Games' Chronicle
The ideal of the Olympic Games absolutely captivated the modern nation-states.
In symbolic terms, these Games were the celebration of modern societes,
which faced the new era with optimism and faith for the future. It was
also the reassurance of the heritage of the Greek classical culture.
The atmosphere of these days proves the effort put in identifing the
two cultures, classical and modern. The original album of Charles Beck, Oi Olympiakoi Agones, 776 p.X. -
1896 (The Olympic Games,
(Note: Please, note that in the following texts describing the events of each day, the original language of 1896 publication has been kept. )
19th century Athens
19th century Athens illustrates the transformation of the Hellenic society.
Athens
became the pole of attraction of various groups of people and the
field of cultural and political confrontations and changes. Thus, it
became the melting pot of different cultures. By 1896, it possessed a fully realized
urban environment fashioned in genuine neoclassical style. In symbolical terms,
this new center of power constituted the point of entrance of western patterns of
life in the modern Hellenic society.