ACROSS (Oct 2022)
An Analytical Overview of the Rebirth of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement
Abstract
Collective mentality, due to specialized literature together with media, perpetuated the idea that the rebirth of the Olympic Games and the opening of the modern era in this respect is to be exclusively attributed to Baron Pierre de Coubertin (1863 – 1937). Such a perspective on Coubertin's role in reviving the Olympics and placing them at the forefront of the world’s sports championships is somehow to the detriment of all of Coubertin's forerunners who sought to revitalize the Olympic movement over time from the Renaissance to the moment when the initiatives of Baron de Coubertin come to life and became a landmark in the history of the Olympic Games. In fact, the modern Olympics are the work of all those who have endeavored to keep alive the principles, spirit, and cultural heritage of ancient Greece. This article aims to highlight the efforts of all those who tried, long before Pierre de Coubertin, to keep alive the Olympic spirit and the healthy principles promoted by the ancient Olympic Games in order to understand the implications of the discussed phenomenon on the economic, social and cultural development of modern society. The special merit of Baron de Coubertin is that he understood better than others the educational, economic and cultural potential of the Olympic Games and that he militated with all the means at his disposal to bring the Olympic Games back on the world public stage. The centuries-old efforts of generations of prominent humanists, state and public figures, representatives of historical science, education, upbringing, physical culture and sports, which led to the formation in the most developed countries of an environment capable of perceiving, supporting and implementing the idea of reviving the Olympic Games. This idea was enthusiastically received by Pierre de Coubertin and brilliantly implemented by him thanks to his talent, education, dedication and passion. That is why, thanks to the talent, education, dedication and passion of all those who have been involved in keeping the "Olympic flame" alive over time, starting with Renaissance thinkers, continuing with Pierre de Coubertin and beyond, we can now understand and channel the educational potential and the impact of the Olympic Games on the moral and physical development of the new generation of students willing to assume the models of devotion, fair play, ambition and dedication of the dozens of generations of athletes who climbed the Olympic podiums.
