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THE OLYMPIC ARTS IN ANCIENT GREECE
In the ancient games of Olympia, art and music were always a feature. The Olympia festivals attracted large crowds of spectators and were, therefore, an ideal occasion for musicians, writers and other artists to present their talents. The cooperation of some musicians was necessary for a smooth conduct of the games: trumpeters and heralds addressed the spectators. Moreover, music accompanied the pentathlon, in particular the long jump, because the Greeks thought that music improved the coordination of the movements.
At some games, contests in music and similar arts formed a separate part of the program, on a par with athletic contests. These were called 'musical contests' after the muses, goddesses of arts such as music, literature and drama. In the Olympic games, the contests for heralds and trumpeters were regular to be seen. In other games such as Delphi, playing the kithara (a kind of lyre, with vertical strings of equal length), the combination of kithara and singing, and playing the aulos (a wind instrument with a mouthpiece in reed). In the Hellenistic period, other events were added: writing poetry and prose and competitions for tragic and comic actors. At the Capitolia in Rome, there were contests in declamation, prose and poetry for both Greek and Latin.





The musical contests served not only as a foil to the athletic contests, but more often than not, a way for artists to express and to nourish the mind of the Greek people. Together with sports, the Art Olympiad provided entertainment for tens of thousands of spectators each day, and were genuinely the first event in human history to bring art to the mass.
The Six-Star Logo of the WOAC

The OLYMP'ARTS logo is formed of six stars, representing the colorful world of art, which stands for the human spirit and thought.

The six stars also represent artists from six continents. The stars form an overall pyramid shape rising skyward, implying the artist's source of inspiration. The top most star, fully in white, represents the continent of Antarctica composed, which is 98% ice and water, a natural reserve of the earth that humanity must defend.

This is consistent with and echoes the starting point of the common interests of humanity. In 2016, the generic term “olympic” of our appellation of origin has been modified with reference to Mount Olympus, which the shape of our logo denotes, becoming “Olymp'Arts”. Indeed, this revival of the “Olympiads of Art”, introduced by ancient Greece according to a precise calendar of which the modern concept belongs to us (official deposit INPI 1992, renewed in 2015), has always been independent of the IOC.

It is to better differentiate ourselves from the sporting world and avoid any confusion that this change of terminology in our generic title was implemented.

This change has been approved by the IOC in a letter dated February 12, 2016.

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