From Olympia to Sochi — the ideas of the Olympic Movement in different civilizations
This paper collates our knowledge about sports in Ancient Greece with the ideas behind the modern Olympic Movement. Subsequent sections present the idea of the Olympic truce, the athletes’ participation, the religious sense of the festival, the place where the Olympic Games were held, pathologies such as dope and corruption, and the athletes’ citizenship. All of these elements are described following the same structure: the knowledge about the ancient declarations and practice, declarations of the modern Olympic Movement, the modern practice, and information about the current status and directions of scientific description of the topic if any studies related to the field exist. The analysis shows that even though the official declarations suggest that the modern Olympic Movement is based on th e ancient tradition, these declarations do not correspond with the facts. Moreover, some of the modern standards are actually in opposition to ancient practice and values.