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Our
Events
"The accommodations
and location of the
hotel were excellent, our drivers to and from Wimbledon were
very good. Our seats
were fine. Your
concierge service went beyond and above our expectations in seeing
that all our concerns were met! Thanks Fine Things. …"
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"Robin and I want to thank you for a spectacular Super Bowl
XXXIX experience.
“Going to the Masters was a dream come true, and Fine Things
provided the perfect package. I’m still basking in the glow”. The accommodations
were close to the golf course, the badge pickup was very smooth and our shuttle
drivers were first class, catering to our needs whenever we asked. I’m keeping
Fine Things’ phone number on hand for future use.” |
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According to legend, the ancient Olympic Games were founded by Heracles (the Roman Hercules), a son of Zeus. Greeks considered Zeus the most important of all the Olympic gods, and worshipped Him as a Supreme Being. The date of the Games' inception has been reconstructed as 776 BC, though scholars' opinions diverge between dates as early as 884 BC and as late as 704 BC. The Games rapidly gained importance, reaching a zenith in the sixth and fifth centuries BC. This importance was in part due to the fundamental religious significance the Olympics held, as contests alternated with sacrifices and ceremonies honoring both Zeus (whose colossal statue stood at Olympia), and Pelops, divine hero and mythical king of Olympia. Greeks greatly admired winners of the events and immortalized champions in poems and statues. The period between two Olympic celebrations, four years, became known as an 'Olympiad'. In a sign of significance, Greeks used Olympiads as a method of counting years. All free male Greek citizens were entitled to participate in the ancient Olympic Games, regardless of social status. Athlete, a Greek word meaning “one who competes for a prize,” comes from the Greek words “athlos”, meaning “contest” and “athlon” meaning “prize.” The first athlete to be crowned an Olympic Champion was a cook named Coroebus. History records Coroebus as the first Olympic champion winning a running event approximately 210 yards long. For decades the games went on every four years until 393 AD when the Roman Christian emperor Theodosius I outlawed the Olympics, ending a thousand-year tradition. He banned the games from taking place because of their pagan influences. The Olympics had merely temporarily vanished, however; they had not been permanently vanquished. The Olympic spirit remained. A millennium and a half after Theodosius’ decree, thanks to a young Frenchman named Pierre de Coubertin, the Games reemerged. An International Olympic Committee was formed and, in 1896, Athens was chosen as the site of the first modern Olympics. Since 1896, the modern Summer Olympics have been held every four years with the exception of 1916 (World War I) and 1940 and 1944 (World War II). Until 1992, the Winter and Summer Games were held in the same year. Since then, the world celebrates these events two years apart. Many facets of the Games have changed since the times of ancient Greece. Importantly, for one, every four years a different country is honored to host the games. The host country undertakes to uphold the union of mankind and the Olympic ideals centered on sport. Moreover, also unlike in ancient Greece, men and women both compete today. Like ancient Greece, however, today’s athletes admirably devote years, if not a lifetime, of training to compete in the Olympics. Many Olympic athletes serve as an inspiration in exemplifying hope to a world seeking unity. Similarly, the five Olympic rings symbolize the five significant continents and are interconnected to symbolize the friendship to be gained from these international competitions. To many, the Olympics are the most spectacular sporting event the world knows. Further details concerning the Olympics can be found on the official Beijing Olympic website at http://en.beijing2008
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