Paganistan: Notes from the Secret Commonwealth

In Which One Midwest Man-in-Black Confers, Converses & Otherwise Hob-Nobs with his Fellow Hob-Men (& -Women) Concerning the Sundry Ways of the Famed but Ill-Starred Tribe of Witches.

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Move the Olympics Back to Greece. Permanently.

 Caution: Rant Alert.

 

Och. The Olympics just haven't been themselves since the barbarians took them over.

Every four years, the International Olympic Committee—the world's third most corrupt international body (after the Vatican and FIFA)—rakes in billions in bribes and awards the quadrennial Summer Games to a municipality which then bankrupts itself building white elephant sports venues that will never be used again.

I say, move the Games back to Greece. Permanently.

With international money, build permanent sports venues and the supportive infrastructure which can then be reused Olympics after Olympics. Greece is essentially a Third World country and direly needs the investment and jobs that such a decision would bring.

It would also be a way to honor the land that gave us the Games in the first place.

As for the Winter Games: well, northern Greece has mountains and snow in plenty.

And speaking of original Olympic ideals, the Games really haven't been the same since they started making athletes wear clothing during competition.

Clothed athletes.

Now that's barbaric.

 

Of all the gods, the Games belong to Thunder, Who (it is said) founded them Himself long ago in ages of ages.

You can hear Mikis Theodorakis' thunderous Ode to Zeus from his Canto Olimpico here.

Oh, what a beautiful bombast.

 

Today's secular Games can never be anything but a pallid imitation of the religious spectacle that was the ancient Olympics. For a well-researched but highly readable--and entertaining--account of the real (= pagan) thing, see Tony Perrottet, The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Ancient Games (2004), Random House.

 

 

 

 

 

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Poet, scholar and storyteller Steven Posch was raised in the hardwood forests of western Pennsylvania by white-tailed deer. (That's the story, anyway.) He emigrated to Paganistan in 1979 and by sheer dint of personality has become one of Lake Country's foremost men-in-black. He is current keeper of the Minnesota Ooser.

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