The Panhellenic and the Ethnikos associations
The Panhellenic Gymnastic Society is one of the oldest Greek sports associations. It was founded in 1891 by a group of gymnasts, who were active in the Central Gymnasium headed by Ioannis Fokianos in the late 80s. There took place the games of the Panhellenic Gymnastic Society in 1891 and in 1893, which were the first sports games to be organized by an association. The activity of the Panhellenic G.S. in the early 1890s and the absence of any other organized sports activity resulted in the presence of the Panhellenic G.S. as representative of Greece in the International Sports Congress, which was organized in Paris in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and aimed at the organization of the Olympic Games. Right after the Games the administration of the Panhellenic G.S. played a leading part in the constitution of the SEAGS and the organization of sports games, such as the Sotiria (1899, 1902) and the Panathinaia (in cooperation with the Ethnikos) in the 1920s.
The Ethnikos Gymnastic Association was founded in 1893 by members of the Panhellenic G.S. who left and created their own association. One of them was Ioannis Chrysafis. Two years later, the Ethnikos organized its own sports games, the Tinia, which constituted a milestone in the beginning of Greek sport, since they were the first in which had participated athletes from different associations active inside and outside the boundaries of the Greek State. In 1897 the same association organized the first children's and teenagers' games.
The members of the two associations belonged to the middle and upper strata of the Greek capital and their management consisted of the intellectual, economic and political elite of the Greek society. Besides, they were protected and favoured by members of the royal family. At the same time, the enrolment of members implied no economic or other social restrictions, this being the case of associations that fostered special sports, like tennis, equestrian, fencing, or rowing, which brought together a more restricted group consisting of the social elite exclusively.
Initially, both the Panhellenic and the Ethnikos focused on gymnastics and athletics. Gradually they incorporated other sports as well, such as wrestling and weightlifting and more recent team sports. The two associations were founding members of the SEAGS and tried at times to control its ruling bodies, a fact that once led to their temporary withdrawal from the SEAGS. That happened in 1902 for the Panhellenic G.S. an in 1910 for the Ethnikos. The activity of the two associations continues until the present day. The Panhellenic G.S. continues to play a significant role both in the national championships and in the organization of important international sports games in honour of the Olympic winner (1908, 1912) Kostis Tsiklitiras.
|