The Original Olympics from Start to Finish
by Tom Keener
Ever dream of attending the Olympics or even vying for the gold? Are you glued to the recliner whenever Olympic events are televised? Then expand your knowledge of the ultimate international competition and learn its history!
Bach to Books presents Ancient Greece scholar Dr. Karl Kilinski at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 18, at the Allen Public Library, 300 N. Allen Dr. This program is free and no reservations are required.
From Olympus to Vancouver, Dr. Kilinski will discuss and separate Olympic facts from myth. According to legend, the ancient Olympic Games were founded by Heracles (the Roman Hercules), a son of Zeus. Yet the first Olympic Games for which we have written records were held in 776 BCE, though it is generally believed the Games had been going on for many years prior to this. At these early Olympic Games, a naked runner, Coroebus (a cook from Elis), won the sole event at the Olympics, a run of approximately 192 meters (210 yards). This made Coroebus the very first Olympic champion in history.
Dr. Kilinski declares that the Greek Olympics had ramifications beyond the sporting events, “The ancient Greeks led the way in seeking excellence (arete) in every aspect of their lives and the athletic contests, dedicated to their supreme god, Zeus, at Olympia, were an international spectacle that arrested military conflicts, superseded other religious festivals, and interrupted all other social and political occasions so that all Greeks could travel unharmed to this site to participate and witness these events. Victors at the Olympic Games were praised not only by the families but by their whole city-states and statues of them were erected in town squares, giving glory to them and their lineage for all time.”
As part of his graduate work, Dr. Kilinski attended the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. From 1980-1987, he served as Director of Southern Methodist University’s study abroad program in Greece. In Greece, he supervised archaeological excavations, both land and underwater excavations that have made vast contributions to our knowledge of Ancient Greece.
Since 1977, Dr. Kilinski has lead exciting educational tours to Greece. Sponsored by the Kimbell Art Museum of Ft. Worth, the next group departs May 17, 2010 and still has spaces available. If interested, call 817-569-1234 or e-mail kilinski@smu.edu.
Dr. Kilinski’s current research involves two monographs, The Doors of St. Peter’s: Christian Archaeology in Renaissance Rome (coauthor) and The Presence of the Past, Greek Myth in Western Art.
For information, call 214-509-4911.
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