I'm just going to say it...
This is why we need art in schools!
Europeans obviously have a MUCH better art history education than Americans.
Before seeing the Last Supper Comparisons with the 2024 Opening Ceremony for the Olympics, I initially thought the blue guy may be representing Kali or Shiva...
Definitely a bit of a stretch conceptually. And really I think it's about as likely as the Last Supper Comparisons.
The Last Supper by Leonard DiVinci seemed convincing as a possible inspiration at first
But like responding to Hindu art, the Christian reference is conceptually a huge reach.
Neither really have anything to do with the Olympic games.
The Olympics as inspiration?
Could it be?
Yes, I think so.
It's much more likely that the scene was responding to imagery and the art history of Mt. Olympus, the original Olympic games, and the Dinner/feast of the God's scenes common in art history painted by Belinni, Titian, and others.
The nudity in the Olympic art makes sense and tbh the trans drag thing kinda does too - but that's a bit of a tangent and maybe a stretch.
Dionysus, the God of wine, pleasure, and fertility makes sense with the plater imagery especially if he were at a dinner of the God on Mt. Olympus celebrating Life and pleasure.
The somewhat awkward poses are very reminiscent of art history too. Go ahead and laugh...
The child being in the line up is congruent with Greek god imagery but unfortunately also amps up the inappropriateness of the performance.
Greeks, Romans, and Christians
It's important to remember that many of the cultural representations would have been similar among these three cultures. The art was painted around the Renaissance period (1400-1500, I believe) and using similar materials.
The table imagery makes so much sense and I think a good example of why so many people have been confused about what artwork was being referenced.
The table imagery, does make it easy to visually go to the Last Supper. But also, many of the images we are seeing have cut off several of the people in the scene. There are at least 16 partiers rather than 12 disciples.
Rather than being deceptive, people maybe were looking for evil and more things to dislike.
Short Rant
**Gasp** Is the Olympics ceremony becoming like the Superbowl Halftime show? Something soo easy to dislike from our couch while simultaneously being completely clueless about what's actually being represented, the symbolism, the actual roots in history, art, and culture...
But I digress-ed...
So anyways, though the similarities are there with the Last Supper, the imagery is almost certainly responding to the actual history of artwork painted that relates to the first few hundred Olympic games.
There are similarities I'm not quite sure how to articulate. I could be mistaken (I'll and try to come back and edit) but the irony of us as Christians crying "persecution" is in stark contrast to what Christians in the time of the original Olympic games were dealing with.
Were Christians not martyred in the same arena? How many times was Paul Best preaching to the Greeks?
Mocking Jesus is not ok and we do need to be prepared to be hated and to be offended without sinning in our anger
Last Thoughts
The cultures of the Greeks and Romans were very antithetical to Jesus 2000 years ago and Biblacal values today. It's so interesting that we are seeing similar behaviors and a cultural progression so parallel to the books of Acts and Romans in the Bible (even Judges, but that's less related to this post)
Though I did not watch the performance and don't plan to, I also don't plan to boycott the Olympics
It's been such a joy to watch bits with the little one and look up the counties in an atlas, and learn facts about them, and pray for the people together as we talk about gifts, skills, and the beauty of the image bearers, both male and female that God has created us to be.
** I should clarify I was upset at first but really the more I thought about it the more I doubted that the point was to mock and entire people group **
As Christians, we ought to fight for the truth
Please share this, find other better written posts, photos, research, or speak up when people are spreading misinformation across the interwebs!
In Other News
More Offensive Greek Inspired Art
For anyone curious, here's an offensive sculpture created by one of my ancestors!
It was commissioned for the rotunda of the White House and currently is in the Smithsonian, Culture Museum in DC 🤷🏽♀️ he may have made people mad but he was one of the first Internally knows sculptors from the US and it paid for 4 years of life.
The head/bust mockup is in the Met in New York, we were walking around and and my husband found it...
