Invited to the Olympic Games, this Lotois is bored there – Medialot

It was in Athens that the first Games of the modern era took place in April 1896. Lotois Gustave Larroumet, art historian and writer, made the trip. But he is bored at the stadium and prefers to visit the ruins of the Parthenon.

On August 25, 1903, at the age of 50, Gustave Larroumet died prematurely at his Parisian home on Quai Conti. Half a century earlier, it was born in Gourdon before collecting diplomas, titles and honors. This brilliant intellectual started at the age of 20 as a non-commissioned officer and fought in 1870 against Prussia. A military medalist, he resumed his studies. He first thought about medicine before choosing literature. Graduated in grammar, he became a doctor of letters by defending two theses (sorry!). The first is dedicated to Marivaux, the second to a now forgotten Latin poet, Tibulle.

Here he is teaching in renowned establishments (Stanislas, Henri IV) then at the Sorbonne. At the same time, he joined the senior administration, first as chief of staff of the Minister of Public Education, then as head of the Fine Arts sub-directorate… It is in this capacity that he was admitted to the Institute. Later still, permanent secretary of the Academy of Fine Arts, he was made Commander of the Legion of Honor. The brilliant Lotois therefore has busy days. Gustave Larroumet published a number of essays during these last two decades of the 19th century and, moreover, was entrusted with the section “ theater ” from the prestigious daily ” The weather “.

An opportunity not to be missed

It was for this newspaper that in the spring of 1896, he was offered a mission that was out of the ordinary: to travel to Athens where the first Olympic Games of the modern era were to be held. The man of letters jumped at the opportunity. But not for relaxation. For this esthete nourished by classical culture, discovering Greece means immersing oneself in the sources of civilization and art. Sport is not a priority, even though the crowds are interested in it.

He will therefore carry out his task not without explaining that the monuments highlighted by archaeologists have more character than the exercises of the “football players” (sic). His articles and stories published by Le Temps will then be brought together in a volume – “Towards Athens and Jerusalem: travel diary in Greece and Syria” – now easily available on the Internet. In his foreword, Gustave Larroumet explains how important traveling is:

” We (Editor’s note: the French of 1896) our minds are as narrow as they are sharp and our eyesight is as short as they are quick. We are restless and docile, rebellious and respectful. With our periodic revolutions and complete freedom of the press, we have more masters, more annoying and more troublesome, than any people in Europe. Routine and prejudices devour us. We are homebodies; we make happiness consist of a petty and sleepy well-being, exhilarated by gossip, petty vanities and petty jealousies. When, by great chance, we cross the border, we take with us our miserable spirit of vain joke. »

“There is, in the spirit and morals of France, something infinitely sweet, a charm superior to everything, which, on returning, recaptures and enchants those who have left the homeland. But there are so many faults with this that would be easy to correct with wider and more frequent views of the outside world! Many times, I have had the opportunity to wish, for my compatriots, the seriousness, the attention, the freedom and the spirit of the Englishman, or even of the German when traveling… (…) The two trips we are about to read about were short and inexpensive. Many people, busy and not very fortunate, will be able to do them, several companies organize similar ones. They will learn that France and Paris are not the whole universe, that life does not all take place in a sub-prefecture or even on the boulevard, or even in the Latin Quarter. When a certain number of its men of letters, its journalists, its professors, even its deputies, go abroad every year to seek a little freedom of spirit, experience and comparison, a country is in a better position. better. » We will readily admit that on this point, our compatriot was not wrong! The means of communication in 2024 will no longer be comparable, but do we really know how to take advantage of them?

Very noble travelers, and some athletes

Still, here is dear Gustave boarding the Senegal in Marseille, a liner originally intended for connections with South America. There are some beautiful people among his traveling companions. “They include professors, Hellenists and archaeologists – one of whom, M. Salomon Reinach, gave us the most complete of our antiquities manuals, and another, M. Monceaux, published with M. Laloux a great work on the excavations of Olympia, – artists, men of letters, magistrates, priests, officers, doctors, young couples, college students and a certain number of people of all ages, without special indication. Toulouse gave a lot, almost as much as Paris; Lyon, Lille, Orléans, Rouen, most of the major cities in France are represented. We also have German and Swiss professors, a Belgian senator, Mr. Paul Janson, several of his compatriots, English people. Finally, a group of athletes, bicyclists, runners, footballers and fencers, who will compete in the Olympic games. They have not yet put on the professional costume, but they are recognizable, in addition to their presence, by a few particular details of their hairstyle or shoes. To talk or show off their talents, they climb the mast and recover on the railings. Some Tartarins wore red chechias and colonial helmets, and wore leather gaiters or knuckleboots. »

Dozens of pages follow where the author recounts in detail the visit to several Greek cities, construction sites and monuments. But we have to, at some point, bring up the subject so as not to mention the pretext which justified this adventure! We therefore read with pleasure, even with a smile, this brief but tasty report… “Are you very keen that I speak to you at length about the Olympic Games? The Havas agency will send you, day by day, the order of the fights and the names of the winners. I do not disdain, far from it, the institution that one of our compatriots, Mr. de Coubertin, has just restored, after twenty centuries, with resounding success. I appreciate these exercises for their value; they are excellent provided that, in a system of education quite different from that of the ancient Greeks, they do not take too much time on intellectual studies. To strengthen the muscles of our young French people, we must not anemic their brains. I even grant, if you like, that a bicycle race, at the foot of the Parthenon, is an aesthetic spectacle. But, finally, running and jumping, even discobolia, are not things whose description, coming from Athens, can be very new. »

Competitors look like “agitated insects”

After these considerations, here is what the Lotois retained from his (brief) time at the stadium… “I will therefore limit myself to telling you, roughly, the aspect of the games, and what they add to the appearance of Athens. I did my duty and, on Monday April 6, at two o’clock in the afternoon, I headed to the stadium. It is formed by three hills, foothills of Hymettus. (Time) of ancient Athens, Herod Atticus had richly covered it with marble. It was in ruins when a Greek, established in Egypt, Mr. Abérof, resolved to restore it to its original splendor. This renovation has already cost a million. The work is not yet finished and part of the enormous enclosure only offers a decoration of wood and canvas. But, definitive or provisional, the appearance is grandiose. The old stadium was used to celebrate the Panathenaic games. Before him passed the procession that Pheidias represented at the walls of the Parthenon. »

“Last Monday, a rather different procession filled the two avenues Amélie and Olga, which lead to the new stadium, with noise and dust. Athens and its visitors blended together. Imagine Avenue du Bois-de-Boulogne, the day of the Grand Prix. Well-harnessed crews are numerous in Athens, because the rich merchants like to show off, and all rode towards the stadium in gala livery. Outside also the large cabs with silver lanterns. The master coachmen, very dignified, said hep! the cab drivers, very busy, exchanged “winged words” among themselves. On the road, many officers, strapped into their short tunics and letting their sabers trail, many bourgeois families calling their children names like Plutarch, many fustanelles coming from far away. Amid the fanfares, the king, the court and the ministers passed. The stadium can hold fifty thousand spectators. If the center of the stands is full, there are many gaps on the sides. On the other hand, the tops of the hills whose lianas form the enclosure are covered with spectators, who want to see without breaking a purse. They remember, like true Athenians, that, in ancient times, shows were free. »

French honor is safe

“Although a little monotonous, the games excite a lot of interest. For me, I am placed too high; at this distance, the competitors look like “agitated insects”. Like a curious person who, from the top of the towers of Notre-Dame, would watch a show given on the square. On the closer stands, we see better and we applaud furiously. The games will last fifteen days and we only have three more to spend in Athens. One session is enough for me and I give the rest of the time to monuments and museums. Most of my companions do the same. We just have to learn, in the evening, by meeting with the stadium enthusiasts, the adventures and the results of the tests. The Americans hold the lead, but French honor is safe: our compatriots have their fair share of rewards, and we have, on board the Senegal, a first prize in fencing. »

That’s all. Immediately follows a long evocation of the visit to the Parthenon, which the man who was also honorary president of the Société des études du Lot enjoyed much more! Basically, as we will have understood, the essential was elsewhere for most of the personalities making up the brilliant Areopagus who had taken up residence in Senegal. Hence, again, the words of the scholar native of Quercy: “I have often said to myself, with Maurice Barrès: “Beauty that I have not exhausted and that I will never see again…. » But we do what we can and I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to take a few weeks from my Parisian work and look at it myself, after having looked so much through the eyes of others. I wish to give those who read (me) the desire to do like me. Every journey is emancipation. »

Ph.M.

Sources: Gallica BNF website.