OLYMPICS REBIRTH

Games' Chronicle
The ideal of the Olympic Games absolutely captivated the modern nation-states. In symbolic terms, these Games were the celebration of modern societes, which faced the new era with optimism and faith for the future. It was also the reassurance of the heritage of the Greek classical culture. The atmosphere of these days proves the effort put in identifing the two cultures, classical and modern. The original album of Charles Beck, Oi Olympiakoi Agones, 776 p.X. - 1896 (The Olympic Games, 776 BC - 1896), published in 1896, takes us back to the feeling of the festivities. It is used here as a testimony of the spirit of that time:

(Note: Please, note that in the following texts describing the events of each day, the original language of 1896 publication has been kept. )

• 1st day of the Games, March 25
• 2nd day, March 26
• 3rd day, March 27
• 4th day, March 28
• 5th day, March 29
• 6th day, March 30
• 7th day, March 31
• 8th, 9th and 10th day of the Games

19th century Athens
19th century Athens illustrates the transformation of the Hellenic society. Athens became the pole of attraction of various groups of people and the field of cultural and political confrontations and changes. Thus, it became the melting pot of different cultures. By 1896, it possessed a fully realized urban environment fashioned in genuine neoclassical style. In symbolical terms, this new center of power constituted the point of entrance of western patterns of life in the modern Hellenic society.