奥运会多久回希腊办一次(希腊与中国：古今相连的奥运会)

Editor's note: Decision Makers is a global platform for influential leaders to share their insights on events shaping today's world. Georgios Iliopoulos is the ambassador of Greece to China. This article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of CGTN.

编者按：《决策者》是全球决策者分享对国际事务见解的平台。作者乔治·伊利奥普洛斯是希腊驻华大使。本文仅代表作者观点，不代表CGTN的观点。

On February 4, 2022, the Olympic Flame will be lit again, for a second time after the 2008 Games, at the Beijing National Stadium, during the opening ceremony of the Winter Games of 2022. The flame stands for the Spirit of the Games given by Greece to the whole world. It conveys both the perennial values of the ancient Olympiads in Greece and those of contemporary Olympism.

2 月 4 日，在 2022 年冬奥会开幕式期间，奥运火种将在北京国家体育场再次点燃，这是继 2008 年北京夏季奥运会之后的第二次。火种代表着从希腊传递出来的奥运精神走向全世界。它传达了希腊古代奥林匹克运动会和当代奥林匹克运动的永恒价值观。

Being the ambassador of Greece to the People's Republic of China and as a Greek, I obviously feel very proud for being part of the Beijing Winter Games torch relay.

作为希腊驻华大使和一名希腊人，我对能够参与北京冬奥会的火炬传递而深感自豪。

The 2022 Winter Games flame that arrived in Beijing from Ancient Olympia last October is a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern Games and a major symbol of today's Olympic movement.

去年十月，2022冬奥会的火种从古奥林匹亚运抵北京，这是奥运会古今相连的一个象征，也是今日奥林匹克运动的一个主要象征。

The idea for the Olympic flame derived from ancient Greece, where a sacred fire was lit and kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics on the altar of the sanctuary of Hestia. Fire, one of the four elements in ancient Greece, played a central role in the ancient Games held every four years, when Zeus was honored.

奥运火种的理念源自古希腊。在古代奥运会庆祝期间，一簇火种在赫斯提圣殿的祭坛被点燃并持续燃烧。火，古希腊的四种元素之一，在每四年举办以纪念宙斯的古代奥运会中占有重要角色。

In ancient Greek cosmology and mythology, as well as science, medicine, and philosophy, the fire had divine connotations since it was thought to have been stolen from the gods, from Zeus himself, by Prometheus. It was him who offered the gift of fire to humanity, which benefited from it and helped it grow towards civilization and true knowledge.

在古希腊的宇宙观、神话、科学、医学以及哲学中，火都具有神圣的内涵，因为它被认为是普罗米修斯从天神宙斯那里盗取而来。普罗米修斯将火种作为礼物赠予人类，而人类受益于火种，同时也利用火种，从而走向文明并获得真理。

Sacred fires were present at many ancient Greek sanctuaries, including those at Olympia. Similarly, today, fire is seen in a prominent place in the Greek Orthodox tradition. The Olympic Games, after all, were not only a major sports event, but held a spiritual significance, as is the case even today.

在古奥林匹亚等众多古希腊圣殿中都会呈现火种。同样，如今在希腊东正教传统（教堂）的显著位置也能见到火。毕竟，奥林匹克运动会不仅仅只是一场体育盛事，还具有重要的精神意义，直至今天仍是如此。

The flame of the Olympic torch stands for passion, persistence, creativity, and ingenuity. All these traits underpin the core values of the Games, which is excellence or achievement (or "Athlos" in Greek) in sports through physical and intellectual discipline. Excellence was a core value of many other competition events or Olympiads in ancient Greece, including competition in poetry, music, arts and philosophy.

奥运火炬的火种代表激情、坚持、创造力和独创性。这些特质巩固着奥运会的核心价值，即通过体力和智力上的锻炼，在体育运动中达到卓越或取得成就。（追求）卓越曾是古希腊时代奥林匹克运动会以及诗歌、音乐、艺术、哲学等领域的许多其他竞赛的核心价值。

Fire is kindled by the light of the sun, as its rays are concentrated by a parabolic mirror. It is therefore directly connected to the sky or the Supreme. It symbolizes our actions, intent, hard work, and discipline in the sports arena; and all these are essential for every achievement in life. Fire transforms everything and its flame always points towards the sky. It unites all again with the sky. This is very similar to China's philosophy and its core idea of the union between heaven, man, and nature. The ancient Greeks similarly believed that a man's "healthy mind is inseparable from a healthy body."

火种是太阳光线通过一面反射镜聚焦而被点燃，因此，火与神圣的天空有着直接联系。它象征我们在体育场上的行动、专注、不懈付出和训练，而这些也是人生中获取每个成就的关键要素。火能够改变一切，且火焰总是飞向天空。它让所有的一切都与天空相连。这与中国哲学中强调天、地、人三者融合的核心理念十分相似。古希腊人同样也观察到，个人“健康的精神寓于健康的体魄。”

The Ambassador of Greece to China Georgios Iliopoulos participates in the Beijing 2022 torch relay in Beijing, capital of China, February 2, 2022. /Wang Haixin

This is the main symbolism of the Olympic flame and the torch relay: union and connectedness that can be achieved through fair competition, openness, transparency, and common rules, shared and respected by all. This idea of fair competition is also a core value of the Games. It is also an essential prerequisite of another value of the Olympic Games: Peace that can be achieved through truce and reconciliation.

我相信，这就是奥运火种和火炬传递的主要象征意义：通过公平竞争、开放性、透明性以及共同规则，从而达到团结与联通，这得到所有人的认同与尊敬。公平竞争的理念也是奥运会的核心价值，同时也构成另一个奥运价值理念的必要前提：通过休战与和解从而获得和平。

Evidently, today, we are still in need of these values: Excellence, fair competition, and truce with regard to our relationship with others, within and between our societies. And not to forget, very importantly, peace and union with our natural environment.

显然，在当今时代，我们依旧需要这些价值理念: 在自我与他人之间、不同社会之间的关系中，追求卓越、公平竞争以及通过休战停止冲突。切莫忘却的是，与我们的自然环境和谐共存也非常重要。

The torch and the Olympic flame point to these notions and values, underpinning the Olympic Games and reminding us of the ecumenical dimension of Greece's civilization that inspires all of us today.

火炬与奥运火种，标志着这些巩固奥林匹克运动会的价值观念，同时也提醒着我们，启发今天所有人的希腊文明所具有的普世性。

Beijing is becoming, as Athens did with the revival of the Games in 1896 and in 2004, a dual Olympic city. Even more, Beijing is about to become the first city that has hosted both the Summer and Winter Games. This places a great responsibility on the city of Beijing, its people, and China as a whole. China may demonstrate, like every Olympics host city, that the Olympic Games can contribute to broader aims, regarding not only the preservation and promotion of Olympic values, but also international cooperation, openness, reciprocity, and peace. A good example would be our relationship with the natural environment. This is an area where all these principles and values may apply.

正如雅典在 1896 年复兴了现代奥运会，在 2004 年再次举办奥运会那样，北京正在成为一座双奥运城市。更特别的是，北京即将成为世界上第一个举办夏季和冬季运动会的双奥城市。这对北京这座城市、它的人民和整个中国而言都是重大的责任。中国可以像每一个奥运会主办城市一样证明，奥运会可以致力于为更广泛的目标做贡献，不仅可维护和弘扬奥林匹克价值观，还可推动国际合作、开放、互惠与和平。一个很好的例子是我们与自然环境的关系，这是所有这些原则或价值观都可能适用的领域。

COVID-19 has harmed dramatically all economies and has presented us with difficult choices. The ongoing pandemic is a global challenge that requires a global response. What we all need, in view of the ongoing pandemic is working together in reviving our economies through equal partnerships and solidarity, transparency, and market access. We need cooperation in meeting these challenges, reigniting our economies and accelerating economic recovery.

新冠疫情严重损害了所有经济体，并给我们带来了艰难的选择。持续的新冠大流行是一项全球性挑战，需要全球应对。鉴于当前的现状，我们需要在平等的伙伴关系、团结、透明度和市场准入这几个方面努力来重振我们的经济。我们需要合作应对这些挑战，重振我们的经济并加速经济复苏。

When it comes to Greece-China relations, there is much room for addressing asymmetries and imbalances in a number of fields, rendering our relationship more reciprocal, fair, and optimized. To achieve this, we need to bring into alignment the excellent level of our political relations with that of our existing economic interaction and exchanges, notably in investments and trade.

在希中关系方面，许多领域的不对称和不平衡问题有很大的解决空间，使我们的关系更加对等、公平和优化。为实现这一目标，我们需要使我们的政治关系的良好水平与我们现有的经济互动和交流的水平保持一致，特别是在投资和贸易方面。

Much needs to be done also in the fields of tourism, culture, creative industries, and education. Evidently the pandemic also poses unforeseen challenges in holding the Greece-China Year of Culture and Tourism, which has been expanded till the end of 2022. Greece had previously planned a number of archaeological exhibitions in China and we look forward to the assistance of China's museums and pertinent authorities that will make it possible to have them hosted in China.

在旅游、文化、创意产业和教育领域也有很多工作要做。显然，新冠疫情对举办已延长至2022年底的中希文化和旅游年也带来了不可预见的挑战。希腊此前曾计划在中国举办多场考古展览，期待中国博物馆和有关当局的协助，让它们能在中国成功举办。

The XXIV Olympic Winter Games may bring our nations and peoples together for yet another time. This is especially true as regards Greece and China. Our countries collaborated closely just before the Beijing 2008 Games, after the Athens 2004 Games, and Greece at that time greatly assisted China in hosting a very successful Olympiad. Today, I am confident that the Beijing 2022 Games will be equally successful.

北京冬奥会，将又一次让我们的国家与人民团结在一起，尤其是将希腊与中国团结在一起。我们两国在2004雅典奥运会到2008北京奥运会之间有着十分紧密的合作。那时，希腊曾大力协助中国举办了一场十分成功的奥运会。现在，我相信2022年北京奥运会也会同样成功。

I sincerely wish the Beijing Winter Games a great success.

我真诚地希望北京冬奥会取得圆满成功！