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Olympia Under Threat !


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Since yesterday, Greece has been declared on a nationawide state of emergency and has appealed for international help due to forest fires affecting 2/3 of the country, having claimed 51 lives so far.

The worst affected region is the whole of the Peloponnese peninsula, and right now the massive fires approach Olympia.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6964345.stm

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The fire is 400-500 meters from the museum of ancient olympia and the stadium. The Museum and the Stadium are not burning but the the danger is tremendous!!! Forces have created an umbrela around and are trying to rescue ancient olympia... and this is the add to the katastrophy that already is happening...

We are living the hell on earth right now here...

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I'm really upset by all these disturbing news from Greece. Although the fire in Olympia is bad enough -- I still have a bigger lump in my throat about all those people, including families with small children who burnt to death in their cars, trying to escape from the flames. It's gruesome beyond words. I can only express my sympathy will all people in Greece affected by this terrible, terrible catastrophe.

And in terms of Olympia: I still hope that all this is a mistake and that Olympia won't be severely harmed. Otherwise, I believe that for us as Olympic enthusiastics, the destruction of the cradle of those inspirational Games would be like 9/11. It's impossible to imagine that this peaceful place will probably never look like we used to know it from the Olympic Flame ceremonies. This is one of the worst days for the Olympic Movement in its whole history.

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It seems that the fire didnt reached the Museum and the Old Stadium... Winds have been slow the last 20-30 min and thats way 3 more aircrafts could fly.. so at this moments there is a big hope that the ancient sites of olympia are rescued... in this tragedy which we are living this is a good news... for the rest of the fire sites....... no words... its a biblic katastrophy

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I commiserate with you Greeks (of course, we also have end-of-summer wildfires in the US and a lot of flooding right now). However, except for the Museum and I guess some offices(?) there at Olympia -- and grandpappy's heart -- but aren't all the palestra and the stadium, all made of ancient stone? If so, how can they burn "to the ground" since they are made of stone and there really aren't any vegetation around them?

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I commiserate with you Greeks (of course, we also have end-of-summer wildfires in the US and a lot of flooding right now). However, except for the Museum and I guess some offices(?) there at Olympia -- and grandpappy's heart -- but aren't all the palestra and the stadium, all made of ancient stone? If so, how can they burn "to the ground" since they are made of stone and there really aren't any vegetation around them?

Have you ever watched a Olympic Flame lighting ceremony or the Athens 2004 shot put competition? The ancient stadium (apart from the famous athletes' gate) isn't made at all of stone -- it's basically a field of dust, surrounded by grass "stands".

Additionally, the ancient Olympic site is surrounded by a beautiful grove. So Olympia would change its appearance a lot if all that green had vanished.

Olympia-stadion.jpg

Img214041824.jpg

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The international community must band together and help the Greeks rebuild this important sanctuary. The museum thankfully including the Hermes of Praxitelis have been saved, but the rich pine forest and olive grove valley surrounds have been destroyed. This was virgin forest that has never seen such destruction since the rediscovery of the site. The surrounds formed a part of this sanctuary. The greatest indication of the damage will be shown in the morning. The reforestation of the whole area must be achieved. This site is not just sacred for Greeks but also for all the world as the spritual home of Olympic ideals. Without Olympia, there will be no spiritual home for the Olympics. I send this message out to all that have a say in Olympic affairs for something to be done. This site has survived a lot in nearly three thousand years of history to be allowed to be lost forever.

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Well, it appears that while the main site was spared, the International Olympic Academy did go up in flames, as did the grove where the Baron's heart was buried.

It's very sad for all of us, but I have seen reports of criticism in Greece that so much effort was diverted to the battle to save Olympia, at the cost of sacrificing other nearby villages. It's a tough call to decide what the priority should have been.

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So, was most of these fires caused by arsonists?

Looks as though it was. The Greek government has now issued a 1 million euro reward to catch the arsonists behind this.

60 people have died at this writing as a reuslt of the fires.

This is very sad and horrific. If I was planning to visit Greece, I would've definitely make a stop to Olympia to see the spiritual home of where it all began and take in the spiritual roots. The International Olympic Academy MUST be rebuilt and better than ever and replenish the pine forest and olive groves, even if it means importing and donating them from other lands.

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Looks as though it was. The Greek government has now issued a 1 million euro reward to catch the arsonists behind this.

60 people have died at this writing as a reuslt of the fires.

This is very sad and horrific. If I was planning to visit Greece, I would've definitely make a stop to Olympia to see the spiritual home of where it all began and take in the spiritual roots. The International Olympic Academy MUST be rebuilt and better than ever and replenish the pine forest and olive groves, even if it means importing and donating them from other lands.

What the... :o

What was inside the Academy, before it was destroyed by these "eco-idiots?" :angry:

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What the... :o

What was inside the Academy, before it was destroyed by these "eco-idiots?" :angry:

I don't know if they were eco-idiots. Some stories I've read indicate there's a suspicion some fires may have been started by property developers wanting to clear

land without having to get approval. And some were probably the usual idiot firebugs who get a kick out of being copycats when such disasters strike.

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Well, another part of the news I heard about "why" the fires were started was because Greece is about to have elections soon. I cannot remember if it was national or in certain parts of Greece, but just imagine what could happen, if other countries had people like that and started fires galore, just to get at land they want to grab for themselves? The planet would be one big and giant fireball! So much for the environmental movement in certain countries, huh?

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So much for the environmental movement in certain countries, huh?

Please wait until we have proof about the motives of those arsonists. We don't know anything for sure yet. And even if the arsonists were ecological activists: That doesn't mean that the whole Greek ecological movement is involved in that. You should deal with the topic with less prejudices.

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Guess I got carried away there, huh? It just drives me mad, when my area of the world gets "harassed" by our national environmentalists for "putting development and money ahead of the planet's health." If that was the case, then how does one explain about how UNESCO keeps tabs about how its FIVE WHSs are doing within my province? It is not easy trying to keep these areas from being developed or destroyed by simple human trampling, when you got a big source of a certain finite resource the world needs to survive on and the scenery that everyone wants to enjoy at the same time.

Anyway, could someone explain to me what the developers really have to gain from all of this nonsense, if it is really them?

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