Sport and Philosophy of Hospitality: Three Questions on How to Rethink Contemporary Sport Education in Light of Gift and Peace

Abstract

The ancient Olympic Games were held in spaces and places consecrated for hospitality, to xénia, a Greek word that means “gifts” but also something that refers to and belongs to strangers and foreigners. Foreigners from every part of Greece met in Olympia to celebrate the agón. In this place, a stranger or a foreigner (hostis in Latin), probably a former enemy, became a friend because he was both guest and host (hospes in Latin) in the sanctuary-town, which belonged to the gods and to all of the Greeks, who recognized themselves in its spirit. This mechanism of hospitality formed the basis of the Olympic peace system and was the fundamental prerequisite for the celebration of agón. The practice of the agón was therefore made possible by a “gift” but also by “for-giveness” that allowed people to meet and compete. We can conclude that at the base of the Olympic (and Greek) ethics there was the concept of hospitality. Olympia was then the common home of all Greeks, the place where ethics were carried out, were put into practice, and concretely exercised. It is not a pure coincidence that the Greek word “ethics” is linked to the word éthos, which means “house”, “home”. For this reason, ethics can be thought as the art of hosting somebody in our own home and trusting him/her, just as it happened in ancient Olympia during the Olympic Games, which demonstrated that ethics was always a home’s ethics. Therefore, taking into account this cultural and philosophical framework, this study will develop a methodological approach, derived from deconstructionism, which will be applied to concepts that are both ambiguous and semantically rich in meaning, such as “gift”, “forgiveness”, xénos, hostis, and hospes. The first objective of this study is to reflect upon the connection between “gift” and “sport” and show the deep interconnection between the two concepts. The second is to use the model of Greek hospitality at the Olympic Games to deeply rethink sport and contemporary philosophy of sport education in terms of peace and multiculturalism.

The New Ethical Dimension of Sports Events: a Reflection on the Evolution from the Ancient Greek Olympic Sports Festival to Postmodern Sports Events

“…This methodology originates from the educational philosophy that inspired the ancient Olympic Games. The ancient Olympics, as well as other major games of ancient Greece (the Isthmian Games, the Pythian Games, the Nemean Games, and the Panathenaic Games), were celebration events which, through their organization and the religious philosophy that inspired them, aimed to promote values such as peace and mutual understanding using games and competitions as a means to achieve this goal (Isidori, 2012). According to Reid (2006), this philosophical methodology consists of three main steps, each based on specific values that are embodied by sports:…”

“…In this model, the values of peace, equality, and respect for diversity were made explicit in the organization of the ancient sports games such as Olympic Games (Isidori, 2012;Miller, 2004;Reid, 2006). The innovative aspects of this paper consist of identifying the new social functions of sports events in postindustrial society starting from the model of ancient sports festivals in Greece, such as the Olympic Games.…”

“…The new community and social dimensions of event management (Bell, 1973) (De Masi, 1985) (Dumazedier, 1978) (Lafargue, 1971) (Lipovetsky, 1995) (Lyotard, 1981) (Marx, 1964) (Russell, 2012) (Stebbins, 1982(Stebbins, , 1996 2. Sports (Brohm, 1976) (De Coubertin, 2000) (Dunning, Murphy, & Williams, 1988) (Elias, 1988) (Elling, De Knop, & Knoppers, 2001) (García-Ferrando, 2006) (Guttmann, 1978) (Huizinga, 1983) (Isidori, 2012) (Knop, 1988) (Lombardo, 2000) (Porro, 2007) (Reid, 2006) (Rowe,1999) (Thompson, 1969) 3. The concept of the festival (Apolito, 1994) (Cardini, 1983) (Durkheim, 1963) (Getz, 2008) (Maussier, 2014) 4.…”

“…In Greece, the ethics of the Olympic Games, was based on hospitality. Olympia was then the common home of all Greeks, the place where ethics was carried out, put into practice, and concretely exercised (Isidori & Echazarreta, 2013). Nowadays, sports events are established around the world as a growing and vibrant sector of the industries of tourism and leisure and are believed to have considerable economic, socio-cultural, and political effects on the destination and on the groups that host them.…”

“…The purpose of this paper, through a reflection on the meaning of ethics in ancient Greek sports games, is to draw a comparison between this ethics and the characteristics of postindustrial society, proposing a new model for event management focused on creating social benefits. This approach is inspired by the philosophy of sports education which emerged from ancient Greek sports festivals such as the Olympic Games (Isidori, 2012;Miller, 2004;Reid, 2006) and by recent studies on the evolution of leisure, sports, and event management (Bell, 1973;Chalip, 2006;De Masi, 2015;Dunning, Murphy, & Williams, 1988;Elias, 1988;Gibson, 2005;Getz, 2011;Porro, 2007;Lafargue, 1971;Lombardo, 2000;Lyotard, 1981;Marx, 1964;Richards, De Brito, & Wilks, 2013;Russell, 2012;Stebbins,1982Stebbins, , 1996Touraine, 1970). It emerges that contemporary sports events, as a form of postmodern festivals, can develop a new ethical dimension, celebrating, in an innovative way, the values of ancient Olympic sports.…”