For thousands of years, sport animated the life of the ancients; it was an essential element in the lives of the ancient Greeks and Romans, and numerous sports aroused popular enthusiasm just like today.
What do we know about sport in those times? When and where did the Olympic Games start? Was it really in 776 BCE when the first athletic games in honor of Zeus were held at Olympia? What sports were played? What did victory mean to the ancient athletes? Above all, what relationships still exist between the Games of the past and those of modern times?
These questions and others were addressed in this dynamic exhibition organized by Contemporanea Progetti, Expona and the National Museum of Liechtenstein in 2016 in collaboration with the Olympic Museum of Lausanne, Switzerland. The original roots of the Olympic Games were juxtaposed with the Modern Games, resumed again in 1896 due to the efforts of the French Baron, Pierre De Coubertin. Highlighting the relations of continuity and innovation between ancient and modern, the culture of competitive sports that enthralls us today was evocatively illustrated.