Culture Symbolism

Culture Symbolism is something all cultures relate to and understand within their own culture.  We know that culture is Symbolic,  Learned, and Shared.  Here’s what to know about the Culture Symbolism promoted in the winter Olympics and the Sochi games in Russia in 2014:

The Main Three:

1) The five rings, which represent the five continents as being connected (I like this)

2) The motto, Citius-Altius-Fortius, which stands for faster, higher, and stronger, which all the athletes strive towards during competitions, and

3) The flame, which has been a ritual since the Berlin Games in 1936.

The flame becomes a flame in Olympia (Greece), where the games began anciently. Then the torch is passed from runner to runner along the relay route leading to where the current games are to be held.

The image above is the Medal for the Sochi games in Russia in 2014, which represents the jagged and mountainous landscapes of Russia along with its snowy peaks and Black Sea beaches.  This is Cultural Symbolism at its best.  The area at the top, which seems to be a “patchwork quilt,” represents the Russian culture with its many ethnic groups.  This kind of Culture Symbolism gives the Olympic Games an Identity.

For a more detailed description and history of the Culture Symbolism of the Olympic Games, follow this link.  Then return to Explore More! in Cultural Anthropology.

https://www.olympic.org/documents/reports/en/en_report_1303.pdf