December 2025:

#forgotteninolympia

𝐕𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨 𝐎𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐚 – 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬:

𝐀 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐎𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐚!

Enjoy the short-video: 

You can find more information about Theodorus Antonides and his remarkable book "Olympia" at: www.olympia.co.nl

𝐀 𝐎𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐜 𝐯𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚!

From a publication in 1732, through the London Olympic torch relay in 2012, to this very day. With no end in sight, discover how one old book sparked a lifelong passion.

See the new interactive timeline about 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 "𝐎𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐚" 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 on our website: https://www.olympia.co.nl/the-search-for-olympia/in-the-media

𝐀 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐒𝐀: 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐨𝐟 "𝐎𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐚" 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐃.𝐂.

Not one, not two, but three copies of the book "Olympia" are now known to exist in the United States.

This third copy is located in a truly remarkable place: the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Unlike the original 1732 or 1733 editions, this particular volume is the photo mechanical reprint published in 1984.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐬: 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬?

We have already contacted the Library to investigate its history, but perhaps one of you holds the answer. We are incredibly curious—if you have any information regarding this copy's journey, please feel free to reach out and let us know!

𝐎𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧!

Sports history comes home at the National Sports Centre Papendal in the Netherlands.

We are incredibly proud to share that a unique piece of heritage will soon be on display at the very place where Dutch sports thrive.

A 1984-copy of the book Olympia by Dutchman Antonides - originally published in 1732 and recognized as 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐜 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 - will soon be on display at the National Sports Centre Papendal.

As the home base of the NOC*NSF, this is the beating heart of our sports world. There is no context more fitting to present this historical masterpiece than amongst the athletes of today and the heroes of tomorrow.

A special thanks to Bernard Hilgers and the NOC*NSF for their hospitality and for making this unique exhibition possible. Together, we are bridging the gap between centuries of sports history and the present day.

More details coming soon! 

𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀, 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆.

A book can be a ghost. An echo from the past that pops up in the most unexpected places and sometimes disappears without a trace.

This is certainly true of the rare 18th-century Dutch book “Olympia” by Theodorus Antonides, a profound and learned work on the classical Olympic Games.

The story of this book in the 19th-century United States is not one, but two. It is a chronicle of two copies that crossed the Atlantic: one that survived as a silent witness to a family history, and one that fell prey to the flames, directly connected to one of the most fascinating "what if" questions of American Olympic history.

𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬, 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐒𝐀

You will soon be able to read this special story here. 

forgotteninolympia

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐩 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 '𝐎𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐚'.

Where are the rare copies of Theodore Antonides' Olympia located? A new interactive map now provides the answer.

The "Olympia in libraries" project visualizes the global distribution of this historic work. The map shows at a glance which libraries hold the 1732 and 1733 editions.

You can find the map here: https://www.olympia.co.nl/the-book-olympia/olympia-where/olympia-worldwide

More information about Theodorus Antonides and his book Olympia can be found at: www.olympia.co.nl