of the talents.
After the 19th century, a series of educational reforms began in Britain, including Arnold's reforms at Rugby Public School, which were the most successful. He created a system of "athletic autonomy" to give full play to the exercise value and educational function of athletic sports. Through the reform, Rugby public school students in the energetic sports field, their own management, not only exercise a strong body, but also cultivated a fair competition, unity and friendship, abide by the rules, brave and tenacious moral character, so that the school discipline greatly improved. Arnold's reform firmly established the status of sports in education, and established the educational and social value of competitive sports, providing a suitable soil for the rise of the Olympic movement.
3. The excavation of the sites of the ancient Olympic Games aroused people's desire for the Olympic movement. In the Renaissance movement of the 14th and 16th centuries, the new bourgeoisie in Europe enthusiastically glorified the spirit of ancient Greek sports, which made people recall the ancient Greek Olympic Games, which had been extinguished for a long time. The site of the ancient Olympic Games aroused people's strong desire, Britain, France, Germany and other countries scholars want to enter Greece to look for the remains of the ancient Olympic Games, but due to the blockade of the Turks, this desire could not be realized.
Until 1766, the British scholar Chandler was allowed to enter the Greek field, he found the site of the ancient Olympic Games. 1828 to support the Greek resistance to the Turkish invasion of the French regiment of scholars accompanying the army in the excavation of the Olympia site, and then a number of valuable cultural relics transported to the Louvre in France to exhibit.
January 10, 1852, Germany, Berlin University Professor Curtius in the Peloponnese after visiting the return home, published a long speech about the ancient Olympic Games, in the community has caused a large reaction. 1871, Germany and Greece reached a comprehensive excavation of the ancient Olympic site of the treaty. 1875-1881, led by Curtius German scholars on the Olympic site of the six-year excavation. In 1881, the main facilities of the site of the ancient Olympic Games finally saw the light of day. 1887, a large number of artifacts excavated from Olympia were displayed in Berlin, which aroused people's longing for the Olympic movement, and people expected the Olympic Games to come back to reality as soon as possible.
4. The internationalization of sports created the conditions for the creation of the Olympic movement. in the second half of the 19th century, with the transition from liberal capitalism to monopoly capitalism and the formation of the world market, the barriers between the peoples were broken down, and sports transcended the national boundaries and international sports exchanges and competitions took place, forming the trend of the internationalization of sports. Due to the need of international sports competition and mutual exchanges, some international single sports organizations were born one after another; the first international single sports organization, the International Gymnastics Federation, was established in 1881, and the International Boat Racing Federation and the Ice Skating Union were established one after another in 1892. The emergence of international sports organizations has made sports competitions free from the original local traditions and become international in nature. On the basis of the continuous establishment of international single sports organizations and the vigorous development of international single sports competitions, people urgently demanded the organization of the world's largest comprehensive games, which created conditions for the emergence of the modern Olympic Games. At the same time, with the increase in international sports exchanges, the birth of an international sports organization to coordinate the activities of sports organizations became inevitable.
5. The attempts to revive the Olympic Games around the world accumulated experience for the rise of the Olympic movement. in the early 19th century, some countries in Europe and the United States carried out a variety of attempts to revive the Olympic Games. in the 1830s, Prof. Scarlatto of the University of Lund, Sweden, organized two competitions which were called the "Olympic Games" by the local newspaper. From 1849 onwards, once a year, Dr. Brooks of Britain organized a decades-long "Olympic Festival".
After the middle of the 19th century, the Greeks aspired to revive the ancient Greek civilization by reviving the ancient Olympic Games. With the support of King Otto, a Greek named Zappas organized the 1st Panhellenic Olympic Games on October 1, 1859 in Athens. Thereafter, in 1870, 1875, 1887 and 1889, four more Panhellenic Games were held. Due to poor organization and limited participation of Greeks, the Panhellenic Olympic Games did not continue to develop, but they had a great impact on European countries, and many national newspapers reported on them in detail, thus causing a far greater impact than the Greek mainland, and accumulating experience for the emergence of the Olympic movement from both positive and negative aspects.
6. The threat of war and people's desire for peace contributed to the emergence of the Olympic movement. at the end of the 19th century, the world saw the emergence of monopoly capitalism and imperialism, and a new, powerful imperialist country, Germany under the rule of Wilhelm II, ascended to the stage of history and wanted to redistribute the world through war, the cloud of war. The cloud of war hung over the whole of Europe.
At this stage, the call for reviving the Olympic Games in Germany was very loud, and some Germans with ulterior motives wanted to expand their influence by launching the Olympic Games for the purpose of world domination. France was Germany's close neighbor, if Germany started a war, the disaster of the war would first fall on the French people. The French people are strongly opposed to war and are eager to maintain world peace. The spirit of peace and friendship of the ancient Olympic Games is exactly in line with the desire of the French people and the people of the world for peace. The revival of the Olympic Games would not only be conducive to the development of international sports, but would also help the French people and the world's people in their struggle against the German hegemony of the world. The revival of the Olympic Games became an urgent need for the people, and this glorious historical mission fell on the shoulders of the French.
Gubertin made the Olympic movement a reality
Gubertin, a French educator, is recognized as the founder of the modern Olympics, and made outstanding contributions to the birth and development of the Olympic movement. 1888, Gubertin became the secretary general of the Preparatory Committee for School Education and Physical Training in France, and in 1889, Gubertin participated in the International Congress of Physical Training in Boston, the United States, on behalf of France, and learned more about physical training and its benefits. In 1889, Coubertin represented France to attend the International Physical Training Conference held in Boston, U.S.A., and further understood the dynamics of the world's sports. He believed that the development of modern sports was moving towards internationalization, and that the experience and traditional influences of the ancient Greek sports should be used to promote the international sports, and then he came up with the idea of reviving the Olympic Games. In order to realize this idea, Coubertin did a lot of work.
In 1891, Coubertin founded the magazine Sports Review as a position to enthusiastically publicize his ideas, and played an active role in promoting the establishment of the Olympic Games.
In 1892, Coubertin visited Europe to publicize the Olympic ideal. On November 25th of the same year, in celebration of the 5th anniversary of the founding of the French Federation of Sports Associations, he made a famous speech, which was the first time to openly and formally put forward the initiative of founding the modern Olympic Games. In his speech, Coubertin stated: the modern Olympic Games should be like the ancient Olympic Games, with the purpose of unity, peace and friendship, but should be more developed and innovative than the ancient Olympic Games, it should be open to all countries, all regions and all nationalities, and organized in turn in all parts of the world. The initiative of Coubertin made the modern Olympic Games break through the boundaries of nationalities and countries from the very beginning, with a distinct international character. 1893, Coubertin held an international sports coordination meeting in Paris to unite the international sports people and discuss the issue of founding the Olympic Games. In the following year, he wrote an open letter to the sports clubs of many countries, which was supported by many sports clubs.
With the promotion of various international factors and the unremitting efforts of Coubertin, various preparations for the creation of the Olympic Games were finally completed. 1894, June 16-24, according to the proposal of Coubertin, representatives of 49 sports organizations from 12 countries, including the United States, Britain, Russia, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Holland and Greece, attended the Olympic Games in Paris at the Sorbonne. participated in the International Congress of Sports and Physical Education held at the Sorbonne Theological Seminary in Paris. During the Conference, 21 other countries sent letters of support and congratulations to the Congress. The Congress adopted a resolution on the establishment of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and elected 15 members of the first IOC from among the 79 official delegates. The Congress also decided that the President of the IOC should be a member of the IOC of the country hosting the Olympic Games. Since the first Olympic Games were to be held in Athens, Greece, in 1896, Greek member Vikelas was elected as the first President of the IOC, with Coubertin as Secretary General. The General Assembly decided that the Olympic Games should be held every four years and adopted a resolution to follow the "amateur sports". The General Assembly also stipulated that the Olympic Games should include athletics, aquatics, swimming, rowing, sailing, fencing, wrestling, boxing, equestrian sports, shooting, gymnastics and ball games.
April 6-15, 1896, the first modern Olympic Games was finally held in Athens as scheduled. Although the organization was not perfect, it was an important symbol of the birth of the Olympic movement, and had the significance of a new era.
The Olympic movement has finally entered the stage of history, opening a new chapter in the history of human civilization.
On June 16, 1894, the first Olympic Charter, initiated and formulated by Coubertin, was adopted at the Paris International Conference. It deals with the basic purposes, principles and other related matters of the Olympic Movement. 1921 in Lausanne, Switzerland Olympic Conference, the Olympic Law was formulated, including the Charter of the Olympic Games, the Statutes of the International Olympic Committee, the Rules of Procedure and Protocols for the Competitions of the Olympic Games, the General Regulations for the Conduct of the Olympic Games, the Rules of the Olympic Parliament and other five parts. Over the decades, the Olympic Law has been amended and supplemented many times, but the basic principles and spirit formulated by Coubertin remain unchanged.
At the second 1900 Paris Olympics, 11 women broke the ban and appeared on the playing field. After several debates, the IOC finally adopted a formal resolution allowing women to participate in the Olympic Games at its 22nd session in 1924. Since then, women's programs have become an integral part of the Olympics, and more and more female athletes have competed.
With the development of the Olympic movement, the IOC also made many provisions.
In 1913, according to the conception of Coubertin, the IOC designed the Olympic flag, with a white background and no border, with five interlocking rings in the center, and the colors of the rings are sky blue, yellow, black, green, and red, which symbolize the unity of the five continents and the athletes from all over the world meeting each other in the Olympic Games with the spirit of fairness, frankness of the competition, and friendliness. 1914, in order to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the resumption of the modern Olympic movement, the Olympic Committee held a ceremony in Paris to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the resumption of the modern Olympic movement. In 1914, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the resumption of the modern Olympic movement, the flag was used for the first time in the Olympic Games held in Paris. 1920 Antwerp Olympic Games, the first five-ringed flag was raised in the stadium, and after that, there were flag handing over ceremonies and flag-raising ceremonies in the opening ceremonies of all the Olympic Games. In order to publicize the Olympic spirit and encourage athletes to participate in the Games, "Faster, Higher, Stronger" was proposed by Coubertin and approved by the International Olympic Committee as the Olympic motto in 1913, and the Archbishop of Pennsylvania said that the Olympic Games would be the first Olympic Games in the world when the Olympic Games were held in London in 1908. In his sermon, the Archbishop of Pennsylvania in the United States said that "participation, not victory, is important" in the Olympic Games, which was greatly appreciated by Coubertin and quoted many times in the future, and therefore many people believe that this phrase should become the Olympic ideal. The athletes' oath was introduced at the 7th Olympic Games in 1920, and the referees' oath was added at the 19th Olympic Games in 1968; at the 11th Olympic Games in 1936, the IOC formally stipulated that the Olympic Flame, a symbol of light, friendship and unity, should be lit at the main venue. Since then this event has become one of the indispensable ceremonies of the opening ceremony of each Olympic Games. Before the start of the Olympic Games, in Olympia, the Greek goddess Hera (wife of Zeus) temple next to a concave mirror to gather sunlight to light the torch after the torch relay, the day before the opening of the Olympic Games to the host city. In the opening ceremony by the host country athletes to take the last stick to light the flame on the tower, the closing ceremony when the flame is extinguished.
The Youth Olympic Games
The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is a sporting event for young people, combining the fields of sport, education and culture, and will act as a catalyst for the development of these fields alongside the Olympic Games. The Youth Olympic Games, like the Olympic Games, are held every four years. The summer Youth Olympic Games, which last for up to 12 days, will be held in midsummer.
In 2001, Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, proposed the idea of organizing the Youth Olympic Games.
The IOC, at its 119th IOC Plenary Session in Guatemala City on July 5, 2007, unanimously agreed to create a Youth Olympic Games, with athletes aged between 14 and 18 years old, with the inaugural edition taking place in August 2010.