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Essay on greek olympics
Contribution of ancient Greece toward physical education
Essay on greek olympics
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INTRODUCTION
At the same time that sport is a product of social reality, it is also unique. No other institution, except perhaps religion, commands the mystique, the nostalgia, the romantic ideational cultural fixation that sport does. No other activity so paradoxically combines the serious with the frivolous, playfulness with intensity, and the ideological with the structural. (Frey & Eitzen 504)
OLYMPIC ORIGINS AND IDEALS
Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic movement, was born in 1863, into a family of French nobility. (MacAloon 8) Coubertin was raised during an era of French conflict and transition; the Franco-Prussian War, government instability during the time of the Paris Commune and then move to the French Third Republic, as well as the Dreyfus affair, left the French nation in turmoil during his youth. Inevitably, Coubertin’s character and beliefs were greatly influenced by his experience in this era of conflict as well as his lineage.
In 1883, Coubertin went to study to study physical education in England. There, he developed a passion for sports education. (Hill 5; MacAloon 43) His studies lead him to believe that sports education had reached its peak in ancient Greece, “where the gymnasia of Athens had created what he called a triple unity” (Hill 6) that brought together people from different places in society. From this Greecian ‘ideal,’ Coubertin created his concept of the modern Olympic Games. He believed that through exposure to other nations through competition, people could learn about each other and eventually form le respect mutuel. (MacAloon)
To ask the peoples of the world to love one another is merely a form of childishness. To ask them to respect one another is not in the least utopian, but...
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...ory of the power brokers, events, and controversies that shaped the Games. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
“Sochi by the numbers: The mind-boggling numbers behind the 2014 winter olympics.” 2014. Radio Free Europe Documents and Publications, January 27. http://search.proquest.com/docview/1491821936?accountid=14749. Accessed April 23, 2014.
Wilson, Harold Edwin, Jr. The Golden Opportunity: A Study of the Romanian Manipulation of the Olympic Movement during the Boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Diss. Ohio State University, 1993. Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms International.
Young, Christopher. “Olympic Boycotts: Always Tricky.” Dissent 11, no. 3 (Summer 2008), 67-72. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Zhemukhov, Sufian and Robert W. Orttung. 2014. “Munich Syndrome: Russian Security in the 2014 Sochi Olympics.” Problems of Post-Communism 61(1): 13-29.
Close, Paul, David Askew, and Xin Xu. The Beijing Olympics the Political Economy of a Sporting Mega-event.. Hoboken: Taylor & Francis, 2006.. 34-35
Since 776 BCE, the Olympics have been a way for people of different cultures to come together and compete in friendly competition. In 1892 the first modern Olympics were held in Athens, although it had been over a thousand years since the last game it still had brought together an assortment of different religions and ethnic groups together. Many factors shaping the Olympic Games reflect the changes that have taken place in our world since the last game in 393 CE in Greece such changes include woman’s suffrage, global economy, world wars, and proving competency.
Research guided by conflict theory generally falls into the following categories: 1) studies of how athletes become alienated from their own bodies; 2) studies of how sports can be used to coerce and control people; 3) studies of sports and the development of commercialism in society; 4) studies of sports and various forms of nationalism and militarism; and 5) studies of sports and racism and sexism. (Coakley, 1998) In the book, Meggyesy provided examples of each of these categories which occurred during his footba...
Hill, Christopher R. "The Cold War and the Olympic Movement." History Today. History Today, 1999. Web. 18 May 2014. .
Theme: Many events of The Nazi Olympics surround this sporting festival to make it one of the controversial events in sport history. Not only does Mandell cover the 1936 Olympic Games themselves but he gives insight to the history of the modern games, participation by the United States, the role of the games in the Nazi propaganda efforts and portrays heroes and key figures. Mandell wrote about the intersection of sport and politics and how world leaders set the agenda, not the athletes. The Nazi’s used the 1936 Olympic Games as a way to reinforce their political and racial goals. Although they were founded as part of a vision of world peace, the 1936 games became a stage for political disputes. The Nazi Olympics takes an in depth look at the efforts the Germans made to show the rest of the world that they had again become a powerful nation under the leader of Adolf Hitler. The events that followed the games in Germany, mainly the Holocaust and World War II overshadowed the Berlin games. However, it is very important to note that a world gathering like the Olympics took place in a country that was in the process of eliminating an entire race of people. The games were a huge success in regards to the Nazi regime, they were able to fool the world and prove to Germany that they were a peaceful and stable nation.
"The Nazi Party: The Nazi Olympics." The Jewish Library. The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, 12 Nov. 2009. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.
modern Olympics were a vision of one man who had strived to see a unity that can only be
Llewellyn, M.P. (2011). ‘Olympic Games are an International Farce’. International Journal Of History Of Sport, 28(5), 751-772.
Politics is the art or science of government or governing, especially the governing of a political entity, such as a nation, and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs. The Olympic Games is an event held every 4 years, which includes a variety of sporting activities in which different countries compete against one another. “Sport is frequently a tool of diplomacy”. By sending delegations of athletes abroad, states can establish a first basis for diplomatic relations or can more effectively maintain such relations” (Espy 3). One might think that politics and the Olympics have nothing to do with each other, but in fact, they do have a lot in common.
Lenskyj, Helen Jefferson. Inside the Olympic Industry : Power, Politics, and Activism. State University of New York Press, 2000. SUNY Series on Sport, Culture, and Social Relations. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=44027&site=eds-live.
Grendler, Paul . "Sports." Encyclopedia of the Renaissance . 6. New York, New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999. Print.
Sport can be an alternative civic religion that not only educates but it also provides structure and moral support to its member, regardless of their roles (Sheffer 1498). Sport has qualities and characteristics of a religious ideology, such as the ability to transcend an individual to a supernatural level of existence (Sheffer 1498). In other words, sport is almost as influential as religion in shaping who we think we are, and it is somewhat similar with religion on its role to the
... able to be the competitors of the Olympic Games, this is an internationally recognized action for them. If the IOC did not co-ordinate this event well, believe that the development of Olympic Games may not be as well as today.
With each passing civilization and the era it’s [its] people lived in, one can find a great deal about the times by examining an area that is not often thought of. That area is in regards to sports. The ancient Mayans had arenas, the Greeks helped initiate the Olympics, and the Romans had bloody matches between gladiators in the Colosseum. These sports and games often reveal to us what was occurring outside the playing field and arenas, into the political arenas and clashes between the classes. Examining the history of rugby throughout Europe, particularly in Great Britain, allows one the opportunity to see how the changes throughout society’s values, norms, and principles are mirrored by the evolution of the game of rugby from the mid-nineteenth century up to World War I.
Introduction Today, the Olympic Games are the world's largest pageant of athletic skill and competitive spirit. They are also displays of nationalism, commerce and politics. Well-known throughout the world the games have been used to promote understanding and friendship among nations, but have also been a hotbed of political disputes and boycotts. The Olympic games started thousands of years ago and lasted over a millennium.. The symbolic power of the Games lived on after their demise, and came to life again as the modern Olympic Games being revived in the last century. Both the modern and Ancient Olympics have close similarities in there purpose and in there problems.