History and genesis of the Olympic Games
To grasp and understand the history and meaning of the Olympic Games in its entirety, we must go back in time to Ancient Greece, more precisely to the year 766 BC, when the first games took place in Olympia. They were organised under the patronage of the god Zeus, and upon their beginning all wars were stopped for 2 months to let the 5-day games happen without disruption, and to ensure that the spectators and partakers could return to their sides in peace afterwards. This suspension of hostilities was called the ‘gods peace’ and was meant to highlight how big of an event the games were. There were songs written in honour of the winners, and statues were erected in their memorial in places they came from. The towns from which the partakers originated also gained fame and a good name.
After the year 396 AD, there was a break in the organisation of the games, and the tradition became forgotten, up until the year 1896 when a Frenchman named Pascal Grousset and his initiative came to life and the first international Modern Olympic Games were arranged. They took place in Athens, upon the request of a Greek Dimitrios Wikielas , who held the office of the first International Olympic Games Committee. From the time of this event, it is organised cyclically until the present.
The Uniqueness of the 2020-2021 Games and the participation of Poland
In 2020 the one of a kind games began, with Tokyo, the capital city of Japan, as their host. The uniqueness of this event lay in the time of its occurrence, because the date of the beginning was shifted to 2021 due to a breakout of one of the most severe pandemics in human history, which went on to cover the whole world. This theoretically gives us two years’ time of the event. However, currently the situation has settled down enough to commence with the competitions, and competitors from around the globe came back to the rivalry in an atmosphere of sportsmanship. Poland, even though not being one of the top countries in the ranks of medals claimed, can still be proud of its position among the first 20 of 80 countries taking part in the games. The representatives of our country have claimed gold in disciplines such as the hammer throw and relay race, and silver and gold medals in many others.
A common language
In a place that focuses such high emotions and a rarely seen multitude of cultures and languages, swift communication between representatives of different countries is necessary, and, in order to achieve it, having a verbal translator in the vicinity is needed. The work of such a person enables communication for overcoming the lingual barriers and enjoying this unique time in its entirety. Such a person can be both a so-called ‘freelancer’ or provide services on behalf of a translation office or translation agency. More and more often there are electronic devices used in order to translate speech, but currently a qualified simultaneous translator is invaluable.
Beauty in tradition
If one looks at the wholeness to the Olympic Games throughout the history of mankind, it was from the very beginning a tradition full of mutual understanding, unity and feeling of existence as a part of something bigger, that is humanity. Even though this event focuses around the ancient motto ‘Citius Altius Fortius‘, meaning ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’, which promotes the pursuit of the pinnacle of physical fitness, it takes place in an atmosphere of mutual respect, competing according to the rules of fair play and kindness. Those few days spent together once every 4 years brings a lot of joy and great memories to carry within ones heart during the time left for the next games.
(translation F. S.)
