Games pleasing to the gods

The book is devoted to a very relevant issue of the origin, history and role in the society of the famous Olympic Games. In recent years, universal attention has been chained to them, and in our country this interest is also heated by the fact that in 2014, the Olympic Games will be held in Russia, in Sochi. It seems that everything is known about the Olympics. Many books are written, including historical. However, as found I.I. Curlin, in our knowledge about games gambs a huge space. And not only in the area & quot, ancient & quot, the history of their occurrence, but also concerns the XIX-XX centuries and our modern day. The author attracts unique archival materials to study, which make it possible to understand that over the years, a strongly distorted version of the history of the establishment and development of the Olympic Games has inspired a society