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-The ancient Greeks adored the beauty of the human body
and conferred human attributes and habits upon their gods.
Apollo was the model of the perfect athlete--
a healthy mind in a healthy body.
Precisely the Greek ideal.
And a deification of the perfect mortal as the ancient Greeks
perceived perfection-- the praise
of physical and mental values.
Ancient Greeks pursued perfection
and achieved miracles of architecture and art.
They pursued perfection in thinking and in writing.
And they pursued perfection in physical exercise,
considering athletics as a supreme duty
through which to approach the divine.
This is why all athletic events had some special significance
and were inseparably linked to the worship of local gods.
The Panhellenic and all the local athletic games
cultivated the spirit of peaceful contest.
And finally led the Greeks to become conscious
of their identity.
To be culturally united and share the same concept
of the divine was what guided their actions.
The quest for the athlos should never cease.
And modern societies could well assimilate
the important message of the ancient Greek world.
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