Evangelos Zappas

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Evangelis Zappas
Ευαγγέλης Ζάππας
Portrait of Evangelis Zappas in Zappeion
Born23 August 1800
Labovë e Madhe, Ottoman Empire[1]
Died19 June 1865(1865-06-19) (aged 64)[2]
Broșteni, Ialomița, United Principalities
NationalityGreek
CitizenshipGreek, Romanian
OccupationBusinessman
Known forBenefactor
Revival of modern Olympic Games

Evangelis or Evangelos Zappas (Greek: Ευαγγέλης/Ευάγγελος Ζάππας; Romanian: Evanghelie Zappa; 23 August 1800 – 19 June 1865) was a Greek patriot, philanthropist and businessman who established the modern Olympic Games.[1][3][4][5][6]

Biography[change | change source]

Early life[change | change source]

Evangelis Zappas was born to a Greek family on August 23, 1800 in the village of Labovo in the Ottoman Empire.[1][4][6][7][8][9][10][11] His parents were Vasileios and Sotira Zappas.[12] Zappas received no education during his youth.[4] At 13, he left his village and worked as a mercenary in the Ottoman militia of Ali Pasha.[13][14] Zappas was involved in the Filiki Eteria, a Greek patriotic organization, and served in the Greek War of Independence when it started in 1821.[14][15] He claimed to have been wounded five times during the war.[13][16] Zappas later moved to Wallachia in 1831 and made a fortune in land and agriculture.[14] In the 1850s, Zappas became one of the wealthiest businessmen in Eastern Europe.[17] The value of his whole fortune was calculated at six million gold drachmas.[18]

Revival of the Olympic Games[change | change source]

Panoramic view of the Panathenaic Stadium (1906).

Zappas was a nationalist inspired to revive the Olympic Games by Panagiotis Soutsos, a Greek poet.[19] He sent a letter in 1856 to King Otto of Greece offering to pay to restore the Olympics.[7] The first modern Olympic Games were held on November 15, 1859 in Athens, Greece.[4] And just like in the ancient Olympics, the athletes competed in running, discus throwing, javelin throwing, wrestling, jumping, and pole-climbing.[4] Zappas died on June 19, 1865 with no children.[5][20] His money was used for developing athletic buildings in Athens, as well as for continuing the Olympic Games.[21] He left instructions for the building of the Zappeion Exhibition and Conference Center named in both his honour and in the honour of his cousin, Konstantinos Zappas.[5]

Legacy[change | change source]

Evangelos Zappas made several donations to Greek schools, libraries and scholarships.[18][22] He also financed the Romanian Academy where he has a statue there today.[23][24][25] Zappas also funded a Romanian dictionary, a newspaper and books in the Albanian language, and research on the history of the Romanian people.[6]

References[change | change source]

Citations[change | change source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Decker 2005, p. 273: "E. Zappas, a Greek born in Albania (Ottoman Empire) but living in Romania, founded modern Olympic Games that were held in 1859, 1870, 1875 and 1888."
  2. Philologikos Syllogos "Parnassos" 1977, p. 81.
  3. Golden 2009, p. 129; Trager 1979, p. 654; Young 1991, p. 108.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Young 1991, p. 103.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Zappeion Culture and Exhibition Center". 2007. Archived from the original on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Iordachi 2013, p. 148.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Gerlach 2004, p. 25.
  8. Hill 1992, p. 15.
  9. Gerlach 2004, p. 37.
  10. Brownell 2008, Susan Brownell, "Introduction: Bodies before Boas, Sport before the Launcher Left", p. 36; Alexander Kitroeff, "Chapter 8: Greece and the 1904 "American Olympics", p. 303.
  11. Chatziefstathiou & Henry 2012, p. 23.
  12. Young 2005, p. 276.
  13. 13.0 13.1 Ruches 1967, p. 79.
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 Matthews 1904, p. 45.
  15. Hill 1992, p. 16.
  16. Decker 2005, p. 277.
  17. Young 1996, p. 142.
  18. 18.0 18.1 Ruches 1967, p. 80.
  19. Reisler 2012, p. 24; Matthews 1904, p. 46.
  20. Philologikos Syllogos "Parnassos" 1977, p. 81.
  21. Gerlach 2004, p. 29.
  22. Vassiadis 2007, p. 119.
  23. Constantinoiu, Marina (20 February 2020). "Primul mare donator al Societăţii Literare Române, devenită Academia Română, un Meccena pentru Ţara Românească". Evenimentul Istoric.
  24. Academia Română (6 February 2020). "Comunicate de presa 2020". Academia Română.
  25. Popescu, George (1 November 2016). "Evanghelie Zappa – un Meccena aromân pentru Ţara Românească". Radio România Actualităţi Online.

Sources[change | change source]

Further reading[change | change source]

Other websites[change | change source]