As a lifelong student of history, Baron Pierre de Coubertin was well aware of the extent to which he and his colleagues in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) were, in fact, making history day by day.  In April of 1934, in an open letter “To My Hellenic Friends,” he made the case that the achievements of modern Olympic history should be regularly studied by those guiding the Olympic Movement forward.  He wrote this letter in response to an invitation from the President of Greece to travel to Athens as the guest of honor for the celebration of the 40^th anniversary of the founding of the modern Olympic Games.  In graciously declining the invitation, he nevertheless asserted that all current IOC members should make the trek to the foot of Mount Olympus to pay homage to their Olympic ancestors, ancient and contemporary.  It could certainly be argued that today this advice—for current IOC members to travel to Greece and immerse themselves in the history of the modern Olympic Movement to better understand the foundations of their culture—rings with as much relevance as it did 84 years ago.  History is a tireless and relentless teacher to those open to its lessons.

“It is important for (the IOC’s) current members to gather in their turn at the foot of the eternal mountain, to honor the work we have done together so far. It is particularly important for them to have an opportunity to pay solemn tribute to the memory of the great ancestors whose efforts long ago laid the foundations of culture.  This is an act of gratitude, but an act of hope, as well.”