43-463: Zappas may refer to: Evangelos Zappas , Greek philanthropist and businessman The Zappas Olympics , athletic competitions organized by Evangelos Zappas Petros Zappas , Greek entrepreneur and politician Konstantinos Zappas , Greek entrepreneur and national benefactor See also [ edit ] Zappa (surname) Iason Sappas [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with
86-629: A Freemasonic Lodge at Lefkada ("Society of Free Builders of Saint Mavra"), while Tsakalov was a founding member of the Hellenoglosso Xenodocheio (Greek: Ελληνόγλωσσο Ξενοδοχείο, meaning Greek-speaking Hotel ) an earlier relative society for the liberation of Greece which had been founded in Paris and made a progress to the Greek nationalistic ideas. At the start, between 1814 and 1816, there were roughly twenty members. During 1817,
129-550: A lecture that the Olympic events would be revived. Zappas was notably inspired by Panagiotis Soutsos 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 the revival of the Olympic Games, and to provide cash prizes to the victors. However, this initiative was not without opposition. There
172-513: A newspaper and books in the Albanian language in Romania. In this context, Zappas adopted multiple identities related to his birthplace (Albania), ethnic origin (Greek), and his adopted country (Romania). 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
215-685: A revolt and with the setting up of a military unit for the purpose that he named the Sacred Band . Various proposals were made for the location regarding the break out of the revolution. One of them was to be in Constantinople , the heart of the empire, that was the long-term target of the revolutionaries. Finally the decision that was taken was to start from the Peloponnese (Morea), and the Danubian Principalities for
258-604: A serious loss. The remaining founders attempted to find a major personality to take over the reins, one who would add prestige and fresh impetus to the society. In early 1818, they had a meeting with Ioannis Kapodistrias , who not only refused, but later wrote that he considered Filiki Eteria guilty for the havoc that was foreboded in Greece. Alexandros Ypsilantis was contacted and asked to assume leadership of Filiki Eteria, which he did in April 1820. He began active preparations for
301-474: 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 ,
344-562: A successful career as a businessman, becoming one of the richest men of that time in Eastern Europe. Aside from being the only major sponsor of the Olympic revival at that time, Zappas's philanthropy also included contributions toward the foundation of several Greek institutions and schools as well as sports and exhibition facilities. Evangelis Zappas was one of three children born to Vasileios Zappas and Sotira Meksi, of Greek or Aromanian ancestry, on 23 August 1800 in
387-514: 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 Panathenaic 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
430-538: Is just, the avenger of transgression, the chastizer of evil, by the laws of the Eteria Filiki, and by the authority with which its powerful priests have intrusted me, I receive you, as I was myself received, into the bosom of the Eteria. Afterwards the initiated were considered neophyte members of the society, with all the rights and obligations of this rank. The Priest immediately had the obligation to reveal all
473-556: The Greek War of Independence broke out in 1821. During this period, Zappas reached the rank of Major in the revolutionary army and became a personal friend of the Souliot captain, Markos Botsaris . After Botsaris's 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
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#1732788036706516-604: The International Olympic Committee in 1894. Professor David C. Young, of the University of Florida (Gainesville), noted: Had it not been for Zappas, the Athens Games of 1896 surely would not have taken place. Zappas's actions, his will and the previous tradition of Zappas Olympic Games had made [Crown Prince] Constantine [of Greece] an advocate of Olympic Games before the formation of
559-678: The surname Zappas . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zappas&oldid=1061289199 " Categories : Surnames Greek-language surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description with empty Wikidata description All set index articles Evangelos Zappas Evangelos or Evangelis Zappas (23 August 1800 – 19 June 1865; Greek : Ευάγγελος or Ευαγγέλης Ζάππας ; Romanian : Evanghelie Zappa )
602-579: The Athens 1896 Olympic Games. After a period of litigation over Zappas's 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 Zappas Olympics. The Zappas Olympics of 1870, apart from being the first modern international Olympic Games to be hosted in
645-447: The Greek press by Panagiotis Soutsos made Zappas's proposal widely known to the public and triggered a series of events. King 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 15 November 1859,
688-930: The IOC in 1894. Through his philanthropic activity, Zappas contributed to the national awakening of the Greeks, Romanians and Albanians. Apart from his efforts to revive the Olympics, Evangelos 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 Greek-populated villages and towns, such as Labovo, Lekli, Nivani, Dhroviani, Filiates , Delvina , Përmet . In Constantinople , education facilities were also founded that included nurseries, primary and secondary schools, which were collectively known as
731-592: The Olympiad. He also instructed on the building of the Zappeion exhibition and conference center, which is named in his honour and that of his cousin Konstantinos Zappas . After Zappas's death, and wholly due to the Greek government ignoring Zappas's instructions to refurbish the stadium in marble, it was necessary to refurbish the Panathenaic stadium a second time, replacing wood for marble, in readiness for
774-705: 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. During the anti-Greek Istanbul Pogrom in 1955, the facilities of the Zappeion female college in the Turkish capital were vandalized by the fanatical mob and a statue of him
817-645: The Zappeion in Athens, Greece. A ceremony for the interment was held at 10am on 20 October 1888 at the Zappeion. Baron Pierre de Coubertin made a similar gesture by having his heart buried at Olympia . In the virtually unpopulated Labovo, there is an old, yet legible, tombstone that states in Albanian: "Here lie the bones of the philanthropist Evangelis Zappas". Filiki Eteria Filiki Eteria ( Greek : Φιλικὴ Ἑταιρεία , romanized : Filikī́ Etaireía ) or Society of Friends (Greek: Ἑταιρεία τῶν Φιλικῶν , romanized: Etaireía tôn Filikôn )
860-558: The ancient Greek etymology. The word "friendly" here is meant to connote allies who work towards the same goal, not necessarily those who socialize together. In the context of ardent desire for independence from Turkish occupation, and with the explicit influence of similar secret societies elsewhere in Europe, three Greeks came together in 1814 in Odessa to decide the constitution for a secret organization in freemasonic fashion. Its purpose
903-546: The commands of an "Invisible Authority" ( Αόρατος Αρχή ), who was thought to be one or more strong persons, so that from the start it was shrouded in mystery, secrecy and glamour. It was generally believed that a lot of important personalities were members, not only eminent Greeks, but also notable foreigners such as the Tsar of Russia Alexander I . The reality was that initially, the Invisible Authority comprised only
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#1732788036706946-520: The duty of initiation. I swear in the name of truth and justice, before the Supreme Being, to guard, by sacrificing my own life, and suffering the hardest toils, the mystery, which shall be explained to me and that I shall respond with the truth whatever I am asked. When the Priest approached a new member, it was first to make sure of his patriotism and catechize him in the aims of the society;
989-512: The first Olympic Games was held in a city square in central Athens . These athletic contests were the first Olympic Games of modern times with the provenance of ancient Greek roots and the intention of using an, as yet unready, ancient Greek stadium. That stadium, the Panathenaic Stadium , was first used for a modern Olympic Games in 1870 and for the first time since the ancient Panathenaic and Olympic Games. The athletes competed in
1032-549: The founding of the International Olympic Committee itself. The legacy of Zappas, as well as the legacy of his cousin Konstantinos , was also used to fund the Olympic Games of 1896. During his youth, Zappas joined the Greek War of Independence (1821–1832), achieving the rank of Major and fighting in several significant battles. Following Greek independence, he moved to Wallachia where he had
1075-424: The future liberty of my countrymen, that I consecrate myself wholly to thee; that hence forward thou shall be the cause and object of my thoughts, thy name the guide of my actions, and thy happiness the recompense of my labours. When the above was administered the Priest then uttered the words of acceptance of the novice as a new member: Before the face of the invisible and omnipresent true God, who in his essence
1118-498: The last stage was to put him under the lengthy principal oath, called the Great Oath ( Μέγας Όρκος ). Much of the essence of it was contained in its conclusion: Last of all, I swear by Thee, my sacred and suffering Country,— I swear by thy long-endured tortures,— I swear by the bitter tears which for so many centuries have been shed by thy unhappy children, by my own tears which I am pouring forth at this very moment,— I swear by
1161-631: The leader of the Serbian Revolution , father of the modern Serbia and founder of the Karadjordjevic dynasty Karageorge Petrovic . Members included primary instigators of the Greek revolution, notably Theodoros Kolokotronis , Odysseas Androutsos , Dimitris Plapoutas , Papaflessas and the metropolitan bishop Germanos of Patras . Filiki Eteria was strongly influenced by Carbonarism and Freemasonry . The team of leaders made and spread its decisions, saying that they transmitted
1204-539: The magnitude of his acts. His cousin, Konstantinos Zappas , was the executor of his will and he continued Evangelis Zappas' philanthropic works through his legacy. Zappas's wish was to be initially buried in Romania , where he lived most of his life. But after four years his bones were exhumed and reinterred at the school's courtyard in Labovo where he was born, and his skull was enshrined beneath his memorial statue outside
1247-487: The marks of recognition between the Vlamides or Brothers . Vlamides and Recommended were unaware of the revolutionary aims of the organisation. They only knew that there existed a society that tried hard for the general good of the nation, which included in its ranks important personalities. This myth was propagated deliberately in order to stimulate the morale of members and also to make proselytism easier. Members in
1290-605: The right to ask who created the organisation. Commands were carried out unquestioningly and members did not have the right to make decisions. Members of the society came together in what was called a "Temple" with four levels of initiation : a) Brothers ( Αδελφοποίητοι ) or Vlamides ( Βλάμηδες ), b) the Recommended ( Συστημένοι ), c) the Priests ( Ιερείς ) and d) the Shepherds ( Ποιμένες ). The Priests were charged with
1333-467: The secret society divided to three parts: a) Etairoi (society members), who had important duties, b) Apostles (advocates), who also had important duties, and c) all other members. The following is a list of members of the Filiki Eteria in order of most initiations which they conducted: In 1818, the seat of Filiki Eteria had migrated from Odessa to Constantinople , and Skoufas' death had been
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1376-474: The siege of Souli , the first siege of Missolonghi and the Battle of Peta . In his later correspondence with a Greek official, he claimed that he was wounded five times during the war. In 1831, Zappas emigrated to Wallachia and made a fortune in land and agriculture. 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
1419-588: The society initiated members from the diaspora Greeks of Russia and the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia . The Prince of Moldavia Michael Soutzos himself, became a member. Massive initiations began only in 1818 and by early 1821, when the Society had expanded to almost all regions of Greece and throughout Greek communities abroad, the membership numbered in thousands. Among its members were tradesmen, clergy, Russian consuls, Ottoman officials from Phanar and revolutionary Serbs , most notably,
1462-480: The three founders. From 1815 until 1818, five more were added to the Invisible Authority, and after the death of Skoufas three more. In 1818, the Invisible Authority was renamed to the "Authority of the Twelve Apostles" and each Apostle shouldered the responsibility of a separate region. The organisational structure was pyramid-like, with the "Invisible Authority" coordinating from the top. No one knew or had
1505-484: The village of Labovo located near Tepelenë (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 . Zappas became a member of the Greek patriotic organization Filiki Eteria and joined his compatriots when
1548-407: Was a Greek patriot, philanthropist and businessman who spent most of his life in Romania . He is recognized today as one of the founders of the modern Olympic Games , which were held in 1859, 1870, 1875, and 1888 and preceded the Olympic Games that came under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee . These Games , known at the time simply as Olympics (Greek: Ολύμπια ), came before
1591-675: Was a secret political and revolutionary organization founded in 1814 in Odessa , whose purpose was to overthrow Ottoman rule in Greece and establish an independent Greek State . Society members were mainly young Phanariot Greeks from Constantinople and the Russian Empire , local political and military leaders from the Greek mainland and islands, as well as several Orthodox Christian leaders from other nations that were under Hellenic influence, such as Karađorđe from Serbia , and Tudor Vladimirescu from Romania . One of its leaders
1634-541: Was broken into pieces. In addition to donations to the Greek state, Zappas was also a financier of the Romanian Academy where he has a statue there today. Zappas was an ardent Greek nationalist influenced by the writings of Panagiotis Soutsos , a 19th-century Greek poet. Among academic projects funded by him were a new synthesis on the history of the Romanians and a Romanian dictionary. He also funded
1677-614: Was entirely funded by Zappas's legacy and was named Zappeion after him. The Zappeion officially opened on 20 October 1888. Dr. William Penny Brookes , from the United Kingdom, further developed his Olympian Class sports events held in Much Wenlock in the 1850s, by adopting some events from the 1859 Athens Olympic Games into the programme of future Wenlock Olympian Games. Baron Pierre de Coubertin from Paris, France, was, in part, inspired by Dr. Brookes, and went on to found
1720-541: Was estimated at six million gold drachmas . 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 1833, the romantic poet Panagiotis Soutsos , in his work Dialogue 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, archaeologist Ernst Curtius stated during
1763-512: Was the prominent Phanariote Prince Alexander Ypsilantis . The Society initiated the Greek War of Independence in the spring of 1821. The direct translation of the word "Φιλική" is "Friendly" and the direct translation of "Ἑταιρεία" is "Society", "Company" or "Association"). The common transliteration "Filiki Eteria" reflects the pronunciation of the name in modern Greek. Other possible transliterations are "Filike Etaireia", which reflects Greek orthography , and "Philike Hetaireia", which reflects
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1806-467: Was to unite all Greeks in an armed organization to overthrow Turkish rule. The three founders were Nikolaos Skoufas from the Arta province, Emmanuil Xanthos from Patmos and Athanasios Tsakalov from Ioannina . Soon after they initiated a fourth member, Panagiotis Anagnostopoulos from Andritsaina . Skoufas met with Konstantinos Rados, who was initiated into Carbonarism . Xanthos was initiated into
1849-418: 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
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