奥林匹克运动会历史(英文)

　　History of the Olympic Games

　　Pindar, the Greek poet wrote in the 5th century BC:"As in the daytime there is no star in the sky warmer and brighter than the sun, likewise there is no competition greater than the Olympic Games.
　　According to historic records, the first ancient Olympic Games can be traced back to 776 BC. They were dedicated to the Olympian Gods and were staged on the ancient plains of Olympia. Initially they had a religious character and combined a number of ancient sporting events, many of which were based on ancient Greek myths.
　　The ancient Games actually occupied an important position in the life of the Greek ancestors. An Olympiad was a time unit, measuring the four-year interval between two Games. Participants came to compete from every corner of the Greek world aiming at the ultimate prize: an olive wreath and a "heroic" return to their city-states. But apart from the glorious victory, it was the Olympic values themselves which accorded special meaning to the Games: noble competition and the effort to combine body, will, and mind in a balanced whole.
　　As the Games developed, so did a set of procedures such as a standardized schedule of events and the practice of the Olympic Truce. They continued for nearly 12 centuries, until Emperor Theodosius decreed, in 393 AD, that all such 'pagan cults' be banned. He asserted that the Games placed an excessive public focus on athletic and spiritual affairs. The games was abolished until the 19th Century. Intellectuals such as Evangelos Zappas and Demetrios Vikelas who believed in the spirit of noble contests and the Olympic ideals, lent their voices and efforts to the revival of the Olympic Games.
　　However, it was French Baron Pierre de Coubertin who orchestrated the re-establishment of the Games, by advocating the marriage of sports and Greek classicism, leading the way to the first Modern Olympic Games in 1896.
　　The Greek public embraced the revival, and joined the efforts to organize the Games. Any financial difficulties faced by the Greek state at the time, were met through the mobilization of people and benefactors alike. The marble renovation of the ancient Panathinaikon Stadium that hosted the first modern Games was financed by George Averoff, a Greek benefactor from Northern Greece.
　　With the revival of the Olympic Games, a number of symbolic Olympic Traditions were also developed and established (i.e. the Olympic Anthem, the Olympic Creed, the Olympic Flag, the Olympic Flame and Torch).
　　Over the years, the Olympic Games traveled to different countries and continents, and now finally in 2004, they returned to the country of their birth and the city of their revival for the hosting of the XXVIII Modern Olympic Games.
　　公元前五世纪的希腊抒情诗人品达曾写道：“正如在白天天空中没有星星比太阳更温暖，更明亮，同样，没有比奥运会更激烈的比赛。
　　据历史记载，第一届古代奥运会可以追溯到公元前776年，为纪念奥林匹亚神在奥林匹亚的古代平原上举行。起初他们信仰宗教并综合了许多古代运动项目，其中很多都源于古希腊神话。
　　古代奥运会在古希腊人的生活中占据了很重要的地位。奥运会每四年举行一届，来自希腊各地的参赛者参与角逐，目标就是最终奖赏：一个橄榄花圈和“英雄”般的返乡。除去胜利的光荣，奥林匹克价值本身赋予了奥运会特殊的意义：高尚竞争，把身体、意志和精神平衡的结合于一体。
　　随着奥运会的发展，一系列程序，如标准化的项目时间表和奥林匹克休战的实践也在完善。这样持续了近 12个世纪，直到西奥多斯大帝在公元393年颁布法令，取缔所有“异教徒”。他宣称，奥运会使公众过于注意运动及精神。 18世纪，奥运会被废止。知识分子们，如塞帕斯和维克拉斯，坚信高尚比赛的精神和奥林匹克理想，为复兴奥运会而努力奔波。
　　法国人顾拜旦通过提倡运动和希腊古典主义的结合，使奥运会复兴起来，为1896年第一届现代奥运会的举行铺平了道路。
　　希腊民众迎接了奥运会的复兴，并努力组织起了这次奥运会。当时希腊政府所面临的资金难题，都被人民和捐助者所解决。举行第一届现代奥运会的古潘那斯那康体育场，其大理石更新便是由来自希腊北部的捐助者艾沃奥夫资助的。
　　随着奥运会的复兴，形成了很多具有象征意义的奥运会传统，如奥林匹克 会歌、奥林匹克格言、奥林匹克旗、奥林匹克火焰和火炬。
　　经过许多年，奥运会旅行了许多不同的大陆和国家，今年，也就是2004年，她回到了自己的出生地，回到了当年复兴的城市，举行第 28届现代奥运会。

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Modern_Olympics