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This writing was accepted for publication in the 84 page perfect-bound issue of cc&d (v230) (the March 2012 Issue  You can also order this 5.5" x 8.5" issue as an ISSN# paperback book:  |
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Modern Olympian Ode #1 (1936): An Invented ‘Tradition’
Michael Ceraolo
Take two unrelated
ancient rites that,
when conflated,
produce an invented ‘tradition’
There had been a flame in one of the temples at Olympia,
and there had been torch relay races at Athens,
but the two had nothing to do with each other
No matter:
on July 20, 1936,
at exactly noon local time,
a fake-pagan ritual was created
Fake priestesses in fake-ancient costumes
used the sun’s heat, focused through
a German-made optical device,
to light a magnesium torch,
because
“in far-away Germany the Olympic idea
is celebrating its most glorious reawakening”
and over three thousand runners
would cover over three thousand kilometers
in twelve days so that a flame would be lit
in the Olympic stadium in Berlin on August 1st
Goebbels would murmur that
“the use of the Olympic flame
for political purposes
is exceptionally regrettable”
but that statement was belied by the fact
that the stainless steel torch holders
had been made by, and bore the logo, of
Krupp,
a clue to the host country’s future intentions
for those who were paying attention
And the Nazi enablers
who ran the International Olympic Committee
fell in love with the fake authenticity,
and their successors are still in love
in the twenty-first century
