Delphic Games of the modern era
Encyclopedia
The Delphic Games of the modern era involve presentation
s, exhibition
s, competition
s and other activities in six different fields of art
. These games unite people of all nations and cultures through their fascination for the arts and have their origins in the ancient Greece
.
One of the four Panhellenic Games
were the Pythian Games
in Delphi
. They held every four years, always one year prior to the ancient Olympic Games. The spiritual leaders have formed the Delphic Games to perform what they can, such as wonders, theatre, music, poetry to praise the god Apollo
of wonderful light, the symbol of the Oracle
. In the year 394 A.D., Theodosius I
, the emperor of the Byzantine Empire
banned all Panhellenic Games for being pagan events.
Since 1912 till 1948, thanks to the initiative of Pierre de Coubertin
Art competitions at the Olympic Games
were held in various countries. Medals were awarded for works that are related solely to issues of Sport
.
There was also an attempt to revive Pythian Games at the archeological site of Delphi, thanks to the initiative by the Greek poet Angelos Sikelianos
and his wife Eva Palmer. In 1927, the first Delphic Festival was held in one country only - Greece, but the revival was then abandoned due to the excessive costs of organizing it. Nowadays there are once a year in summer in Delphi the Delphic Festivals, mainly focused on tourists. .
, representatives from Argentina
, Austria
, China
, Cyprus
, Ecuador
, France
, Germany
, Greece
, Kazakhstan
, Libya
, Lithuania
, Mexico
, Nigeria
, Philippines
, Poland
, Russia
, Slovakia
, United States
came together to the founding congress of the International Delphic Council
in Berlin
in Schönhausen Palace
. The Delphic Games of modern era promote the dialogue between all cultures, they contribute to intercultural understanding among people and support the international peace .
This initiative has received many letters of support from all over the world, for example, from Yehudi Menuhin
, from Elena Obraztsova
and so on .
National Delphic Council of Georgia (established 1996) together with the IDC conducted the first Junior Delphic Games (Tbilisi-1997) with the support-letter from UNESCO
from the Council of Europe
from the Parliament of Georgia
.
The first Delphic Games (Moscow-2000) were organized by the National Delphic Council of Russia, that since 1999 was a member of the IDC . Together with the IDC has NDC Russia received the support-letter from the Council of Europe
. So like it was also in other Delphic Games .
In 2003, the International Delphic Council receives strong support from government agencies in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but the National Delphic Council of Russia (which was a member of the IDC since 1999) on the contrary separates self from IDC.
After 2003, many Russian websites and central mass media claimed that Russia alone has revived the Delphic idea in 2000 .
Despite the withdrawal of the National Delphic Council from the International Delphic Council, the Russian delegations took part in the International Delphic Games in 2007 and 2009 . The illustrated Delphic calendars verify these participations .
The International Delphic Council
, founded in 1994 in Berlin, with its head office in Berlin, organized and accomplished since 1997 International Youth Delphic Games in Georgia
, Germany
and the Philippines
, as well as International Delphic Games for adult participants - in Russia
, Malaysia, South Korea
.
The new organization - International Delphic Committee
with headquarters in Moscow opened its official website in May 2006 . Since 2005 the Junior Delphic Games in Russia
and the Junior Delphic Games in Commonwealth of Independent States
are conducted by the International Delphic Committee. These Junior Delphic Games are dedicated to significant domestic events . This International Delphic Committee conducted also in September 2008 the second International Delphic Games in Saratov
/ Russia
, but their legitimacy has been called into question .
Presentation
Presentation is the practice of showing and explaining the content of a topic to an audience or learner. Presentations come in nearly as many forms as there are life situations...
s, exhibition
Exhibition
An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within museums, galleries and exhibition halls, and World's Fairs...
s, competition
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
s and other activities in six different fields of art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
. These games unite people of all nations and cultures through their fascination for the arts and have their origins in the ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
.
Historical reference
Panhellenic Games
Panhellenic Games is the collective term for four separate sports festivals held in ancient Greece. The four Games were:-Description:The Games took place in a four-year cycle known as the Olympiad, which was one of the ways the Greeks measured time...
were the Pythian Games
Pythian Games
The Pythian Games were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece, a forerunner of the modern Olympic Games, held every four years at the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi....
in Delphi
Delphi
Delphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...
. They held every four years, always one year prior to the ancient Olympic Games. The spiritual leaders have formed the Delphic Games to perform what they can, such as wonders, theatre, music, poetry to praise the god Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
of wonderful light, the symbol of the Oracle
Oracle
In Classical Antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination....
. In the year 394 A.D., Theodosius I
Theodosius I
Theodosius I , also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland...
, the emperor of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
banned all Panhellenic Games for being pagan events.
Since 1912 till 1948, thanks to the initiative of Pierre de Coubertin
Pierre de Coubertin
Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin was a French educationalist and historian, founder of the International Olympic Committee, and is considered the father of the modern Olympic Games...
Art competitions at the Olympic Games
Art competitions at the Olympic Games
Art competitions formed part of the modern Olympic Games during its early years, from 1912 to 1952. The competitions were part of the original intention of the Olympic Movement's founder, Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin...
were held in various countries. Medals were awarded for works that are related solely to issues of Sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
.
There was also an attempt to revive Pythian Games at the archeological site of Delphi, thanks to the initiative by the Greek poet Angelos Sikelianos
Angelos Sikelianos
Angelos Sikelianos was a Greek lyric poet and playwright. He wrote on national history, religious symbolism, and universal harmony in poems such as The Light-Shadowed, Prologue to Life, Mother of God, and Delphic Utterance...
and his wife Eva Palmer. In 1927, the first Delphic Festival was held in one country only - Greece, but the revival was then abandoned due to the excessive costs of organizing it. Nowadays there are once a year in summer in Delphi the Delphic Festivals, mainly focused on tourists. .
Delphic Games of the modern era
In the second half of the 20th century, the International Delphic Movement developed. In 1987 the Musica Magna International (MMI) was founded - as a network of international cultural contacts and as «Association for the reintroduction of the Delphic Games» . At the invitation of J. Christian B. Kirsch - the founder of MMI, in 1994, a hundred years after the revival of the Olympic GamesOlympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, representatives from Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
came together to the founding congress of the International Delphic Council
International Delphic Council
thumb|200 px|[[Delphi]], the ruins of the [[Apollo]] Temple, in whose honor the [[Pythian Games]] were heldthumb|200 px|[[Castalian Spring]] at the foot of the mountain [[Mount Parnassus]] in [[Delphi]]. In ancient times, this spring was to [[Apollo]]n and [[Muse]] dedicatedthumb|200...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in Schönhausen Palace
Schönhausen Palace
Schönhausen Palace is a Baroque palace at Niederschönhausen, in Berlin's borough of Pankow. It is surrounded by gardens through which the Panke river runs...
. The Delphic Games of modern era promote the dialogue between all cultures, they contribute to intercultural understanding among people and support the international peace .
This initiative has received many letters of support from all over the world, for example, from Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
, from Elena Obraztsova
Elena Obraztsova
Elena Vasiliyevna Obraztsova is a Russian mezzo-soprano, widely recognised as one of the greatest opera singers of all time, thanks to her outstanding stage presence and the vocal abilities....
and so on .
National Delphic Council of Georgia (established 1996) together with the IDC conducted the first Junior Delphic Games (Tbilisi-1997) with the support-letter from UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
from the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
from the Parliament of Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
.
The first Delphic Games (Moscow-2000) were organized by the National Delphic Council of Russia, that since 1999 was a member of the IDC . Together with the IDC has NDC Russia received the support-letter from the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
. So like it was also in other Delphic Games .
IDC and NDC Russia
From the beginning Russia played an active role in the formation of the International Delphic Movement .In 2003, the International Delphic Council receives strong support from government agencies in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but the National Delphic Council of Russia (which was a member of the IDC since 1999) on the contrary separates self from IDC.
After 2003, many Russian websites and central mass media claimed that Russia alone has revived the Delphic idea in 2000 .
Despite the withdrawal of the National Delphic Council from the International Delphic Council, the Russian delegations took part in the International Delphic Games in 2007 and 2009 . The illustrated Delphic calendars verify these participations .
Current situation
Currently, the two organizations are conducting Delphic Games.The International Delphic Council
International Delphic Council
thumb|200 px|[[Delphi]], the ruins of the [[Apollo]] Temple, in whose honor the [[Pythian Games]] were heldthumb|200 px|[[Castalian Spring]] at the foot of the mountain [[Mount Parnassus]] in [[Delphi]]. In ancient times, this spring was to [[Apollo]]n and [[Muse]] dedicatedthumb|200...
, founded in 1994 in Berlin, with its head office in Berlin, organized and accomplished since 1997 International Youth Delphic Games in Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, as well as International Delphic Games for adult participants - in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Malaysia, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
.
The new organization - International Delphic Committee
International Delphic Committee
International Delphic Committee is the organization which prepares and holds the modern Delphic Games is the International Delphic Committee, which headquarters is located in Russia...
with headquarters in Moscow opened its official website in May 2006 . Since 2005 the Junior Delphic Games in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and the Junior Delphic Games in Commonwealth of Independent States
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
are conducted by the International Delphic Committee. These Junior Delphic Games are dedicated to significant domestic events . This International Delphic Committee conducted also in September 2008 the second International Delphic Games in Saratov
Saratov
-Modern Saratov:The Saratov region is highly industrialized, due in part to the rich in natural and industrial resources of the area. The region is also one of the more important and largest cultural and scientific centres in Russia...
/ Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, but their legitimacy has been called into question .