Religion At 2012 Olympics: From Ancient Greece To London

[cbayer]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/26/olympics-religion-2012-ancient-greece-london_n_1704398.html

Religion News Service | By Chris Lisee
Posted: 07/26/2012 10:51 am Updated: 07/26/2012 10:59 am



(RNS) A 600-foot footrace was the only athletic event at the first Olympics, a festival held in 776 B.C. and dedicated to Zeus, the chief Greek god.

For the next millennium, Greeks gathered every four years in Olympia to honor Zeus through sports, sacrifices and hymns. The five-day festival brought the Greek world together in devotion to one deity.

What began in ancient Greece as a festival to honor a single god, Zeus, has now become an almost Olympian task, as organizers of the games navigate dozens of sacred fasts, religious rituals and holy days.

The London Olympics will try to accommodate religious athletes with 193 chaplains, a prayer room in every venue and a multifaith center in the Olympic Village.


more at link

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. The Twenty Twelve multi-faith worship centre:

[cbayer]

2. Are you anywhere near the games?

It must be just crazy over there right now.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. No, thank goodness

The real games are nicely chaotic - they haven't officially opened yet, but they already managed a diplomatic incident, in the soccer matches that they start early (so they can finish the rounds by the end) - the North Korean women were about to play, and they showed on a giant screen the South Korean flag next to their players. So they walked off, and it was delayed for an hour while a formal apology was made.

[cbayer]

4. I just heard that story on the radio. What a gaffe.

Maybe that got the diplomatic errors out of the way.

Well, enjoy. I am hoping to be able to see some of this on the TV, though our reception is really iffy.

I love the Olympics, but I wouldn't want to be there.