The Games of the 30th Olympiad begin this evening in London, so the world will once again pause and reflect on the heritage that the ancient Greeks bequeathed us. The funny thing is that the ancient Greeks probably wouldn’t recognize these games. Lots of time has passed since Greek athletes last converged on Olympia to celebrate their quadrennial games in honor of Zeus. Our modern Olympic games probably tell us more about the values of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century than they do about the ancient Greeks. The ideals of the modern Olympic games are the values embodied by the progressive spirit of the post-Enlightenment. Both of these models of Olympic virtue, however, are problematic for Christians.
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