The relation to the past
"Our shared present is based on our shared past". This concept has been used for the legitimization of the central authority in 19th cent. Greece.  The common past, which was based on common origin, proved the coexistence of the Greeks under the authority of a national state and helped to overcome the differences between them.
The organisation of the Olympic Games is directly related to their classical origin. The symbols of the classical past were used in a new -national- context. The following is a characteristic extract from the description of the games:
"The decoration of the Stadium is exceptional. At the entrance very tall masts have been erected and on them standards and coat-of-arms are hung, and on each side a replica of ancient tripods. All around close to the marble parapet are poles with coat-of-arms, while close to the sphendone the two ancient stone Hermes heads which we found during the excavations of the ancient track have been set up."
[Beck, Ch. (ed.), Oi Olympiakoi Agones, 776 BC - 1896 (The Olympic Games, 776 BC - 1896), Athens 1896]
|
