1.
Athens
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Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. In modern times, Athens is a cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime. In 2015, Athens was ranked the worlds 29th richest city by purchasing power, Athens is recognised as a global city because of its location and its importance in shipping, finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, culture, education and tourism. It is one of the biggest economic centres in southeastern Europe, with a financial sector. The municipality of Athens had a population of 664,046 within its limits. The urban area of Athens extends beyond its administrative city limits. According to Eurostat in 2011, the Functional urban areas of Athens was the 9th most populous FUA in the European Union, Athens is also the southernmost capital on the European mainland. The city also retains Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a number of Ottoman monuments. Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery, Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it welcomed home the 2004 Summer Olympics. In Ancient Greek, the name of the city was Ἀθῆναι a plural, in earlier Greek, such as Homeric Greek, the name had been current in the singular form though, as Ἀθήνη. It was possibly rendered in the later on, like those of Θῆβαι and Μυκῆναι. During the medieval period the name of the city was rendered once again in the singular as Ἀθήνα, an etiological myth explaining how Athens has acquired its name was well known among ancient Athenians and even became the theme of the sculpture on the West pediment of the Parthenon. The goddess of wisdom, Athena, and the god of the seas, Poseidon had many disagreements, in an attempt to compel the people, Poseidon created a salt water spring by striking the ground with his trident, symbolizing naval power. However, when Athena created the tree, symbolizing peace and prosperity. Different etymologies, now rejected, were proposed during the 19th century. Christian Lobeck proposed as the root of the name the word ἄθος or ἄνθος meaning flower, ludwig von Döderlein proposed the stem of the verb θάω, stem θη- to denote Athens as having fertile soil. In classical literature, the city was referred to as the City of the Violet Crown, first documented in Pindars ἰοστέφανοι Ἀθᾶναι. In medieval texts, variant names include Setines, Satine, and Astines, today the caption η πρωτεύουσα, the capital, has become somewhat common
2.
Olympic sports
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Olympic sports are sports contested in the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. The 2016 Summer Olympics included 28 sports, with five additional sports due to be added to the 2020 Summer Olympics, the 2014 Winter Olympics included seven sports. The number and kinds of events may change slightly from one Olympiad to another, each Olympic sport is represented by an international governing body, namely an International Federation. The International Olympic Committee establishes a hierarchy of sports, disciplines, according to this hierarchy, the Olympic sports can be subdivided into multiple disciplines, which are often assumed to be distinct sports. Examples include swimming and water polo, or figure skating and speed skating, in their turn, disciplines can be subdivided into events, for which medals are actually awarded. The IOCs requirements reflect participation in the Olympic Games as well—more stringent toward men, previous Olympic Games included sports which are no longer present on the current program, like polo and tug of war. These sports, known as discontinued sports, were removed either because of lack of interest or absence of an appropriate governing body. Archery and tennis are examples of sports that were competed at the early Games and were dropped by the IOC. Demonstration sports have often included in the Olympic Games, usually to promote a local sport from the host country or to gauge interest. Some such sports, like baseball and curling, were added to the official Olympic program, baseball, however, was discontinued after the 2008 Summer Olympics. The term sport in Olympic terminology refers to all the events that are sanctioned by one international sport federation, one sport, by Olympic definition, may be divided into several disciplines, which are often regarded as separate sports in common language. Skating is a winter Olympic sport represented by the International Skating Union, and includes four disciplines, figure skating, speed skating, short track speed skating, and synchronized skating. The sport with the largest number of Olympic disciplines is skiing, with six, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, nordic combined, snowboarding, other notable multi-discipline sports are gymnastics, cycling, volleyball, wrestling, canoeing, and bobsleigh. The disciplines listed here are only those contested in the Olympics—gymnastics has two disciplines, while cycling and wrestling have three each. It should also be noted that the IOC definition of a discipline may differ from that used by an international federation, for example, the IOC considers artistic gymnastics a single discipline, but the International Federation of Gymnastics classifies mens and womens artistic gymnastics as separate disciplines. An event, by IOC definition, is a competition that leads to the award of medals. The number of events per sport ranges from a minimum of two to a maximum of 47 in athletics, which despite its number of events and its diversity is not divided into disciplines. The only summer sports that have never been absent from the Olympic program are athletics, aquatics, cycling, fencing, the only winter sports that were included in all Winter Olympic Games are skiing, skating, and ice hockey
3.
George I of Greece
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George I was King of Greece from 1863 until his assassination in 1913. Originally a Danish prince, George was born in Copenhagen, and he was only 17 years old when he was elected king by the Greek National Assembly, which had deposed the unpopular former king Otto. His nomination was both suggested and supported by the Great Powers, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Second French Empire and he married the Russian grand duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia, and became the first monarch of a new Greek dynasty. Two of his sisters, Alexandra and Dagmar, married into the British, King Edward VII and Tsar Alexander III were his brothers-in-law and King George V and Tsar Nicholas II were his nephews. Georges reign of almost 50 years was characterized by territorial gains as Greece established its place in pre-World War I Europe, Britain ceded the Ionian Islands peacefully, while Thessaly was annexed from the Ottoman Empire after the Russo-Turkish War. Greece was not always successful in its ambitions, it was defeated in the Greco-Turkish War. During the First Balkan War, after Greek troops had captured much of Greek Macedonia, compared to his own long tenure, the reigns of his successors Constantine, Alexander, and George II proved short and insecure. George was born at the Yellow Palace, an 18th-century town house at 18 Amaliegade and he was the second son of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and Louise of Hesse-Kassel. Although he was of blood, his family was relatively obscure. In 1852, however, Georges father was designated the heir presumptive to the childless King Frederick VII of Denmark, Georges siblings were Frederick, Alexandra, Dagmar, Thyra and Valdemar. Georges mother tongue was Danish, with English as a second language and he was also taught French and German. He embarked on a career in the Royal Danish Navy, while Frederick was described as quiet and extremely well-behaved, George was lively and full of pranks. Many Greeks, seeking closer ties to the pre-eminent world power, Great Britain, rallied around Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. British prime minister Lord Palmerston believed that the Greeks were panting for increase in territory, hoping for a gift of the Ionian Islands, which were then a British protectorate. The London Conference of 1832, however, prohibited any of the Great Powers ruling families from accepting the crown, the Greeks nevertheless insisted on holding a plebiscite in which Prince Alfred received over 95% of the 240,000 votes. There were 93 votes for a Republic and 6 for a Greek, with Prince Alfreds exclusion, the search began for an alternative candidate. Eventually, the Greeks and Great Powers winnowed their choice to Prince William of Denmark, aged only 17, he was elected King of the Hellenes on 30 March 1863 by the Greek National Assembly under the regnal name of George I. Paradoxically, he ascended a royal throne before his father, who became King of Denmark on 15 November the same year, there were two significant differences between Georges elevation and that of his predecessor, Otto
4.
Olympic Stadium
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Olympic Stadium is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies, many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words Olympic Stadium as part of their names. Olympic Stadium may also be named a stadium which hosts Olympic sports. In the case of the Summer Olympics, athletics competitions and the final are traditionally held in the Olympic Stadium. Exceptions to this have occurred though at the 1900,1996 and 2016 Summer Olympics as well as at the 2010 and 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games, early Winter Games often used figure skating venues as focal points. These were often designated as the Olympic Stadium, usually hosting the opening and closing ceremonies, a number of stadiums have been used in more than one Olympics, in those cities that have held the Games more than once. Lysgårdsbakkene was the stadium of a Winter Olympics and a Winter Youth Olympic Games. Bergiselschanze was the stadium of two Winter Olympics and one Winter YOG. Olympiahalle jointly shared the Olympic Stadium role with Bergiselschanze during the two Winter Olympics, but not during the Winter YOG, only one stadium, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, has been the main stadium of two Summer Olympics. In addition to the inaugural Summer Olympics, Panathinaiko Stadio was also the stadium of the only Intercalated Games held. A number, including both the Panathinaiko Stadio and the Vélodrome de Vincennes, have hosted events at subsequent Olympics. The London Games of 2012 were not opened and closed at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium, the site of the 1948 Olympic Stadium, Wembley was, however, the venue for some 2012 Olympic football matches. Likewise, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which was the stadium for the 1956 games. Lake Placids 1930 Olympic Stadium was utilized in the 1980 Lake Placid games as the speed skating venue, olympiahalle hosted figure skating and short-track speed skating during the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics. Stockholm Olympic Stadium hosted equestrian events for the 1956 Summer Olympics, Olympic Past & Future Stadiums - BALLPARKS. com Summer Olympic Stadiums 1896 - on Google Maps
5.
Panathenaic Stadium
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The Panathenaic Stadium also known as Kallimarmaro, is a multi-purpose stadium in Athens, Greece. One of the attractions of Athens, it is the only stadium in the world built entirely of marble. A stadium was built on the site of a simple racecourse by the Athenian statesman Lykourgos c. 330 BC and it was rebuilt in marble by Herodes Atticus, an Athenian Roman senator, by 144 AD and had a capacity of 50,000 seats. After the rise of Christianity in the 4th century it was largely abandoned, the stadium was excavated in 1869 and hosted the Zappas Olympics in 1870 and 1875. After being refurbished, it hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympics in 1896 and was the venue for 4 of the 9 contested sports and it was used for various purposes in the 20th century and was once again used as an Olympic venue in 2004. It is the point for the annual Athens Classic Marathon. It is also the last venue in Greece from where the Olympic flame handover ceremony to the host nation takes place, the stadium is built in what was originally a natural ravine between the two hills of Agra and Ardettos, south of the Ilissos river. Up to the 1950s, the River ran in front of the entrance, and the spring of Kallirrhoe, the sanctuary of Pankrates. Originally, since the 6th century BC, a racecourse existed at the site of the stadium and it hosted the Panathenaic Games, a religious and athletic festival celebrated every 4 years in honor of the goddess Athena. The racecourse had no seating and the spectators sat on the natural slopes on the side of the ravine. In the 4th century BC the Athenian statesman Lykourgos built a 850-foot long stadium of Poros limestone, tiers of stone benches were arranged around the track. The track was 669 feet long and 110 feet wide, IG II²351, records that Eudemus of Plataea gave 1000 yoke of oxen for the construction of the stadium and theater. The stadium of Lykourgos is believed to have completed for the Panathenaic Games of 330/329 BC. Donald Kyle suggests that it is possible that Lykourgos did not built, according to Richard Ernest Wycherley the stadium probably had stone seating only for a privileged few. Herodes Atticus, an Athenian who rose to the highest echelons of power in Rome, was responsible for numerous structures in Greece, in Athens he is best known for the reconstruction of the Panathenaic Stadium. Tobin suggests that Herodes built the stadium soon after Atticuss death, the first Greater Panathenaia following his fathers demise was 139/40, and it is probable that at that time Herodes promised the refurbishment of the stadium. According to Philostratus, it was completed four years later, which would have been in 143/4 and these dates are now widely cited as construction dates of the stadium of Herodes Atticus. Welch writes that the stadium was completed by 143 in time for Panathenaic festival, the new stadium was built completely of ashlar masonry in Pentelic marble, using minimal concrete
6.
1900 Summer Olympics
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No opening or closing ceremonies were held, competitions began on May 14 and ended on October 28. The Games were held as part of the 1900 Worlds Fair, in total,997 competitors took part in 19 different sports. Women took part in the games for the first time and sailor Hélène de Pourtalès became the first female Olympic champion, at the Sorbonne conference of 1894, Pierre de Coubertin proposed that the Olympic Games should take place in 1900 in Paris. The delegates to the conference were unwilling to wait six years, a decision was made to hold the first Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens and that Paris would host the second celebration. Most of the winners in 1900 did not receive medals, but were given cups or trophies, professionals competed in fencing and Albert Robert Ayat, who won the épée for amateurs and masters, was awarded a prize of 3000 francs. This was also the only Olympic Games in history to use live animals as targets during the shooting event, the 1900 Games were held as part of the 1900 Exposition Universelle. The director of the Exposition Universelle, Alfred Picard, thought holding an ancient sport event at the Exposition Universelle was an absurd anachronism, after thanking de Coubertin for his plans, Picard filed them away and nothing more came of it. A committee was formed for the organization of the Games, consisting of some of the more able sports administrators of the day, British and Irish sports associations announced a desire to compete, as did a number of powerful American universities and sports clubs. Competitors from Russia and Australia also confirmed their intentions to travel to Paris, on November 9,1898, the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques put out an announcement that it would have sole right to any organised sport held during the Worlds Fair. It was an empty threat but Viscount Charles de La Rochefoucauld, the IOC ceded control of the Games to a new committee which was to oversee every sporting activity connected to the 1900 Exposition Universelle. Alfred Picard appointed Daniel Mérillon, the head of the French Shooting Association, between May and October 1900, the new organizing committee held an enormous number of sporting activities alongside the Paris Exposition. The sporting events rarely used the term of Olympic, indeed, the term Olympic Games was replaced by Concours internationaux dexercices physiques et de sport in the official report of the sporting events of the 1900 Exposition Universelle. The press reported competitions variously as International Championships, International Games, Paris Championships, World Championships, de Coubertin commented later to friends, Its a miracle that the Olympic Movement survived that celebration. Hélène de Pourtalès became the first female Olympic champion as part of the team in the 1-2 ton sailing event. Charlotte Cooper was the first woman to win an individual Olympic event after winning the singles tennis competition. She later went on to win the doubles tournament. In the coxed pairs and eights events in rowing, crews replaced adult coxswain with children, the identities and ages of these boys were not recorded but they are believed to have been amongst the youngest of all Olympic competitors. 85 events in 20 disciplines, comprising 19 sports, were part of the Olympic program in Paris, weightlifting and wrestling had been dropped since the 1896 Summer Olympics, while 13 new sports were added
7.
Olympic Games
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The Olympic Games are considered the worlds foremost sports competition with more than 200 nations participating. The Olympic Games are held four years, with the Summer and Winter Games alternating by occurring every four years. Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894, leading to the first modern Games in Athens in 1896. The IOC is the body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure. The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in changes to the Olympic Games. The IOC has had to adapt to a variety of economic, political, as a result, the Olympics has shifted away from pure amateurism, as envisioned by Coubertin, to allowing participation of professional athletes. The growing importance of mass media created the issue of corporate sponsorship, World wars led to the cancellation of the 1916,1940, and 1944 Games. Large boycotts during the Cold War limited participation in the 1980 and 1984 Games, the Olympic Movement consists of international sports federations, National Olympic Committees, and organising committees for each specific Olympic Games. As the decision-making body, the IOC is responsible for choosing the host city for each Games, the IOC also determines the Olympic programme, consisting of the sports to be contested at the Games. There are several Olympic rituals and symbols, such as the Olympic flag and torch, over 13,000 athletes compete at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in 33 different sports and nearly 400 events. The first, second, and third-place finishers in each event receive Olympic medals, gold, silver, the Games have grown so much that nearly every nation is now represented. This growth has created numerous challenges and controversies, including boycotts, doping, bribery, every two years the Olympics and its media exposure provide unknown athletes with the chance to attain national and sometimes international fame. The Games also constitute an opportunity for the host city and country to themselves to the world. The Ancient Olympic Games were religious and athletic festivals held every four years at the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia, competition was among representatives of several city-states and kingdoms of Ancient Greece. These Games featured mainly athletic but also combat such as wrestling. It has been written that during the Games, all conflicts among the participating city-states were postponed until the Games were finished. This cessation of hostilities was known as the Olympic peace or truce and this idea is a modern myth because the Greeks never suspended their wars. The truce did allow those religious pilgrims who were travelling to Olympia to pass through warring territories unmolested because they were protected by Zeus
8.
Modern history
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Modern history, the modern period or the modern era, is the global historiographical approach to the timeframe after the Post-classical history. It took all of history up to 1804 for the worlds population to reach 1 billion. Contemporary history is the span of historic events from approximately 1945 that are relevant to the present time. Some events, while not without precedent, show a new way of perceiving the world, the concept of modernity interprets the general meaning of these events and seeks explanations for major developments. The fundamental difficulty of studying modern history is the fact that a plethora of it has been documented up to the present day and it is imperative to consider the reliability of the information obtained from these records. In the pre-modern era, many peoples sense of self and purpose was expressed via a faith in some form of deity. Pre-modern cultures have not been thought of creating a sense of distinct individuality, religious officials, who often held positions of power, were the spiritual intermediaries to the common person. It was only through intermediaries that the general masses had access to the divine. Tradition was sacred to ancient cultures and was unchanging and the order of ceremony. The term modern was coined in the 16th century to present or recent times. New information about the world was discovered via empirical observation, versus the use of reason. The term Early Modern was introduced in the English language in the 1930s, to distinguish the time between what we call Middle Ages and time of the late Enlightenment. It is important to note that these terms stem from European history, in the Contemporary era, there were various socio-technological trends. Regarding the 21st century and the modern world, the Information Age and computers were forefront in use, not completely ubiquitous. The development of Eastern powers was of note, with China, in the Eurasian theater, the European Union and Russian Federation were two forces recently developed. A concern for Western world, if not the world, was the late modern form of terrorism. The modern period has been a period of significant development in the fields of science, politics, warfare and it has also been an age of discovery and globalization. During this time, the European powers and later their colonies, began a political, economic, the modern era is closely associated with the development of individualism, capitalism, urbanization and a belief in the possibilities of technological and political progress
9.
International Olympic Committee
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The International Olympic Committee is the supreme authority of the worldwide Olympic movement. It is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Lausanne and its mission is enshrined in the Olympic Charter, to support the development of competitive sport by ethical and environmentally sustainable means. The IOC was created by Pierre de Coubertin, on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president, today its membership consists of 100 active members,32 honorary members, and 1 honour member. The IOC is the authority of the worldwide modern Olympic movement. The IOC organises the modern Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games, held in summer and winter, the first Summer Olympics organised by the IOC was held in Athens, Greece, in 1896, the first Winter Olympics was in Chamonix, France, in 1924. Until 1992, both Summer and Winter Olympics were held in the same year, the first Summer Youth Olympics were in Singapore in 2010 and the first Winter Youth Olympics were held in Innsbruck in 2012. In 2009, the UN General Assembly granted the IOC Permanent Observer status and this decision enables the IOC to be directly involved in the UN Agenda and to attend UN General Assembly meetings where it can take the floor. This has provided the possibility to promote sport at a new level, during each proclamation at the Olympics, announcers speak in different languages, French is always spoken first followed by an English translation and the dominant language of the host nation. The stated mission of the International Olympic Committee is to promote Olympic throughout the world and it is the IOC’s supreme organ and its decisions are final. Extraordinary Sessions may be convened by the President or upon the written request of at least one third of the members, among others, the powers of the Session are, To adopt or amend the Olympic Charter. To elect the members of the IOC, the Honorary President, to elect the President, the Vice-Presidents and all other members of the IOC Executive Board. To elect the host city of the Olympic Games, the Olympic Laurel is awarded to individuals for promoting education, culture, development, and peace through sport. For most of its existence, the IOC was controlled by members who were selected by other members, countries that had hosted the Games were allowed two members. When named, they did not become the representatives of their countries to the IOC. The membership of IOC members ceases in the circumstances, Resignation. Non re-election, any IOC member ceases to be a member without further formality if they are not re-elected, age limit, any IOC member ceases to be a member at the end of the calendar year during which they reach the age of 80. Failure to attend Sessions or take part in IOC work for two consecutive years. Transfer of domicile or of main center of interests to an other than the country which was theirs at the time of their election
10.
Pierre de Coubertin
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Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin was a French educator and historian, and founder of the International Olympic Committee. He is considered the father of the modern Olympic Games, born into a French aristocratic family, he became an academic and studied a broad range of topics, most notably education and history. The Pierre de Coubertin medal is a given by the International Olympic Committee to athletes that demonstrate the spirit of sportsmanship in the Olympic Games. Pierre de Frédy was born in Paris on 1 January 1863 into an aristocratic family and he was the fourth child of Baron Charles Louis de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin and Marie–Marcelle Gigault de Crisenoy. His paintings often centred on themes related to the Roman Catholic Church, classicism, and nobility and his memoirs elaborated further, describing as a pivotal moment his disappointment upon meeting Henri, Count of Chambord, whom the elder Coubertin believed to be the rightful king. But while these events were the setting of his childhood, his experiences were just as formative. This suggests that despite his rebelliousness at home, Coubertin adapted well to the rigors of a Jesuit education. As an aristocrat, Coubertin had a number of paths from which to choose. But he chose instead to pursue a career as an intellectual, studying and later writing on a range of topics, including education, history, literature. The subject which he seems to have been most deeply interested in was education, and his study focused in particular on physical education, in 1883, he visited England for the first time, and studied the program of physical education instituted by Thomas Arnold at the Rugby School. Coubertin credited these methods with leading to the expansion of British power during the 19th century, the inclusion of physical education in the curriculum of French schools would become an ongoing pursuit and passion of Coubertins. In fact, Coubertin is thought to have exaggerated the importance of sport to Thomas Arnold, nonetheless, Coubertin was an enthusiast in need of a cause and he found it in England and in Thomas Arnold. Thomas Arnold, the leader and classic model of English educators, wrote Coubertin, playing fields sprang up all over England. Intrigued by what he had read about English public schools, in 1883, at the age of twenty, Fredy went to Rugby and he described the results in a book, LEducation en Angleterre, which was published in Paris in 1888. This hero of his book is Thomas Arnold, and on his visit in 1886. What Coubertin saw on the fields of Rugby and the other English schools he visited was how “organised sport can create moral and social strength”. Not only did organised games help to set the mind and body in equilibrium, First developed by the ancient Greeks, it was an approach to education that he felt the rest of the world had forgotten and to whose revival he was to dedicate the rest of his life. As a historian and a thinker on education, Coubertin romanticised ancient Greece, Coubertin advocated for these concepts, this triple unity, to be incorporated into schools
11.
Marathon
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The marathon is a long-distance running race with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres, usually run as a road race. The event was instituted in commemoration of the run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens. The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896, more than 800 marathons are held throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes as larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants. The name Marathon comes from the legend of Philippides or Pheidippides and it is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming νενικήκαμεν, before collapsing and dying. Lucian of Samosata also gives the story, but names the runner Philippides, there is debate about the historical accuracy of this legend. In some Herodotus manuscripts, the name of the runner between Athens and Sparta is given as Philippides, in 1879, Robert Browning wrote the poem Pheidippides. Brownings poem, his story, became part of late 19th century popular culture and was accepted as a historic legend. This route, as it existed when the Olympics were revived in 1896, was approximately 40 kilometres long, and this route is considerably shorter, some 35 kilometres, but includes a very steep initial climb of more than 5 kilometres. When the modern Olympics began in 1896, the initiators and organizers were looking for a great popularizing event, the idea of a marathon race came from Michel Bréal, who wanted the event to feature in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. This idea was supported by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics. The Greeks staged a race for the Olympic marathon on 10 March 1896 that was won by Charilaos Vasilakos in 3 hours and 18 minutes. The winner of the first Olympic marathon, on 10 April 1896, was Spyridon Louis, the marathon of the 2004 Summer Olympics was run on the traditional route from Marathon to Athens, ending at Panathinaiko Stadium, the venue for the 1896 Summer Olympics. The womens marathon was introduced at the 1984 Summer Olympics and was won by Joan Benoit of the United States with a time of 2 hours 24 minutes and 52 seconds. It has become a tradition for the mens Olympic marathon to be the last event of the athletics calendar, often, the mens marathon medals are awarded during the closing ceremony. The Olympic mens record is 2,06,32, set at the 2008 Summer Olympics by Samuel Kamau Wanjiru of Kenya, the Olympic womens record is 2,23,07, set at the 2012 Summer Olympics by Tiki Gelana of Ethiopia. The mens London 2012 Summer Olympic marathon winner was Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda, per capita, the Kalenjin ethnic group of Rift Valley Province in Kenya has produced a highly disproportionate share of marathon and track-and-field winners. Johnny Hayes victory at the 1908 Summer Olympics contributed to the growth of long-distance running and marathoning in the United States. Later that year, races around the season including the Empire City Marathon held on New Years Day 1909 in Yonkers, New York
12.
Spyridon Louis
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Spiridon Spyros Louis was a Greek water-carrier who won the first modern-day Olympic marathon at the 1896 Summer Olympics, thereby becoming a national hero. Louis was born in the town of Marousi, which is now a suburb to the north of Athens, louiss father sold mineral water in Athens, at the time lacking a central water supply, and his son helped him by transporting it. After the decision to revive the Olympic Games in 1894, preparations were made to organise the first modern Olympics in Athens, one of the races would be the marathon, an event which had never been held before. The Greeks were very enthusiastic about this new event and decided to stage qualifying races for would-be Greek participants and these were organised by an army colonel, Papadiamantopoulos, who had been Louis commanding officer during his military service. The first qualifying race—the first ever marathon race—was held on 22 March, Louis participated in the second qualifying race, two weeks later. Papadiamantopoulos, who knew Louis running talents, had convinced him to try out, Louis crossed the line in fifth place, behind winner Dimitrios Deligiannis. The Olympic marathon was run on 10 April, the Greek public had been very enthusiastic about the Games, but was disappointed in the fact that no track and field event had yet been won by a Greek competitor. The victory in the throw, a classical Greek event. Because of its connection with Greek history, the public desperately yearned for the marathon to be won by one of their countrymen. In Marathon, Colonel Papadiamantopoulos gave the signal for the small field, consisting of thirteen athletes from Greece. The early leader of the race, which led over dusty dirt roads along which throngs of Greeks had gathered to watch, was the Frenchman Albin Lermusiaux, in the town of Pikermi, Louis made a stop at a local inn to drink a glass of wine. After asking for the advantage of the runners, he confidently declared he would overtake them all before the end. After 32 km, Lermusiaux was exhausted and abandoned the race, the lead was taken over by Edwin Flack, an Australian who won the 800 and 1500 m races. Louis slowly closed in on Flack, the Australian, not used to running long distances, collapsed a few kilometers onwards, giving Louis the lead. In the stadium, the atmosphere was tense, especially after a cyclist brought the news that the Australian was in the lead, the scene witnessed then inside the Stadion cannot be easily described, and even foreigners were carried away by the general enthusiasm. Reportedly, the king offered Louis any gift he would care to ask of him, adding to the celebrations, two more Greek runners entered the stadium to finish in second and third place. Third place finisher Spiridon Belokas was later found to have covered part of the course by carriage and was disqualified, after his victory, Louis received gifts from many countrymen, ranging from jewelry to a lifelong free shave at the barber shop. It is unknown if Louis took all these gifts, although he did back home the carriage he had asked of the king
13.
Sport wrestling
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Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of United World Wrestling, Greco-Roman, Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style. A similar style, commonly called collegiate, is practiced in colleges and universities, secondary schools, middle schools, where the style is not specified, this article refers to the international styles of competition on a mat. In February 2013, the IOC voted to remove the sport from the 2020 Summer Olympics onwards, on 8 September 2013, the IOC announced that wrestling would return to the Summer Olympics in 2020. The rapid rise in the popularity of the combat sport Mixed martial arts has increased interest in wrestling due to its effectiveness in the sport. Greco-Roman and freestyle differ in what holds are permitted, in Greco-Roman, in both Greco-Roman and freestyle, points can be scored in the following ways, Takedown, A wrestler gaining control over their opponent from a neutral position. Reversal, A wrestler gaining control over their opponent from a defensive position, exposure or the Danger Position, A wrestler exposing their opponents back to the mat, also awarded if ones back is to the mat but the wrestler is not pinned. Any wrestler stepping out of bounds while standing in the position during a match is penalized by giving their opponent a point. As in the styles, collegiate wrestling awards points for takedowns. Penalty points are awarded in collegiate wrestling according to the current rules, however, the manner in which infractions are penalized and points awarded to the offended wrestler differ in some aspects from the international styles. Collegiate wrestling also awards points for, Near Fall, This is similar to the points given in Greco-Roman. A wrestler scores points for holding their opponents shoulders or scapulae to the mat for several seconds while their opponent is not pinned. Escape, A wrestler getting from a position to a neutral position. This is no longer a way to score in freestyle or Greco-Roman, in the international styles, the format is now two three-minute periods. A wrestler wins the match when they were able to get more points than their opponent or 10 points lead in two rounds, for example, if one competitor get 10-0 lead in first the period, they will win by superiority of points. Only a fall, injury default, or disqualification terminates the match and this format replaced the old format of three two-minute periods played best two out of three. One side effect of the old format was that it was possible for the wrestler to outscore the winner. For example, periods may be scored 3–2, 0–4, 1–0, leading to a score of 4–6
14.
Gymnastics
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Gymnastics is a sport involving the performance of exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, endurance and control. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shoulders, chest, alertness, precision, daring, self-confidence and self-discipline are mental traits that can also be developed through gymnastics. Gymnastics evolved from exercises used by the ancient Greeks that included skills for mounting and dismounting a horse, most forms of competitive gymnastics events are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique. Each country has its own governing body affiliated to FIG. Competitive artistic gymnastics is the best known of the gymnastic events and it typically involves the womens events of vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. Mens events are floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars, other FIG disciplines include rhythmic gymnastics, trampolining and tumbling, acrobatic gymnastics and aerobic gymnastics. Disciplines not currently recognized by FIG include wheel gymnastics, aesthetic group gymnastics, mens rhythmic gymnastics and TeamGym. The word gymnastics derives from the common Greek adjective Greek, by way of the related verb γυμνάζω, whose meaning is to train naked, train in gymnastic exercise, generally to train, the verb had this meaning, because athletes in ancient times exercised and competed without clothing. It came into use in the 1570s, from Latin gymnasticus, from Greek gymnastikos fond of or skilled in bodily exercise, Gymnastics originated in ancient Spain and was originally intended for military training, where it was used by soldiers to prepare for warfare. Don Francisco Amorós y Ondeano, was born on February 19,1770 in Valencia and he was a Spanish colonel, and the first person to introduce educative gymnastic in France. Jahn promoted the use of bars, rings and high bars in international competition. The Federation of International Gymnastics was founded in Liege in 1881, by the end of the nineteenth century, mens gymnastics competition was popular enough to be included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. During the 1920s, women organized and participated in gymnastics events, the first womens Olympic competition was primitive, only involving synchronized calisthenics and track and field. These games were held in 1928, in Amsterdam, by 1954, Olympic Games apparatus and events for both men and women had been standardized in modern format, and uniform grading structures had been agreed upon. At this time, Soviet gymnasts astounded the world with highly disciplined and difficult performances, television has helped publicize and initiate a modern age of gymnastics. Both mens and womens gymnastics now attract considerable international interest, in 2006, a new points system for Artistic gymnastics was put into play. With an A Score being the difficulty score, which as of 2009 is based on the top 8 high scoring elements in a routine, the B Score, is the score for execution, and is given for how well the skills are performed. The following disciplines are governed by FIG, Artistic Gymnastics is usually divided into Mens and Womens Gymnastics
15.
Carl Schuhmann
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Schuhmann, who was a member of the Berliner Turnerschaft, was a member of the successful German gymnastics team that won the team events in the horizontal bar and parallel bars events. Schuhmann added a title by winning the horse vault event. He also competed in the bars, horizontal bar, pommel horse. The only extant information about his placing in those events, besides not being a medallist, is that he placed fifth in the rings competition. Schuhmann then entered the competition, which he also won. In the first round, he faced Launceston Elliot of Great Britain and Ireland, the semifinals resulted in a bye for the German. In the final, he faced Georgios Tsitas of Greece, the match went for 40 minutes before it was determined that it was too dark to continue and the bout was postponed until a second day. The next morning, Schuhmann quickly finished the bout with a win for a gold medal and he also entered the weightlifting competition, placing fourth. Schuhmann was one of nine athletes to compete in the long jump, the only information known about his placing in the event is that he was not one of the top four. He also placed fifth in the jump and in the bottom three of a seven-man field in the shot put. Schuhmann tied for place in the two-handed weightlifting competition now known as the clean. He and Georgios Papasideris of Greece both lifted 90.0 kilograms, in 1936 he was part of a gymnastics exhibition at the Olympic Stadium. His tombstone is inscribed with the epitaph Germany’s first Olympic champion, list of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games Biography from the International Olympic Committee Athens 1896 PostScript Athens 1896 PostScript
16.
Greece
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Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, historically also known as Hellas, is a country in southeastern Europe, with a population of approximately 11 million as of 2015. Athens is the capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki. Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of nine regions, Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands, Thrace, Crete. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km in length, featuring a vast number of islands, eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres. From the eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states, known as polis, which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming a part of the Roman Empire and its successor. The Greek Orthodox Church also shaped modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox World, falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, the modern nation state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence. Greeces rich historical legacy is reflected by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among the most in Europe, Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life, and a very high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the member to join the European Communities and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001. Greeces unique cultural heritage, large industry, prominent shipping sector. It is the largest economy in the Balkans, where it is an important regional investor, the names for the nation of Greece and the Greek people differ from the names used in other languages, locations and cultures. The earliest evidence of the presence of human ancestors in the southern Balkans, dated to 270,000 BC, is to be found in the Petralona cave, all three stages of the stone age are represented in Greece, for example in the Franchthi Cave. Neolithic settlements in Greece, dating from the 7th millennium BC, are the oldest in Europe by several centuries and these civilizations possessed writing, the Minoans writing in an undeciphered script known as Linear A, and the Mycenaeans in Linear B, an early form of Greek. The Mycenaeans gradually absorbed the Minoans, but collapsed violently around 1200 BC and this ushered in a period known as the Greek Dark Ages, from which written records are absent. The end of the Dark Ages is traditionally dated to 776 BC, the Iliad and the Odyssey, the foundational texts of Western literature, are believed to have been composed by Homer in the 7th or 8th centuries BC. With the end of the Dark Ages, there emerged various kingdoms and city-states across the Greek peninsula, in 508 BC, Cleisthenes instituted the worlds first democratic system of government in Athens
17.
Ancient Olympic Games
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The Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions among representatives of city-states and one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. They were held in honor of Zeus, and the Greeks gave them a mythological origin, the first Olympics is traditionally dated to 776 BC. The games were held four years, or olympiad, which became a unit of time in historical chronologies. During the celebration of the games, an Olympic Truce was enacted so that athletes could travel from their cities to the games in safety, the prizes for the victors were olive leaf wreaths or crowns. The games became a tool used by city-states to assert dominance over their rivals. Politicians would announce political alliances at the games, and in times of war, the games were also used to help spread Hellenistic culture throughout the Mediterranean. The Olympics also featured religious celebrations, the statue of Zeus at Olympia was counted as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Sculptors and poets would congregate each olympiad to display their works of art to would-be patrons, the ancient Olympics had fewer events than the modern games, and only freeborn Greek men were allowed to participate, although there were victorious women chariot owners. The games were held at Olympia rather than moving between different locations as is the practice with the modern Olympic Games. Victors at the Olympics were honored, and their feats chronicled for future generations, to the Greeks, it was important to root the Olympic Games in mythology. During the time of the ancient games their origins were attributed to the gods and these origin traditions have become nearly impossible to untangle, yet a chronology and patterns have arisen that help people understand the story behind the games. The earliest myths regarding the origin of the games are recounted by the Greek historian, according to the story, the dactyl Heracles and four of his brothers, Paeonaeus, Epimedes, Iasius and Idas, raced at Olympia to entertain the newborn Zeus. He crowned the victor with an olive wreath, which also explains the four year interval. The other Olympian gods would also engage in wrestling, jumping and running contests, another myth of the origin of the games is the story of Pelops, a local Olympian hero. The story of Pelops begins with Oenomaus, the king of Pisa, Greece, according to an oracle, the king would be killed by her husband. Now, the kings chariot horses were a present from the god Poseidon and were therefore supernaturally fast, Pelops was a very handsome young man and the kings daughter fell in love with him. Before the race, she persuaded her fathers charioteer Myrtilus to replace the bronze axle pins of the chariot with wax ones. Naturally, during the race the wax melted and the fell from his chariot and was killed
18.
Cycling at the 1896 Summer Olympics
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At the 1896 Summer Olympics, six cycling events were contested at the Neo Phaliron Velodrome. They were organized and prepared by the Sub-Committee for Cycling, Events were held on 8 April,11 April,12 April and 13 April 1896. Nineteen cyclists, all men, from five nations competed and these medals were retroactively assigned by the International Olympic Committee, at the time, winners were given a silver medal and subsequent places received no award. Every nation won at least a medal, with three winning golds. A total of 19 cyclists from 5 nations competed at the Athens Games, Austria France Germany Great Britain Greece NOTE, theophilas List of Olympic medalists in cycling List of Olympic medalists in cycling Lampros, S. P. Polites, N. G. De Coubertin, Pierre, Philemon, P. J. Anninos, the Olympic Games, BC776 – AD1896. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary, the Invention of the Modern Olympic Games
19.
Zappeion
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The Zappeion, is a building in the National Gardens of Athens in the heart of Athens, Greece. It is generally used for meetings and ceremonies, both official and private, the ancient Panathenian stadium was also refurbished as part of the works for the Olympic Games. Following some delay, on 20 January 1874, the cornerstone of the building was laid, finally, on 20 October 1888, the Zappeion opened. The Austrian Parliament Building was also designed by Hansen and followed the theme in the exterior. The Zappeion was used during the 1896 Summer Olympics as the fencing hall. A decade later, at the 1906 Intercalated Games, it was used as the Olympic Village and it served as the first host for the organizing committee for the 2004 Games from 1998 to 1999 and served as the press center during the 2004 games. In 1938, the Athens Radio Station, the countrys first national broadcaster, the building continued to house the National Radio Foundation until the inauguration of the House of Radio in 1970. The head of Evangelos Zappas is buried underneath his statue which is located just outside the Zappeion, the Zappeion is currently being used as a Conference and Exhibition Center for both public and private purposes. The building contains about 25 distinct rooms that range in size from 97 square metres to 984 square metres, in the obverse of the coin, a front view of the building is depicted. Official Zappeion Megaron Website Virtual Tour of the Zappeion Zappeion Remodelling Project,2000 Old Photos of Zappeion
20.
Fencing at the 1896 Summer Olympics
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At the 1896 Summer Olympics, three fencing events were contested at the Zappeion. They were prepared and organized by the Sub-Committee for Fencing, the épée event for men was cancelled. All fencing was done to three touches, Events were held on 7 April and 9 April 1896. 15 athletes from four nations competed,8 fencers from 3 nations won one medal each and these medals are retroactively assigned by the International Olympic Committee, at the time, winners were given a silver medal. De Coubertin, Pierre, Philemon, P. J. Anninos, the Olympic Games, BC776 – AD1896. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary, the Invention of the Modern Olympic Games
21.
Constantine I of Greece
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Constantine I was King of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922. He succeeded to the throne of Greece on 18 March 1913 and his disagreement with Eleftherios Venizelos over whether Greece should enter World War I led to the National Schism. Constantine forced Venizelos to resign twice, but in 1917 he left Greece, after threats of the Entente forces to bombard Athens, his son, Alexander. After Alexanders death, Venizelos defeat in the 1920 legislative elections, and he abdicated the throne for the second and last time in 1922, when Greece lost the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, and was succeeded by his eldest son, George II. Constantine died in four months later, in Sicily. Born on 2 August 1868 in Athens, Constantine was the eldest son of King George I and his birth was met with an immense wave of enthusiasm, the new heir apparent to the throne was the first Greek-born member of the family. As the ceremonial cannon on Lycabettus Hill fired the salute, huge crowds gathered outside the Palace shouting what they thought should rightfully be the newborn princes name. He was inevitably christened Constantine on 12 August, and his style was the Diádochos. An additional nickname adopted mainly by the royalists for Constantine was the son of the eagle, on 30 October 1882 he enrolled in the Hellenic Military Academy. After graduation he was sent to Berlin for further military education, Constantine also studied political science and business in Heidelberg and Leipzig. In 1890 he became a Major General, and assumed command of the 3rd Army Headquarters in Athens, in January 1895, Constantine caused political turmoil when he ordered army and gendarmerie forces to break up a street protest against tax policy. Constantine had previously addressed the crowd and advised them to submit their grievances to the government, Prime Minister Charilaos Trikoupis asked the King to recommend that his son avoid such interventions in politics without prior consultation with the government. King George responded that the Crown Prince was, in dispersing protesters, merely obeying orders. The incident caused a debate in Parliament, and Trikoupis finally resigned as a result. In the following elections Trikoupis was defeated, and the new Prime Minister, Theodoros Deligiannis, the organization of the first modern Olympics in Athens was another issue which caused a Constantine-Trikoupis confrontation, with Trikoupis opposed to hosting the Games. After Deligiannis electoral victory over Trikoupis in 1895, those who favored a revival of the Olympic Games, including the Crown Prince, coubertin assured that the King and the Crown Prince will confer their patronage on the holding of these Games. Constantine later conferred more than that, he assumed the presidency of the 1896 organizing committee. At the Crown Princes request, wealthy businessman George Averoff agreed to pay one million drachmas to fund the restoration of the Panathinaiko Stadium in white marble
22.
Olympic Hymn
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The Olympic Hymn, also known informally as the Olympic Anthem, is a choral cantata by opera composer Spyridon Samaras, with lyrics by Greek poet Kostis Palamas. Both poet and composer were the choice of the Greek Demetrius Vikelas, the anthem was performed for the first time for the ceremony of opening of the first edition at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. In the following years, every hosting nation commissioned to various musicians the composition of a specific Olympic hymn for their own edition of the games. The anthem by Samaras and Palamas was declared the official Olympic Anthem by the International Olympic Committee in 1958 at the 54th Session of the IOC in Tokyo, Japan. Since 1960, it has played at each Olympic Games, during the opening ceremony when the Olympic flag is hoisted. If the anthem is to be performed in English, then the English sung version is used, the only Olympic games in which lyrics of the English version were used in translation were the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Donovan Seidle, associate director during the games, arranged the anthem. The anthem has been recorded and performed in different languages. The IOC requires that the anthem be performed in either English or Greek, but in the 2008 Olympic opening and closing ceremonies in Beijing, China, Greek was also sung instead of host countrys official language, Chinese. Also in the 2016 Olympic opening ceremonies in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, English was also sung instead of host countrys official language, Olympic symbols The original score of the Olympic Hymn, transcribed at Wikisource
23.
Spyridon Samaras
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Spyridon-Filiskos Samaras was a Greek composer particularly admired for his operas who was part of the generation of composers that heralded the works of Giacomo Puccini. His compositions were praised worldwide during his lifetime and he is arguably the most internationally appreciated Greek composer before Dimitri Mitropoulos, Samaras was born in Corfu, where, as a young man, he studied with Spyridon Xyndas. From 1875 to 1882 he studied at the Athens Conservatory with Federico Bolognini, Angelo Mascheroni and his first opera Torpillae was premiered in Athens in 1879. He went to Paris in 1882 to study at the Paris Conservatoire and his other instructors included Léo Delibes, Théodore Dubois, and Charles Gounod. He worked successfully as a composer in Paris for three years and then migrated to Italy in 1885, Samaras quickly became an important figure in the opera scene in Italy. His opera Flora mirabilis première in Milan in 1886 and in 1888 Medgé was successfully staged at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome with French opera star Emma Calvé in the title role, Samaras became closely associated with Edoardo Sonzogno, a Milanese publisher. Sonzogno founded the Teatro Lirico Internazionale and chose Samaras La martire for the opening on 22 September 1894. He wrote fifteen stage works, the last three on texts by Paul Milliet, Storia damore o La biondinetta, Mademoiselle de Belle-Isle and he returned to Greece in 1911, thinking that he would be appointed director of the Athens Conservatoire. However he was not, partly because of the National School controversy and he supported himself by composing operettas aiming at satisfying a variety of audiences, rather than continuing in his usual creative vein. His last opera, Tigra, although started about this time, Samaras is known for composing the Olympic Anthem, on lyrics by Kostis Palamas. The Anthem was first performed during the ceremony of the 1896 Summer Olympics. It was declared the anthem of the Olympic movement by the International Olympic Committee in 1958 and has been used at every opening ceremony since the 1960 Winter Olympics. Samaras died, aged 55, in Athens, Torpillae, incidental music for a play, words by Gavziilidis and K. Triandafyllos, Athens,1879. Olas, opera in 4 Acts, libretto by Fravassili, now lost,1882, Flora mirabilis, opera in 3 Acts, libretto by Ferdinando Fontana, Teatro alla Scala, Milan,1886. Medge, opera in 4 Acts, libretto by Ferdinando Fontana, Teatro Constanzi, messidor, opera after Alexandre Dumas novel Le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge, written before 1891, now lost. Lionella, opera in 3 Acts, libretto by Fontana, lost except for Hungarian Rhapsody, orch, Teatro alla Scala, La martire, opera in 3 Acts, libretto by Luigi Illica, Teatro Lirico Internazionale, Milan,1894. La furia domata, opera in 3 Acts, libretto by E. A. Butti and G. Macchi after Shakespeares The Taming of the Shrew, Teatro Lirico Internazionale, Milan,1895. Storia d’amore o La biondinetta, opera in 3 Acts, libretto by Paul Milliet, Teatro Lirico Internazionale, Mademoiselle de Belle-Isle, opera in 4 Acts, libretto by Paul Milliet, Teatro Politeama, Genoa,1905
24.
Kostis Palamas
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Kostis Palamas was a Greek poet who wrote the words to the Olympic Hymn. He was a figure of the Greek literary generation of the 1880s and one of the cofounders of the so-called New Athenian School along with Georgios Drosinis, Nikos Kampas. Born in Patras, he received his primary and secondary education in Mesolonghi, in 1877 he enrolled at the School of Law, Economics and Political Sciences of the University of Athens, but he soon abandoned his studies. In 1880s, he worked as a journalist and he published his first collection of verses, the Songs of My Fatherland, in 1886. He held an administrative post at the University of Athens between 1897 and 1926, and died during the German occupation of Greece during World War II, Palamas wrote the lyrics to the Olympic Hymn, composed by Spyridon Samaras. It was first performed at the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first modern Olympic Games and he has been informally called the national poet of Greece and was closely associated with the struggle to rid Modern Greece of the purist language and with political liberalism. He dominated literary life for 30 or more years and greatly influenced the entire climate of his time. Romain Rolland considered him the greatest poet of Europe and he was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature. His most important poem, The Twelve Lays of the Gypsy, is a poetical and philosophical journey, katsimbalis The Kings Flute, tr. F. Will The Twelve Lays of the Gypsy, tr. G. Thomson The Twelve Words of the Gypsy, tr
25.
1906 Intercalated Games
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The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the Second International Olympic Games in Athens by the International Olympic Committee. This was apparently a compromise, after the games of Athens 1896. Since they had the accommodation and had proven they could hold well-organized games, however, Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the International Olympic Committee, opposed this. Coubertin had intended the first games to be in Paris in 1900, after Paris lost the premiere Olympics, Coubertin did not want the games to be permanently hosted elsewhere. This was a departure from the ancient schedule, but it was expected that, if the ancient Greeks could keep a four-year schedule, as 1902 was now too close, and Greece experienced internal difficulties, the 2nd Olympic Games in Athens were scheduled for 1906. The IOC as a whole gave the Greek NOC full support for the organization, the 1906 games were quite successful. Unlike the 1900,1904 or 1908 games, they were stretched out over months nor overshadowed by an international exhibition. Their crisp format was most likely instrumental in the existence of the games. These Games also were the first games to have all athlete registration go through the NOCs and they were also the first with an Olympic Village, at the Zappeion. They introduced the ceremony, the raising of national flags for the victors. The Games were held from 22 April to 2 May 1906, in Athens and they took place in the Panathenaic Stadium, which had already hosted the 1896 Games and the earlier Zappas Olympics of 1870 and 1875. The games excluded several disciplines that had occurred during the past two games, it was whether they ought to have been part of the Olympic Games. Added to the program were the javelin throw and the pentathlon, the games included a real opening ceremony, watched by a large crowd. The athletes, for the first time, entered the stadium as national teams, the official opening of the games was done by King Georgios I. There were only two standing jump events in Athens, but Ray Ewry successfully defended his titles in both of them, bringing his total up to 8 gold medals. In 1908 he would defend them one last time for a total of 10 Olympic titles. Paul Pilgrim won both the 400 and 800 metres, a feat that was first repeated during Montreal 1976 by Alberto Juantorena, canadian Billy Sherring lived in Greece for two months, to adjust to the local conditions
26.
2004 Summer Olympics
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10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team officials from 201 countries. There were 301 medal events in 28 different sports, Athens 2004 marked the first time since the 1996 Summer Olympics that all countries with a National Olympic Committee were in attendance. 2004 marked the return of the games to the city where they began, a new medal obverse was introduced at these Games, replacing the design by Giuseppe Cassioli that had been used since the 1928 Games. This rectified the long lasting mistake of using a depiction of the Roman Colosseum rather than a Greek venue, the new design features the Panathenaic Stadium. The cost of the 2004 Athens Summer Games has been cited as a contributor to the Greek government-debt crisis, some of the venues lie vacant and rotting, while others are in use, the Independent newspaper reports as many as 21 out of 22 are unused. The final medal tally was led by the United States, followed by China, several World and Olympics records were broken during the games. Several concerns were raised over the preparations of the Games and these included excessive budget overruns, infrastructural compromise, the games were deemed generally successful with the rising standard of competition amongst nations across the world. Athens was chosen as the host city during the 106th IOC Session held in Lausanne on 5 September 1997, Athens had lost its bid to organize the 1996 Summer Olympics to Atlanta nearly seven years before on 18 September 1990, during the 96th IOC Session in Tokyo. 1996 coincided with the 100th Anniversary of the first modern Olympics, under the direction of Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, Athens pursued another bid, this time for the right to host the Summer Olympics in 2004. After leading all voting rounds, Athens easily defeated Rome in the 5th, cape Town, Stockholm, and Buenos Aires, the three other cities that made the IOC shortlist, were eliminated in prior rounds of voting. Six other cities submitted applications, but their bids were dropped by the IOC in 1996 and these cities were Istanbul, Lille, Rio de Janeiro, San Juan, Seville, Saint Petersburg and Cali. The 2004 Summer Olympic Games cost the Government of Greece €8.954 billion to stage, the Athens 2004 Organizing Committee, responsible for the preparation and organisation of the games, concluded its operations as a company in 2005 with a surplus of €130.6 million. ATHOC contributed €123.6 million of the surplus to the Greek State to cover other related expenditures of the Greek State in organizing of the games, as a result, ATHOC reported in its official published accounts a net profit of €7 million. The State’s contribution to the total ATHOC budget was 8% of its expenditure against an originally anticipated 14%, the overall revenue of ATHOC, including income from tickets, sponsors, broadcasting rights, merchandise sales etc. totalled €2,098.4 million. The largest percentage of income came from broadcasting rights. The overall expenditure of ATHOC was €1,967.8 million. e, the large projects required for the upgrade of the country’s infrastructure, including sports infrastructure, roads, airports, hospitals, power grid etc. This cost, however, is not directly attributable to the organisation of the Games. Such infrastructure projects are considered by all standards as fixed asset investments that stay with the hosting country for decades after the Games
27.
Zappas Olympics
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The Zappas Olympics, simply called Olympics at the time, were a series of athletic events held in Athens, Greece, in 1859,1870, and 1875 sponsored by Greek businessman Evangelis Zappas. These games were one of the first revivals of the ancient Olympic Games in the modern era and their success provided further inspiration for William Penny Brookes in England, whose games had been running since 1850, and the International Olympic Committee series from 1896. The same stadium would also host the first IOC Games of 1896, the 1906 Intercalated Games, and archery, sporadic references to the revival of the ancient Olympic Games were made by various personalities during the 19th century, inspired by a certain degree of romanticism. In his 1833 poem Dialogue of the Dead, the Constantinople-born, Panagiotis Soutsos editor of a Greek newspaper, soon after, he explicitly proposed the revival of the games by the newly formed Greek state, even sending a memorandum to that effect to the Greek government in 1835. His proposal was accepted by King Otto of Greece, but in the event, nothing was done, in 1852, the German archaeologist Ernst Curtius, during a romantic lecture, also stated that the Olympic events would be revived. Evangelis Zappas, a businessman and member of the Greek diaspora in Romania, was inspired by Soutsos and resolved to revive this ancient tradition through his own efforts. In early 1856, Zappas sent a letter through diplomatic channels to King Otto of Greece, offering to fund the project of the Olympic revival. However, this initiative was not without opposition, there was a wide belief among part of the Greek politicians that athletic games were just a throwback to archaic times. They feared that Greece would seem primitive among the nations of Europe if it revived, as they claimed. In July 1856, an article in the Greek press by Panagiotis Soutsos, finally, Otto agreed upon competitions at four-year intervals, on the occasion of industrial and agricultural expositions, and allowed the realization of athletic events with Zappas full sponsorship. Consequently, Zappas offered the necessary funds to the Greek government in order to establish an Olympic Trust Fund, on November 15,1859 the first modern revival of the athletic Olympic Games took place in Athens. As the renovation of the ancient Panathenaic stadium was not yet complete, although they could be termed as the first Olympic Games of the present tradition, it was far from being an international festival. They had a national character, since the participants were exclusively of Greek ethnicity. Athletes competed in a variety of disciplines, similar to those of the ancient Olympic games, running, discus, javelin throwing, wrestling, jumping and pole climbing. Attendees included the king, officers and other dignitaries in rows of seats, since it was one of the first mass gatherings in the citys modern history, neither the people nor the police had any previous experience with maintaining the order at such an event. The site was also unsuited for the sports and the weather was too cold, who were attracted by the monetary prizes of the Games. Even a beggar, who pretended to be blind, participated in the races, the Wenlock Prize was the largest prize on offer and was won by Petros Velissarios of Smyrna from the Ottoman Empire who was of Greek ethnic descent. In July 1869, the dates of the 1870 Olympics were announced, followed by organizational plans, the committee paid for participating athletes to undergo three months of training prior to the Games
28.
Pedagogy
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Pedagogy is the discipline that deals with the theory and practice of education, it thus concerns the study of how best to teach. Spanning a broad range of practice, its aims range from furthering liberal education to the specifics of vocational education. Instructive strategies are governed by the background knowledge and experience, situation. One example would be the Socratic schools of thought, the teaching of adults, as a specific group, is referred to as andragogy. Johann Friedrich Herbart is the father of the conceptualization of pedagogy, or. Herbarts educational philosophy and pedagogy highlighted the correlation between personal development and the benefits to society. In other words, Herbart proposed that humans become fulfilled once they establish themselves as productive citizens, herbartianism refers to the movement underpinned by Herbarts theoretical perspectives. Referring to the process, Herbart suggested 5 steps as crucial components. Specifically, these 5 steps include, preparation, presentation, association, generalization, Herbart suggests that pedagogy relates to having assumptions as an educator and a specific set of abilities with a deliberate end goal in mind. The word is a derivative of the Greek παιδαγωγία, from παιδαγωγός, itself a synthesis of ἄγω, I lead and it is pronounced variously, as /ˈpɛdəɡɒdʒi/, /ˈpɛdəɡoʊdʒi/, or /ˈpɛdəɡɒɡi/. Negative connotations of pedantry have sometimes been intended, or taken, doctor of Pedagogy, is awarded honorarily by some US universities to distinguished teachers. The term is used to denote an emphasis in education as a specialty in a field. The word pedagogue means leading children some say to the teacher and other leading them, in Denmark, a pedagogue is a practitioner of pedagogy. The term is used for individuals who occupy jobs in pre-school education in Scandinavia. But a pedagogue can occupy various kinds of jobs, e. g. in retirement homes, prisons, orphanages and these are often recognized as social pedagogues as they perform on behalf of society. The pedagogues job is usually distinguished from a teachers by primarily focusing on teaching children life-preparing knowledge such as social skills, there is also a very big focus on care and well-being of the child. Many pedagogical institutions also practice social inclusion, the pedagogues work also consists of supporting the child in their mental and social development. In Denmark all pedagogues are educated at a series of institutes for social educators located in all major cities
29.
William Penny Brookes
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Later, competitions for cultural events were added. Brookes was born, lived, worked and died in the market town of Much Wenlock, Shropshire. He was apprenticed to his father, Dr William Brookes, and later studied in London, England, Paris, France and Padua, Italy and his lifelong campaign to get Physical Education on the school curriculum brought him into contact with Baron Pierre de Coubertin. In 1890, the young French aristocrat visited Much Wenlock and stayed with Dr Brookes at his home in Wilmore Street. Coubertin went on to set up the International Olympic Committee in 1894, Dr. Brookes was a social reformer, who tirelessly campaigned to give opportunities for what he termed every grade of man to expand their knowledge and become mentally and physically fit. This opened the door for the classes to enter competitive sport which. William Penny Brookes was born in Much Wenlock, where his father, William Brookes, was a local doctor. He was apprenticed to his father on 12 August 1824, studied at St Thomas Hospital, London from September 1829 to May 1830, then studied in the hospitals of Paris, until the end of August 1830. Later he went to Padua in Italy famous for the Orto botanico di Padova, there he studied herbal medicines and botany, although not as a student of Padua University, and was there for about six months before returning home to Much Wenlock at the end of February 1831. During his medical studies in Paris he learned of his fathers death, when he arrived back at Much Wenlock in 1831, he returned to the family home and took over his fathers large medical practice. His herbarium is held at the Much Wenlock Town Councils archives and he also became actively involved in the local community, becoming a Justice of the Peace in 1841 and remaining an active magistrate for over 40 years. Also in 1841, he instigated the setting up of the Wenlock Agricultural Reading Society, from these endeavours evolved various interest groups called classes including art, music, botany and subsequently an Olympian Class. All the WARS classes, the lectures they held and the library were open to grade of man. The first Games meeting was held in October 1850, and included competitions in athletics and also country sports such as quoits, football. The Games quickly expanded, and within a few years it was attracting competitors from as far away as London, in reality, this was a misconception as only free-born adult male citizens were permitted to vote, etc. In nineteenth century Britain it was usually young men educated at schools or the sons of professionals who had the opportunities to enter competitive sport. It was felt that such an event would cause drunkenness, rioting, lewd behaviour, the Games were a huge success and none of the threatened disturbances occurred. In 1858, Brookes established contact with the organisers of an Olympic Games revival in Athens sponsored by the Albanian-born, Evangelis Zappas, the Olympian Class sent a prize of £10 which was awarded to the winner of the Seven-Fold Foot Race, Petros Velissariou
30.
Multi-sport event
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A multi-sport event is an organized sports event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports between organized teams of athletes from nation states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of significance is the modern Olympic Games. Many regional multi-sport events have since founded and modeled after the Olympics. Most have the basic structure. Games are held over the course of days in and around a host city. Countries send national teams to each competition, consisting of individual athletes, athletes or teams are awarded gold, silver or bronze medals for first, second and third place respectively. The games are held every four years, though some are annual competitions. Instead, the Greek sports of racing and wrestling, as well as the Etruscan sport of gladiatorial combat. In the late 19th and early 20th century, athletes at events were almost exclusively male. As international womens sport began to develop, events such as the Womens World Games, though short-lived, events such as these led to greater inclusion of women at multi-sport events over the course of the 20th century. Since the establishment of the Olympics, most serial multi-sport events have been organized for specific audiences, after some celebrations, the Olympics became very popular nowadays. The number of sports, initially only a few, is still growing, the Paralympic Games is the largest multi-sport event involving athletes with physical disabilities, and is organised by the International Paralympic Committee. Arranged for the first time in 1960 in Rome, Italy, the number of sports, initially only a few, is still growing. The first Special Olympics International Summer Games were held in Chicago, the most recent Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles, United States, involved 25 sports and approximately 6,500 athletes from 177 countries. At the beginning of the 20th century, another multi-sport event and these Games were held in Scandinavia, and the sports conducted were winter sports such as cross-country skiing and speed skating. The Nordic Games were last held in 1926, after which the 1924 Winter Sports Week in Chamonix was declared the first Olympic Winter Games, in the 1920s, all kinds of other multi-sport events were set up. These were usually directed for a group of athletes, rather than everybody. Regional games were another kind of event that was established, such as the Far Eastern Championship Games
31.
Much Wenlock
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Much Wenlock is a small and picturesque town and parish in Shropshire, England, situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, Much Wenlock was historically the chief town of the ancient borough of Wenlock. The Much was added to the name to distinguish it from the nearby Little Wenlock, notable historic attractions in the town are Wenlock Priory and the Guildhall. The name Wenlock probably comes from the Celtic name Wininicas, meaning white area, plus the Old English loca, the town was recorded in the Domesday Book as Wenloch. The population of the parish, according to the 2001 census, was 2,605. The Wenlock Olympian Games established by Dr William Penny Brookes in 1850 are centred in the town, Dr Brookes is credited as a founding father of the modern Olympic Games, and one of the Olympic mascots for London 2012 was named Wenlock after the town. The town of Wenlock is known to have grown up around an abbey or monastery founded around 680 by Merewalh, King Penda installed his daughter Milburga as abbess in 687. Milburga of Wenlock was credited with many miraculous works, the abbey flourished until around 874 when it is thought that a Danish Viking attack occurred. In the 11th century another house was built on the same site by Leofric, Earl of Mercia. It prospered until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, other architectural attractions include the 16th century Guildhall, many other historic buildings in the Early English style and an annual well dressing at St Milburgas Well on Barrow Street. 11-year-old Alice Glaston from Little Wenlock was hanged together with two men in Much Wenlock on 13 April 1546, for an unknown crime and she is the youngest known girl legally executed in Great Britain. In the 19th century the town and much of the land came into the possession of James Milnes Gaskell. James was MP for Wenlock for many years and his son Charles Milnes Gaskell restored the Priory lodging as a home with his wife Lady Catherine, daughter of the Earl of Portsmouth. The Domesday Book of 1086 records the manor as Wenloch and forming part of the hundred of Patton and it was already at this time a fairly large settlement, with 73 households. The abbey is recorded in the Book, separately. Much Wenlock has become known as the birthplace of Wenlock Olympian Games set up by Dr William Penny Brookes, in 1861 he was also instrumental in setting up the Shropshire Games and later in 1866, the National Olympian Games. Dr Brookes is credited as a father of the Modern Olympic Games. In 1890 it was the turn of the Raven Hotel to be the venue for the annual post Wenlock Olympian Games dinner, copies of some of the WOSs archive images are on display in the hotel, including letters from Coubertin to Brookes
32.
Shropshire
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Shropshire Council was created in 2009, a unitary authority taking over from the previous county council and five district councils. The borough of Telford and Wrekin has been a unitary authority since 1998. The county has many towns, including Whitchurch in the north, Newport north-east of Telford. The Ironbridge Gorge area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, covering Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale, there are other historic industrial sites in the county, such as at Shrewsbury, Broseley, Snailbeach and Highley, as well as the Shropshire Union Canal. The Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers about a quarter of the county, Shropshire is one of Englands most rural and sparsely populated counties, with a population density of 136/km2. The Wrekin is one of the most famous landmarks in the county, though the highest hills are the Clee Hills, Stiperstones. Wenlock Edge is another significant geographical and geological landmark, the River Severn, Great Britains longest river, runs through the county, exiting into Worcestershire via the Severn Valley. Shropshire is landlocked and with an area of 3,487 square kilometres is Englands largest inland county, the county flower is the round-leaved sundew. The area was part of the lands of the Cornovii. This was a tribal Celtic iron age kingdom and their capital in pre-Roman times was probably a hill fort on the Wrekin. Ptolemys 2nd century Geography names one of their towns as being Viroconium Cornoviorum, after the Roman occupation of Britain ended in the 5th century, the Shropshire area was in the eastern part of the Welsh Kingdom of Powys, known in Welsh poetry as the Paradise of Powys. It was annexed to the Angle kingdom of Mercia by King Offa in the 8th century, in subsequent centuries, the area suffered repeated Danish invasion, and fortresses were built at Bridgnorth and Chirbury. Many defensive castles were built at this time across the county to defend against the Welsh and enable effective control of the region, including Ludlow Castle, the western frontier with Wales was not finally determined until the 14th century. Also in this period, a number of foundations were formed, the county largely falling at this time under the Diocese of Hereford. The county contains a number of historically significant towns, including Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth, additionally, the area around Coalbrookdale in the county is seen as highly significant, as it is regarded as one of the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution. The village of Edgmond, near Newport, is the location of the lowest recorded temperature in England, the origin of the name Shropshire is the Old English Scrobbesbyrigscīr, which means Shrewsburyshire. The name may, therefore, be derived indirectly from a name such as Scrope. Salop is an old name for Shropshire, historically used as a form for post or telegrams
33.
Wenlock Olympian Games
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The Wenlock Olympian Games, dating from 1850, are a forerunner of the modern Olympic Games. They are organised by the Wenlock Olympian Society, and are each year at venues across Shropshire, England. One of the two mascots for the 2012 Summer Olympics was named Wenlock in honour of the Wenlock Olympian Games, the first meeting was held at Much Wenlock racecourse on 22–23 October 1850. The first Games were a mixture of athletics and traditional sports such as quoits, football. Events also included running, hurdles, football and cycling on penny farthings, some of the early Games included fun events as the blindfolded wheelbarrow race and, one year an Old Womens Race with the prize of a pound of tea. The Wenlock Prize, the largest prize on offer was won by Petros Velissarios of Smyrna in the Ottoman Empire, despite that the Olympian name stuck. Following a dispute with WARS, in November 1860, the Wenlock Olympian Class separated from WARS, the 1860 Games the following year was a great success and Rifle Shooting was added to the programme. In 1861 after several years of work by Brookes and his colleagues the Shropshire Olympian Games were introduced, the first National Olympian Games were held in London in 1866 and were organised by the National Olympian Association which had been co-founded by Brookes in 1865. The National Olympic Association ceased its operations in 1883, baron Pierre de Coubertin visited the Olympian Society in 1890, which held a special festival in his honour. He was inspired by Dr Brookes and went on to establish the International Olympic Committee, Brookes was named as an honorary delegate at the 1894 Sorbonne Congress at which the IOC was established, although he was unable to attend due to ill health. The Wenlock Olympian Games continued intermittently after his death in 1895, the mascot for the London 2012 Summer Olympics was named Wenlock after Much Wenlock where the Wenlock Olympian Society and its Games began. The 2012 Summer Paralympics mascot was named Mandeville in honour of Stoke Mandeville hospital where the Paralympian Games originated, the medals awarded featured Nike, the Greek goddess of victory as do Olympic medals. Following the unexpected death of President Roy Rogers, triple world record holder and Olympic gold medallist, Jonathan Edwards. Cotswold Olimpick Games British Olympic Association International Olympic Committee Mullins, Sam, British Olympians, William Penny Brookes and the Wenlock Games. Furbank, Muriel, Cromarty, Helen, McDonald, Glyn, William Penny Brookes and the Olympic Connection. Born Out of Wenlock, William Penny Brookes and the British Origins of the Modern Olympics, William Penny Brookes – the Founding Father of the Modern Pentathlon. 34 pp. 75–89 DOI,10. 1080/17460263.2013.873074 Wenlock Olympian Society BBC, William Penny Brookes – Father of the modern Olympics
34.
Cricket
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Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a cricket field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard-long pitch with a wicket at each end. One team bats, attempting to score as many runs as possible, each phase of play is called an innings. After either ten batsmen have been dismissed or a number of overs have been completed, the innings ends. The winning team is the one that scores the most runs, including any extras gained, at the start of each game, two batsmen and eleven fielders enter the field of play. The striker takes guard on a crease drawn on the four feet in front of the wicket. His role is to prevent the ball hitting the stumps by use of his bat. The other batsman, known as the non-striker, waits at the end of the pitch near the bowler. A dismissed batsman must leave the field, and a teammate replaces him, the bowlers objectives are to prevent the scoring of runs and to dismiss the batsman. An over is a set of six deliveries bowled by the same bowler, the next over is bowled from the other end of the pitch by a different bowler. If a fielder retrieves the ball enough to put down the wicket with a batsman not having reached the crease at that end of the pitch. Adjudication is performed on the field by two umpires, the laws of cricket are maintained by the International Cricket Council and the Marylebone Cricket Club. Traditionally cricketers play in all-white kit, but in limited overs cricket they wear club or team colours. In addition to the kit, some players wear protective gear to prevent injury caused by the ball. Although crickets origins are uncertain, it is first recorded in south-east England in the 16th century and it spread globally with the expansion of the British Empire, leading to the first international matches in the mid-19th century. ICC, the governing body, has over 100 members. The sport is followed primarily in Australasia, Britain, the Indian subcontinent, southern Africa, womens cricket, which is organised and played separately, has also achieved international standard. A number of words have been suggested as sources for the term cricket, in the earliest definite reference to the sport in 1598 it is called creckett. One possible source for the name is the Old English cricc or cryce meaning a crutch or staff, in Samuel Johnsons Dictionary, he derived cricket from cryce, Saxon, a stick
35.
Association football
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
36.
Quoits
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Quoits is a traditional game which involves the throwing of metal, rope or rubber rings over a set distance, usually to land over or near a spike. The sport of quoits encompasses several distinct variations, the history of quoits is disputed. One theory often expressed is that the sport evolved as a version of horseshoes. A more likely explanation, however, is that horseshoes evolved from the sport of quoits, the practice was adopted by the Roman army and spread across mainland Europe to Britain. In England quoits became so popular that it was prohibited by Edward III and it is not until the 19th century, however, that the game is documented in any detailed way. The official rules first appeared in the April 1881 edition of The Field, games such as ringtoss or hoopla became popular as parlour games, whilst versions such as indoor quoits allowed pubs and taverns to maintain their quoits teams through the winter months. Deck quoits began life some time in the early 1930s as a pastime to occupy passengers on long cruises, a game played with metal discs, traditionally made of steel, and thrown across a set distance at a metal spike. The spike is centrally, and vertically, positioned in a square of moist clay measuring three feet across and this version uses the 15 rules published in The Field in 1881 and has remained largely unchanged since that time. Played under the auspices of The National Quoits Association, formed in 1986, in this game, the pins are 11 yards apart, with their tops protruding three to four inches above the clay. Quoits measure about 5½ inches in diameter and weigh around 5½ pounds and this version of the game is played by two leagues in and around the Esk Valley on Monday and Thursday evenings from early May to mid August. The following villages have teams play the northern game, Ainthorpe, Beck Hole, Danby, Egton Bridge, Fryup, Glaisdale, Grosmont, Hawsker, Lealholm, Moorsholm. Games are played on Wednesday evenings in the summer months, in this game, the top of the spike is flush with the clay, so encircling the pin is not a significant part of the game. The long game has similarities to the game of bowls, in that a player scores a point for each quoit nearer to the pin than his opponent. The hobs are 18 yards apart, while the quoits are typically around nine inches in diameter and weigh up to 11 pounds, an English version of the long game, played using quoits of reduced size and weight. As with the game, the hobs are 18 yards apart. Quoits that land cleanly over the hob score two points, regardless of the efforts, and are removed immediately, prior to the next throw. Quoits which land on their backs, or inclined in a direction, are also removed immediately Traditional American 4lb quoits. The standard for American Quoits is governed by the United States Quoiting Association, the USQA was created in April 2003 by members of three separate Quoiting groups in Southeastern Pennsylvania
37.
Evangelos Zappas
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Evangelis or Evangelos Zappas was a Greek patriot, philanthropist and businessman who spent most of his life in Romania. These Games, known at the time simply as Olympics, came before the founding of the International Olympic Committee, the legacy of Evangelis Zappas, as well as the legacy of his cousin Konstantinos Zappas, was also used to fund the Olympic Games of 1896. During his youth, Zappas joined the Greek War of Independence, achieving the rank of Major, following Greek independence, he moved to Wallachia where he had a successful career as a businessman, becoming one of the richest men of that time in Eastern Europe. Evangelis Zappas was born of a Greek ancestry in 1800 in the village of Labovo, near Tepelenë, Zappas did not receive any education during his childhood. He left his village at the age of 13 and enrolled as a mercenary in the Ottoman militia of the local ruler Ali Pasha, Zappas became a member of the Greek patriotic organization Filiki Eteria and joined his compatriots when the Greek War of Independence broke out in 1821. During this period, Zappas reached the rank of Major in the army and became a personal friend of the Souliot captain. After Botsariss death in 1823, Zappas served under various commanders of the independence struggle, such as Dimitrios Panourgias, Kitsos Tzavelas. He participated in major conflicts, such as the siege of Souli, the first siege of Missolonghi. In his later correspondence with a Greek official, he claimed that he was wounded five times during the war, in 1831, Zappas emigrated to Wallachia and made a fortune in land and agriculture. In the 1850s, Zappas was considered one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in Eastern Europe, at the time of his death in 1865, his total wealth was estimated at six million gold drachmas. The idea of reviving the ancient Olympic Games had been raised from time to time during the early and mid 19th century, inspired to a certain degree by romanticism and patriotism. In 1833, the romantic poet Panagiotis Soutsos, in his work Dialogue of the Dead, proposed the revival of the Games in the newly formed Greek state, in 1852, archaeologist Ernst Curtius stated during a lecture that the Olympic events would be revived. Zappas was notably inspired by Panagiotis Soutsos and resolved to revive this ancient tradition through his own efforts and resources. In early 1856, he sent a letter through diplomatic channels to King Otto of Greece, offering to fund the revival of the Olympic Games, however, this initiative was not without opposition. There was wide belief among some Greek politicians that athletic games were a throwback to ancient times, alexandros Rizos Rangavis, the Greek foreign minister and head of the conservative anti-athletics lobby in Athens, suggested an industrial and agricultural exposition instead of an athletics event. For months there was no answer from the Greek state. In July 1856, an article in the Greek press by Panagiotis Soutsos made Zappass proposal widely known to the public, King Otto agreed to the organization of athletics competitions at four-year intervals, with Zappas full sponsorship, to coincide with industrial and agricultural expositions. As a result, Zappas provided the Greek government with the financial resources to establish an Olympic Trust Fund
38.
Konstantinos Zappas
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Konstantinos Zappas was a Greek entrepreneur and national benefactor. Together with his cousin Evangelos Zappas, he played a role in the revival of the Olympic Games. Zappas was born in 1814 in the village of Labova e Madhe, after the death of Evangelis Zappas he became the executor of his cousin’s legacy and the ongoing revival of the Olympic Games. In 1881, he bought extended field areas in Thessaly and the following years contributed to the building of the Zappeion building in Athens, many students benefited from his scholarship for post-graduate studies in Western Europe. He died in 1892 in Mantes-la-Jolie, France, there was also land and money in Greece that Konstantinos left to the Greek government. The statues of Konstantinos and his cousin Evangelis Zappas are situated in front of the Zappeion
39.
George Averoff
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George M. Averoff, alternately Georgios Averof, was a Greek businessman and philanthropist. He is one of the national benefactors of Greece. Born in the town of Metsovo Averoff moved to Alexandria while still young and he was known through most of his life for founding numerous schools in both Egypt and Greece. George Averoff was of Aromanian-Greek origin and he moved to Cairo, Egypt, in 1837 to work in his brother, Anastasios’s, shop. Thanks to his tactics and business activities he became the biggest merchant in Egypt. His business activities resulted in the accumulation of vast wealth which he used to donate to charity, the restoration of the Panathenian Stadium for the 1896 Summer Olympics was done at the request of Crown Prince Constantine. The stadium was refurbished in 1895, its second refurbishment in the 19th century, the cost was initially estimated at 585,000 drachmas but eventually reached 920,000. He also served as a member of the committee for the foreign competitors at the Games. Georgios Averof died in Alexandria in 1899, in addition, a Greek cruiser, the flagship of the Hellenic Navy, which was constructed largely with funds provided for under his will, was named after him. Chatzifotis, “Oi Metsovites stin Aleksandreia”, Minutes of the 1st conference of Metsovite Studies, Athens 1993, V. Skafidas, “Istoria tou Metsovou”, Epirotiki Estia 12/131,133, pp. 294–299, 392-396. G. Plataris-Tzimas, Kodikas Diathikon, Meizones kai elassones euergetes tou Metsovou, Vol. A’, publ. of the Prefecture of Ioannina, a. Politou, O Ellinismos kai I Neotera Aigyptos, Vol. A’, I istoria tou aigyptiotou ellinismou 1798-1927, publ. His life in short About the ship About the statue George Averoff at Find a Grave
40.
University of Paris
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The University of Paris, metonymically known as the Sorbonne, was a university in Paris, France. Emerging around 1150 as an associated with the cathedral school of Notre Dame de Paris. Vast numbers of popes, royalties, scientists and intellectuals were educated at the University of Paris, following the turbulence of the French Revolution, education was suspended in 1793 whereafter its faculties were partly reorganised by Napoleon as the University of France. In 1896, it was renamed again to the University of Paris, in 1970, following the May 1968 events, the university was divided into 13 autonomous universities. Others, like Panthéon-Sorbonne University, chose to be multidisciplinary, in 1150, the future University of Paris was a student-teacher corporation operating as an annex of the Notre-Dame cathedral school. The university had four faculties, Arts, Medicine, Law, the Faculty of Arts was the lowest in rank, but also the largest, as students had to graduate there in order to be admitted to one of the higher faculties. The students were divided into four nationes according to language or regional origin, France, Normandy, Picardy, the last came to be known as the Alemannian nation. Recruitment to each nation was wider than the names might imply, the faculty and nation system of the University of Paris became the model for all later medieval universities. Under the governance of the Church, students wore robes and shaved the tops of their heads in tonsure, students followed the rules and laws of the Church and were not subject to the kings laws or courts. This presented problems for the city of Paris, as students ran wild, students were often very young, entering the school at age 13 or 14 and staying for 6 to 12 years. Three schools were especially famous in Paris, the palatine or palace school, the school of Notre-Dame, the decline of royalty brought about the decline of the first. The other two were ancient but did not have much visibility in the early centuries, the glory of the palatine school doubtless eclipsed theirs, until it completely gave way to them. These two centres were much frequented and many of their masters were esteemed for their learning, the first renowned professor at the school of Ste-Geneviève was Hubold, who lived in the tenth century. Not content with the courses at Liège, he continued his studies at Paris, entered or allied himself with the chapter of Ste-Geneviève, and attracted many pupils via his teaching. Distinguished professors from the school of Notre-Dame in the century include Lambert, disciple of Fulbert of Chartres, Drogo of Paris, Manegold of Germany. Three other men who added prestige to the schools of Notre-Dame and Ste-Geneviève were William of Champeaux, Abélard, humanistic instruction comprised grammar, rhetoric, dialectics, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. To the higher instruction belonged dogmatic and moral theology, whose source was the Scriptures and it was completed by the study of Canon law. The School of Saint-Victor arose to rival those of Notre-Dame and Ste-Geneviève and it was founded by William of Champeaux when he withdrew to the Abbey of Saint-Victor
41.
World's fair
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A worlds fair, world fair, world exposition, or universal exposition is a large international exhibition designed to showcase achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in varying parts of the world, the next world Expo is Expo 2020 and is to be held in Dubai, UAE. Since the 1928 Convention Relating to International Exhibitions came into force, bIE-approved fairs are of three types, universal, specialized and horticultural. They usually last from three weeks to six months, Worlds fairs originated in the French tradition of national exhibitions, a tradition that culminated with the French Industrial Exposition of 1844 held in Paris. This fair was followed by other exhibitions in continental Europe. The best-known first World Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations. The Great Exhibition, as it is called, was an idea of Prince Albert, Queen Victorias husband. It influenced the development of aspects of society, including art-and-design education, international trade and relations. This expo was the most obvious precedent for the international exhibitions, later called worlds fairs. Since their inception in 1851, the character of world expositions has evolved, three eras can be distinguished, the era of industrialization, the era of cultural exchange, and the era of nation branding. The first era could be called the era of industrialization and covered, roughly, in these days, world expositions were especially focused on trade, and were famous for the display of technological inventions and advancements. World expositions were the platforms where the state-of-the-art in science and technology from around the world were brought together, inventions such as the telephone were first presented during this era. An important part of the image of worlds fairs stems from this first era, the 1939–40 New York Worlds Fair diverged from the original focus of the worlds fair expositions. From then on, worlds fairs adopted specific cultural themes, they forecasted a future for society. Technological innovations were no longer the primary exhibits at fairs, the fairs encouraged effective intercultural communication for the exchange of innovation. The 1967 International and Universal Exposition in Montreal was promoted under the name Expo 67, event organizers retired the term worlds fair in favor of expo. From Expo 88 in Brisbane onwards, countries started to use world expositions more widely, finland, Japan, Canada, France and Spain are cases in point. A large study by Tjaco Walvis called Expo 2000 Hanover in Numbers showed that improving national image was the primary goal for 73% of the countries at Expo 2000
42.
Demetrius Vikelas
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Demetrios Vikelas was a Greek businessman and writer, he was the first president of the International Olympic Committee, from 1894 to 1896. After a childhood spent in Greece and Constantinople, he found fortune in London and he then moved to Paris, on account of his wife. Abandoning business, he dedicated himself to literature and history, and published novels, short stories and essays. After the Games were over, he stepped down, remaining in Athens until his death in 1908, Vikelas was born in Ermoupoli, on the island of Syros in Greece. His father was a merchant, originally from Veria and his mother and he was educated at home by his mother, possibly due to his fragile health. When he was six, the moved to Constantinople. There he started working for his fathers business, already he showed signs of his literary potential. At the age of 17 he translated Esther, a tragedy by Jean Racine. While aged 17, in 1852, he left home to live in London with his uncles Leon and Vasileios Melas and he also began to maintain a weekly correspondence with his mother. This correspondence, which was kept, is one of the most important in establishing his biography. He also kept a journal in which he recorded not only facts about his life but also advice from his uncle Leon and his thoughts on books he had read. After his days work at his uncles business, he took evening classes at University College London, there, he obtained a degree in botany. He also took part in fencing, horse-riding and rowing, although circumstances did not allow him to keep these up. He had also become very scholarly, and started to publish — an anthology of poems in 1862 and numerous articles in London periodicals, on the British press and he also wrote letters to the main newspapers of the time to demand that Greeces rights be respected. Also in 1866, he married Kalliope Geralopoulou, a sister of Katerini. He also became a partner in his uncles business. He also met and became friends with Charilaos Trikoupis - the son of the Greek ambassador to Britain Spyridon Trikoupis, at the time they met, Charilaos Trikoupis was just starting his diplomatic and political career as an attaché, then chargé daffaires, of the Greek legation. The two men kept a busy correspondence, in his historical essay of 1874, On the Byzantines, he wrote that he wanted to restore the reputation of the Byzantine Empire
43.
Greek royal family
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The Greek Royal Family is a branch of the House of Glücksburg that reigned in Greece from 1863 to 1924 and again from 1935 to 1973. Its first monarch was George I, the son of King Christian IX of Denmark. He and his successors styled themselves Kings of the Hellenes, the family came to the throne after the overthrow in 1862 of the first king of the independent Greek state, Otto of Bavaria. He received six votes in the referendum, the Greek National Assembly proclaimed him king as George I, George I would marry Grand Duchess Olga Constaninovna of Russia, and would have seven surviving children. In turn, all three of Constantines sons, George II, Alexander and Paul, would occupy the throne. The royal family saw Greece experience several upheavals including the Balkan Wars, World War I, World War II, the Greek Civil War, and the Greek military junta of 1967–1974. On April 21,1967 the elected government was overthrown by a group of middle-ranking army officers led by Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos, the regime, known as The Regime of the Colonels, forced King Constantine II into accepting it as legitimate. On December 13,1967, the King launched a counter-coup but it failed and he, together with his family, fled to exile in Rome, on 1 June 1973, Constantine II was declared deposed by the military junta and Papadopoulos appointed himself as President of the Republic. On 29 July 1973, a questionable referendum sought to confirm the abolition of the monarchy, the dictatorship fell in August 1974 and the new regime held a fresh referendum on 8 December 1974, which confirmed the abolition of the monarchy by a vote of 69% to 30%. The deposed King has never questioned the validity of this referendum, in 2013 Constantine II and his wife Anne-Marie announced that they were once again living in Greece. The Duke discontinued using his Greek and Danish titles shortly before his 1947 marriage, prince Philips family form the senior part of the British Royal Family. Notes * Member of the royal family List of kings of Greece House of Oldenborg Kings of the Hellenes family tree Armorial of Greek Royal Family The official website of the Greek Royal family
44.
Charilaos Trikoupis
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Charilaos Trikoupis was a Greek politician who served as a Prime Minister of Greece seven times from 1875 until 1895. After studying law and literature in University of Athens and in Paris, by 1863, he had risen to be chargé daffaires, but he aimed rather at a political not a diplomatic career. Trikoupis family had been supporters of the English Party, that. In 1872 he created his own party, called the Fifth Party on a reformist agenda, on June 29,1874 he published a manifesto in the Athens daily Kairoi entitled Whos to blame. Naming the King as the answer, specifically, he condemned the king for bypassing public opinion expressed in elections in his selection of Prime Ministers. Trikoupis wrote that the instability, which characterized the public life was due to the privilege of the crown as far as the appointment. This privilege may have derived from the Greek Constitution of 1864, moreover, it underlined that if a remedy is not applied, the country will revolt. The article landed him briefly in jail but also boosted his popularity significantly, a year later, on May 8,1875 he mustered a parliamentary plurality and King George I reluctantly named him as Prime Minister as the leader of a new Reformist party called the New Party. The dedilomeni principle may have contributed to Greece quickly becoming a two-party state as smaller parties merged in an effort to form a plurality, initially observed by convention, the dedilomeni has been incorporated into all subsequent Greek constitutions and ushered Greece into modern parliamentary politics. The opposing party to Trikoupiss Modernist Party was the conservative Nationalist Party led by Alexandros Koumoundouros, with ever-changing alliances in parliament and fluctuating election results, Greece went through twelve prime ministers in the next six years. Trikoupis headed three of these short-lived governments, the 1875 general election on October 4 was considered the most honest election held to that date in Greece, Trikoupis lost. His short period in office meant he had no opportunity to begin carrying out the reform program which he had in mind. It was not until 1882 that he was able to take measures to this end, despite his vision of a progressive nation with modern infrastructure, Greece in the latter part of the 19th century was a poor and backwards country. His government was relatively stable and lasted for more than three years, during that time, he was able to push through an aggressive program of reforms. Trikoupis was a believer in the need to create an infrastructure to support the economy. A progressive program of road and railroad construction significantly improved internal communications, the most important of the works he campaigned for was the digging of the Corinth Canal. Another project that Trikoupis envisioned during that period was a bridge to connect the cities of Rion and Antirion across the Gulf of Corinth, the bridge was beyond the technical and financial abilities of the young Kingdom at that time, construction began more than a century later. The bridge, officially named the Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge in his honour, was completed in 2004, the Greeks had demanded a compensation for this shifting of the balance of power from the Ottoman Empire and had prepared to enforce their demand by an appeal to arms
45.
Theodoros Diligiannis
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Theodoros Diligiannis, also spelled Deligiannis, Delyannis, Delijannis and Deliyannis, was a Greek statesman. He was born at Lagkadia, Arcadia and he studied law in Athens, and in 1843 entered the Ministry of the Interior, of which department he became permanent secretary in 1859. In 1862, on the deposition of King Otto, he became minister for foreign affairs in the provisional government, in 1867, he was Greek Minister at Paris. On his return to Athens he became a member of successive cabinets in various capacities and he eventually became the leader of the Nationalist Party after Alexandros Koumoundouros. In the so-called Oecumenical Ministry of 1877 he voted for war with Turkey and he was a representative of Greece at the Berlin Congress in 1878. For the powers, in order to stop his excessive armaments, eventually blockaded the Piraeus and other ports, Diligiannis evidently expected the public to side with him, but at the elections he was badly beaten. In 1895, however, he became prime minister, and was at the head of affairs during the Cretan crisis. Delyanni kept his own seat at the election of 1899, and his attacker, a professional gambler named Antonios Gherakaris, stabbed him with a dagger in the abdomen as he was entering the parliament. The incident took place at 5pm, an emergency operation failed to stop his internal bleeding, relations between the State and the Private Sphere, Speculation and Corruption in Nineteenth-century Greece. Mediterranean Historical Review, 1743-940X, Volume 23, Issue 1,2008, pp. 1–14
46.
Stefanos Dragoumis
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Stefanos Dragoumis was a judge, writer and the 31st Prime Minister of Greece from January to October 1910. He was the father of Ion Dragoumis and his grandfather, Markos Dragoumis from Vogatsiko in the present Kastoria regional unit, had been a member of the 1814–1821 revolutionary Filiki Eteria. Born in Athens in 1842, Dragoumis studied law at the University of Paris and he became Secretary-General of the Ministry of Justice and was very active politically. He was later elected a member of Parliament and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Justice, the organization Macedonian Committee was formed in 1904 by Stephanos Dragoumis in Athens. Following the Goudi Revolt by the Military League in 1909, the processes in Greece were in a state of turmoil. The issue of Cretan annexation and military reforms loomed large, after Kiriakoulis Mavromichalis resigned as Prime Minister in January 1910, Dragoumis was appointed as part of a reform government and the Military League dissolved. At the same time, Eleftherios Venizelos arrived in Athens from Crete, in March, the Greek Parliament decided to convoke a Revisionary Parliament to revise the Greek Constitution. The Dragoumis government responded positively to the demands of its mission, to secure a smooth path towards the process of reform. By September, Venizelos had arrived in Athens and by drawing large crowds to rallies had established his political strength, king George invited Venizelos to form a government and Dragoumis resigned. During the Balkan Wars, he served as Governor-General of Crete, during the National Schism, he sided with the anti-Venizelist, royalist faction. He was elected to Parliament in the December 1915 elections, which the Venizelists boycotted, Dragoumis was dismissed from his seat in 1917, when Venizelos re-instated the May 1915 Parliament, but was re-elected as an MP in the November 1920 elections
47.
Stefanos Skouloudis
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Stephanos Skouloudis was a Greek banker, diplomat and the 34th Prime Minister of Greece. He was born in Istanbul on November 23,1838 and his parents, John and Zena Skouloudis, were originally from Crete and his father was a businessman in Constantinople, where Skouloudis completed grade school. In 1852, he was sent to Athens to attend high school, in 1859, Skouloudis joined the famed trading house of Ralli and became a manager of its import/export business, advancing, by 1863, to head of Turkish operations. In 1871, along with Andreas Syngros, Skouloudis founded the Bank of Constantinople, Skouloudis occasionally assisted the Greek government with diplomatic matters with the Ottoman Empire. He earned great wealth, and by 1876, Skouloudis moved permanently to Athens, in Athens, Skouloudis became active politically, and the crisis of 1877 provided him an opportunity to serve the government. As the Eastern Crisis developed into the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 and he also served as a representative of the city of Ioannina in talks leading to the Congress of Berlin which readjusted the border between Greece and the Ottoman Empire after that war. Besides his diplomatic efforts, Skouloudis also involved himself in public service. He was appointed to the Board of Governors of the Bank of Greece in 1880, in 1882, he formed the first company to drain Lake Copais, a lake that abutted very productive farmland north of Thebes, and which sometimes flooded. First elected to the Hellenic Parliament in the election of 1881, representing Syros, in 1883, he was appointed Greek Ambassador to Spain where he served until 1886. After Bulgarias unilateral unification with Eastern Rumelia from the Ottoman Empire and he was again elected to parliament representing Thebes in 1892 and was appointed by Prime Minister Trikoupis as Minister of Religion and Education and later as Minister for the Navy. He also was called upon by both the liberal Trikoupis and conservative Theodoros Deligiannis governments to represent Greece in seeking loans and loan extensions from wealthier governments, Skouloudis served on the Organizing Committee for the 1896 Summer Olympics. Skouloudis, and a number of others who agreed with him, because of his extensive diplomatic service, the liberal Skouloudis was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in the conservative government of Dimitrios Rallis in 1897. In 1905, Skouloudis was again elected to parliament from Thebes, Skouloudis was later tapped by Venizelos to be Greeces representative at peace talks in London after the First Balkan War in 1912. Following the death of King George I in 1912, Greeces Prime Minister Venizelos, Venizelos resigned and was succeeded by Alexandros Zaimis. In October,1915, Venizelos left Athens and would set up a rival government in Thessaloniki. At that point, the king asked Skouloudis to form a government of national unity, the Skouloudis government focused almost exclusively on the question of Greeces entry into World War I, and attempts to stave off the formation of a rival government in the north. Skouloudis was unsuccessful and Prime Minister Zaimis was reappointed by the king, eventually, with the abdication of King Constantine in 1918 and the return of Venizelos triumphant to Athens, Skouloudis found himself investigated for collaboration with the former king. He was charged and convicted along with his Cabinet and remained in prison until November 1920, with the electoral defeat of Venizelos, Skouloudis sentence was commuted in 1921 and he was pardoned
48.
Greek drachma
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Three modern Greek currencies, the first introduced in 1832 and the last replaced by the euro in 2001. The euro did not begin circulating until 2002 but the rate was fixed on 19 June 2000. It was also a unit of weight. The name drachma is derived from the verb δράσσομαι and it is believed that the same word with the meaning of handful or handle is found in Linear B tablets of the Mycenean Pylos. Initially a drachma was a fistful of six oboloí or obeloí used as a form of currency as early as 1100 BC and being a form of bullion, bronze, copper, a hoard of over 150 rod-shaped obeloi was uncovered at Heraion of Argos in Peloponnese. Six of them are displayed at the Numismatic Museum of Athens and it was the standard unit of silver coinage at most ancient Greek mints, and the name obol was used to describe a coin that was one-sixth of a drachma. Similar information about Pheidons obeloi was also recorded at the Parian Chronicle, ancient Greek coins normally had distinctive names in daily use. The Athenian tetradrachm was called owl, the Aeginetic stater was called chelone, the exact exchange value of each was determined by the quantity and quality of the metal, which reflected on the reputation of each mint. The 5th century BC Athenian tetradrachm coin was perhaps the most widely used coin in the Greek world prior to the time of Alexander the Great and it featured the helmeted profile bust of Athena on the obverse and an owl on the reverse. In daily use they were called γλαῦκες glaukes, hence the proverb Γλαῦκ’ Ἀθήναζε, the reverse is featured on the national side of the modern Greek 1 euro coin. Drachmae were minted on different weight standards at different Greek mints, the standard that came to be most commonly used was the Athenian or Attic one, which weighed a little over 4.3 grams. The Armenian dram also derives its name from the drachma. S, modern commentators derived from Xenophon that half a drachma per day would provide a comfortable subsistence for the poor citizens. Earlier in 422 BC, we see in Aristophanes that the daily half-drachma of a juror is just enough for the daily subsistence of a family of three. Fractions and multiples of the drachma were minted by many states, most notably in Ptolemaic Egypt, notable Ptolemaic coins included the gold pentadrachm and octadrachm, and silver tetradrachm, decadrachm and pentakaidecadrachm. This was especially noteworthy as it would not be until the introduction of the Guldengroschen in 1486 that coins of substantial size would be minted in significant quantities, for the Roman successors of the drachma, see Roman provincial coins. The weight of the drachma was approximately 4.3 grams or 0.15 ounces. It was divided into six obols of 0.72 grams, the New Testament mentions both didrachma and, by implication, tetradrachma in context of the Temple tax. Lukes Gospel includes a parable told by Jesus of a woman with 10 drachmae, the drachma was reintroduced in May 1832, shortly before the establishment of the modern state of Greece
49.
Diplomatic mission
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In practice, a diplomatic mission usually denotes the resident mission, namely the office of a countrys diplomatic representatives in the capital city of another country. As well as being a mission to the country in which it is situated. There are thus resident and non-resident embassies, a permanent diplomatic mission is typically known as an Embassy, and the head of the mission is known as an Ambassador, or High Commissioner. Therefore, the Embassy operates in the Chancery, European Union missions abroad are known as EU delegations. Some countries have more particular naming for their missions and staff, under the rule of Muammar Gaddafi, Libyas missions used the name peoples bureau and the head of the mission was a secretary. Missions between Commonwealth countries are known as commissions and their heads are High Commissioners. This is because Ambassadors are exchanged between foreign countries, but since the beginning of the Commonwealth, member countries have maintained that they are not foreign to one another. An ambassador represents one head of state to another and a letters of credence are addressed by one head of state to another. Until India became a republic on 26 January 1950, all members of the Commonwealth had the head of state. In the past a diplomatic mission headed by an official was known as a legation. Since the ranks of envoy and minister resident are effectively obsolete, a consulate is similar to, but not the same as a diplomatic office, but with focus on dealing with individual persons and businesses, as defined by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. A consulate or consulate general is generally a representative of the embassy in locales outside of the capital city. For instance, the United Kingdom has its Embassy of the United Kingdom in Washington, D. C. but also maintains seven consulates-general, the person in charge of a consulate or consulate-general is known as a consul or consul-general, respectively. Similar services may also be provided at the embassy in what is called a consular section. In cases of dispute, it is common for a country to recall its head of mission as a sign of its displeasure, a chargé daffaires ad interim also heads the mission during the interim between the end of one chief of missions term and the beginning of another. Contrary to popular belief, most diplomatic missions do not enjoy full extraterritorial status, rather, the premises of diplomatic missions usually remain under the jurisdiction of the host state while being afforded special privileges by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Diplomats themselves still retain full diplomatic immunity, and the host country may not enter the premises of the mission without permission of the represented country, international rules designate an attack on an embassy as an attack on the country it represents. The term extraterritoriality is often applied to missions, but normally only in this broader sense
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