Evangelos Zappas
Evangelos Zappas ( Greek Ευαγγέλης Ζάππας ; * 23 August 1800 in Labovë e Madhe , today Albania ; † 19 June 1865 in Broşteni (Ialomiţa) , today Romania ) was a Greek merchant and patron . During the Greek Revolution he took part in several battles and rose to major. After Greece gained independence, he settled in Wallachia , where he amassed fortune and became one of the richest men in Eastern Europe. In 1859 he financed the holding of the Olympics , which are considered the forerunners of the modern Olympic Games . In addition, he financed numerous institutions and schools, but also sports halls and exhibition buildings.
Life
Evangelos Zappas was born in Labovë e Madhe , which now belongs to Albania and was then under the rule of the Ottoman Empire . He joined Ali Pascha's militia as a mercenary , but later became a member of the patriotic secret society Filiki Eteria and fought on the side of the insurgents in the Greek Revolution that broke out in 1821 . He was promoted to major in the Revolutionary Army. His involvement in the war gave him the reputation of a hero among the population and distinguished personalities.
In 1831 Zappas moved to Wallachia , where he made great fortune in the following two decades with commercial transactions. Although he no longer lived in Greece, it was always his aim to promote the strengthening of the Greek national consciousness. Inspired by the Greek poet Panagiotis Soutsos , who praised the ancient Olympic Games in the poem “Dialogue of the Dead” published in 1835, Zappas realized that the revival of the Olympic Games could bring glory and honor to the Greek people. Therefore, in 1856, he submitted a proposal to the Greek King Otto I to renew the Olympic Games.
In fact, a royal order was on the implementation of the 1858 Olympien in Athens adopted. These Olympics were a combination of an exhibition to show the products of Greece's work, especially those from industry, agriculture and livestock, and an event with various sporting competitions. Zappas took over the complete financing of the Olympics.
Aftermath
After his death in 1865, Zappas left a will in which he bequeathed most of his fortune to the Committee of the Olympics on condition that suitable sites be built for the Olympics. In 1870 and 1875 the second and third Olympics took place in Athens' Panathinaikon Stadium . For the Olympics in 1888, after several years of interruption of construction work, the Zappeion named after him was opened, a multi-purpose building for exhibitions, trade fairs and sporting events.
The British doctor William Penny Brookes took over parts of the program of the first Olympics in 1859 and touted his own event, the Wenlock Olympian Games , also as the rebirth of the Olympic Games. Baron Pierre de Coubertin was inspired by both Zappas and Brookes and founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894 .
In addition to his commitment to revitalizing the Olympic Games, Zappas was also known as a patron who, with generous financial support, made the construction of numerous schools, libraries and museums possible. A large sum of money was placed with the National Bank of Greece to fund scholarships for Greek agronomy students wishing to continue their studies in Western Europe.
Web links
- Short biography of Evangelos Zappas . In: Zappas.org (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Zappas, Evangelos |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ζάππας, Ευαγγέλης (elS) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Greek merchant and patron |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 23 August 1800 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Labovë e Madhe , now Albania |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 19, 1865 |
| Place of death | Broşteni (Ialomiţa) , now Romania |