Evangelis Zappas ( , also Evangelos Zappas,1800–19 June 1865) was a Greek businessman and philanthropist. He is recognized today as a founder of the Olympic Games, who sponsored the Olympic Games of 1859, 1870 and 1875 and preceded the later international Olympic Games.

During his youth Zappas joined the Greek struggle for independence (1821-1830), achieving the rank of Major and fighting in several significant battles. Following Greek independence he moved to Wallachia, where he had a successful career as a businessman, becoming one of the richest men of that time in Eastern Europe. In 1859 he sponsored the first Olympic Games to be held in modern times. These Games, known as the Zappas Olympic Games, were the predecessors of the international Games initiated in 1896. Aside from being a major contributor to the Olympic revival, he is also known in Greece as a national benefactor, thanks to the foundation of several institutions and schools as well as sport and exhibition facilities.

Life

Early years and Greek War of Independence

Evangelis Zappas was born of Greek ancestry in 1800 in the village of Labovë (in Northern Epirus, modern Gjirokastër County, Albania), when the region was still under Ottoman rule.

Zappas did not receive any education during his childhood. He left his village at the age of 13 and enrolled as a mercenary in the Ottoman militia of the local ruler, Ali Pasha. However, he soon became a member of the Greek patriotic organization Filiki Eteria and joined his compatriots when the Greek War of Independence broke out (1821). During this period Zappas reached the rank of Major in the revolutionary army and became a personal friend of the revolutionary leader Markos Botsaris. After Botsaris' death in 1823, Zappas served under various military commanders of the independence struggle, such as Dimitrios Panourgias, Kitsos Tzavelas, and Michail Spyromilios. He participated in several major conflicts, such as the siege of Souli, the first siege of Messolonghi and the battle of Peta. In his later correspondence with Greek official he claimed that he was wounded five times during the war.

Career in Wallachia

In 1831, after the end of the War of Independence, Zappas emigrated to Wallachia. For a short period Zappas was a folk healer, but soon decided to devote himself to the field of business. During the next two decades he made a fortune in real estate and farming, owning and renting farmland and wheat mills in Romania. In the 1850s Zappas was considered one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in Eastern Europe. At the time of his death in 1865, his total wealth was estimated at six million gold drachmas.

Revival of the Olympic Games

The idea of reviving the ancient Olympic Games had been raised from time to time during the early and mid 19th century, inspired to a certain degree by romanticism and patriotism. In 1835, the romantic poet Panagiotis Soutsos, in his work Dialogues of the Dead, proposed the revival of the Games in the newly formed Greek state, as part of the revival of ancient Greek tradition. In 1852, archeologist Ernst Curtius stated during a lecture that the Olympic events would be revived.

Zappas was inspired by these suggestions and resolved to revive this ancient tradition through his own efforts and resources. In early 1856, he sent a letter through diplomatic channels to King Otto of Greece, offering to fund revival of the Olympic Games, and to provide cash prizes to the victors. However, this initiative was not without opposition. There was wide belief among some Greek politicians that athletic games were a throwback to ancient times, unsuited to the modern era. Alexandros Rizos Rangavis, the Greek foreign minister and head of the conservative anti-athletics lobby in Athens, suggested an industrial and agricultural exposition instead of an athletics event. For months there was no official answer from the Greek state. In July 1856, an article in the Greek press by Panagiotis Soutsos made Zappas' proposal widely known to the public and triggered a series of events. Otto agreed to the organization of athletics competitions at four-year intervals, with Zappa's full sponsorship, to coincide with industrial and agricultural expositions. As a result, Zappas provided the Greek government with the necessary financial resources to establish an Olympic Trust Fund.

On November 15, 1859, the first revived Olympic Games took place, in a city square in central Athens. These athletic contests could be termed as the first Olympic Games of the present tradition. The athletes competed in a variety of disciplines, similar to that of the ancient Olympic games: running, discus, javelin throwing, wrestling, jumping and pole climbing.

Zappas left a fortune for the funding of future Olympiads to be held at the Panathenian stadium. He died in 1865. His immense fortune was used for the construction of permanent sporting facilities in Athens, as well as for the continuation of the Olympiad.

Legacy

From Zappas Olympics to Coubertin's international Olympic Games

After Zappas's death, and wholly due to the incompetence of the Greek government at the time, it was necessary to refurbish the Panathenian stadium a second time in readiness for the Athens 1896 Olympic Games. After a period of litigation over Zappas' bequests, his cousin Konstantinos Zappas continued and expanded his endowment of the Games and maintained efforts for the continuation of the Olympic concept. In 1870, the new stadium, with a spectator capacity of 30,000, was ready to host the second Olympiad. The Olympic Games of 1870, apart from being the first modern international Olympic Games to be hosted in a stadium, were better attended and hosted more events and athletes, and were much better organized in general. Additionally, the first modern Olympic building was built to support the contests (and hosted the fencing events of 1896), as well as an industrial exhibition that anti-athletic members of the Greek government had forced upon the concept of the Games. This building, located near the city's National Garden, was entirely funded by Zappas' legacy and named the Zappeion after him. The Zappeion, officially opened on October 20, 1888.

Dr William Penny Brookes, from the United Kingdom, further developed his games by adopting events from the 1859 Olympic Games into the programme of the Wenlock Olympian Games. Baron Pierre de Coubertin from Paris, France, was in turn inspired by Dr Brookes, and went on to found the International Olympic Committee in 1894.

Philanthropy

Apart from his efforts to revive the Olympics, Evangelis Zappas and the executor of his legacy (his cousin Konstantinos Zappas), made several philanthropic donations towards the foundation of schools, libraries and other similar institutions all over the Ottoman-occupied world, and notably their birthplace, Epirus. Greek schools were founded and expanded in several Gree-inhabited villages and towns, such as Labovo, Lekli, Nivani, Dhroviani, Filiates, Delvina, Permet). In Constantinople, education facilities were also founded that included nurseries, primary and secondary schools, which were collectively known as the Zappeion Institute. Moreover, a large amount of money was deposited in the National Bank of Greece to provide scholarships for Greek agricultural students in order to conduct postgraduate studies in Western Europe.

Personality and resting place

Evangelis Zappas, was often described as a solitary and eccentric personality, who had no children. On the other hand he was a man of vision, determination and a patriot, who was well aware of the magnitude of his acts. Zappas' wish was to be initially buried in Rumania, where he lived most of his life. But after four years his body was to be exhumed and reinterred at the school's courtyard of his home place Labovo, while his head was to be enshrined beneath his memorial statue outside the Zappeion. Baron Pierre de Coubertin made a similar gesture by having his heart buried at Olympia.

References

1. Landry, Landry, Yerlès (1991), p. 108: "Zappas the real founder of the modern Games was aging and ailing, ready to pass the torch to a successor"
2. Landry, Landry, Yerlès (1991) p. 103
3. Ruches (1967) p. 79
4. Matthews (1904) p.45
5. Decker (2006) p. 277
6. Young (1996) p. 142
7. Matthews (1904) p. 42
8. Landry, Landry, Yerlès (1991), p. 102, 114
9. Matthews (1904) p. 46
10. Gerlach (2004) p. 25
11. Brownell (2008) p. 36
12. Hill (1992) p. 16
13. Gerlach (2004) p. 29
14. Findling (2004) p. 13
15. Young (1996): p. 201
16. Young (1996): p. 148
17. Ruprecht (2002) p. 152
18. Landry, Landry, Yerlès (1991) p. 102
19. Ruches (1967) p. 80
20. Zappeion. Conference and exhibition center. The will of Evangelis Zappas.

Sources

External links

• Zappas.org Abridged Biography of Evangelis Zappas.
• Zappeion, conference and exhibition center.
• Zappeian Olympic Games
• Testaments of Evangelis and Konstantinos Zappas. (Greek)