Teaching Values- An Olympic Education Toolkit - International ...

SECTION 4 THE FIVE EDUCATIONAL VALUES OF OLYMPISM
BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT
IN ANCIENT GREECE
USE A STUDY OF THE IDEAS OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS TO HELP LEARNERS TO UNDERSTAND THE CULTURAL
CONCEPT OF BALANCE BETWEEN BODY AND MIND, AND TO EXPLORE THEIR OWN CULTURAL
INTERPRETATIONS OF HARMONY IN THE HUMAN PERSONALITY.
READING
Echoes of the Past: The Ancient Greeks
The modern Olympic Games were inspired
by ideas from the civilisation of Ancient
Greece. The first records of winners at the
site of the ancient Olympic Games was in
776 BC. From then on the Games were
held every four years for more than a
thousand years. The activities of these
festivals were directly related to the Greek
idea of harmony between body and mind.
Young people went to school and also
trained in athletics. Physical exercise was
accompanied by music. Music, dance and
athletics helped to achieve the harmonious
balance of the body and the mind.
Local festivals involving music, drama
and athletic contests provided a variety of
competitive contexts in which citizens of
the city-states could demonstrate their
virtues and fight for excellence. Such
contests were directly connected to the
cults of the gods or heroes, and had a
religious character.
Below Ancient
Olympia: The ruins of
the temple of Zeus.
FOR DISCUSSION
In your cultural tradition, what are the
messages, symbols, stories or
teachings that speak about harmony
and balance in the human
personality?
Sometimes the ideas of harmony in a
human personality come from healing
traditions. What healing traditions in
your culture focus on healing mental
and emotional stress as well as
physical illness.
118 TEACHING VALUES