Why did the Olympic games start?

shantaram

Encyclopaedia Britannica: World Culture and the Olympic Games Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles. The goal of Olympism is to place everywhere sport at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view to encouraging the establishment of a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity. --The Olympic Charter, 'Fundamental Principles' For more than 100 years the Olympic Movement has conceived of itself as promoting culture, human development, international education, and peace through sport. Founded mainly by writers, educators, scientists, and scholars, the Olympic Movement's understanding of 'culture' has shifted over the years among the fine-arts conception, the idea of general moral cultivation, and the anthropological understanding of total and distinctive ways of life. What hasn't changed is the commitment, in the words of the 1995 charter, to 'symbolizing the universality and the diversity of human cultures' through the Olympic Games, thereby serving intercultural understanding and détente. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9125322/World-Culture-and-the-Olympic-Games [Link added Feb. 20, 2008 by Zbeckabee] Jun 18 00, 3:57 AM

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