Panagiotis Soutsos was a Greek poet, novelist and journalist born in Constantinople. He was the brother of the satirist Alexandros Soutsos and cousin of writer and diplomat Alexandros Rizos Rangavis. Soutsos is known to be one of the pioneers of romanticism in Greek poetry and prose, as well as a visionary behind the new Olympic Games who inspired Evangelis Zappas to sponsor their revival.

The modern Olympic Games or Olympics are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered the world's foremost sports competition with more than 200 teams, representing sovereign states and territories participating; by default the Games generally substitute for any World Championships the year in which they take place. The Olympic Games are held every four years; since 1994, they have been alternated between the Summer and Winter Olympics every two years during the four-year period.