Konstantinos Zappas Explained

Konstantinos Zappas (Greek, Modern (1453-);: Κωνσταντίνος Ζάππας; 1814–1892) was a Greek entrepreneur and national benefactor who together with his cousin, Evangelos Zappas, played an essential role in the revival of the Olympic Games.^[1]

Biography

Zappas was born in 1814 in the village of Labova e Madhe, between Gjirokastër and Tepelenë (modern Albania), then in the Ottoman Empire.^[2] He was of Greek^[3] or Aromanian descent.^{[4] [5] [6] [7] [8]} After the death of Evangelis Zappas, he became the executor of his cousin's legacy and the ongoing revival of the Olympic Games. He was appointed manager of the Olympic Committee that organised the so-called Zappas Olympics, a Greek athletic festival held in 1859, 1870 and 1875 and the forerunner of the modern international Olympics.

In 1881, after the annexation of Thessaly to Greece, he bought extended estates there and the following years contributed to the building of the Zappeion building in Athens, which was officially opened on 28 October 1888. A number of Greek schools and educational facilities were built with his personal financial support including the female schools in Constantinople,^[9] in his hometown Labovë, as well as in a number of towns in Epirus (Tepelene, Delvine) and Thessaly. Many students benefited from his scholarship for post-graduate studies in Western Europe (mostly in the scientific field of agriculture).

Zappas died in 1892 in Mantes-la-Jolie, France. After his death, the Romanian government seized all of his assets and capital that were still in Romania causing a noted international law case at that time; his cousin, Evangelis Zappas, was often incorrectly cited as his brother. There was also land and money in Greece that Konstantinos left to the Greek government. Baron Pierre de Coubertin together with A. Mercatis, a close friend of Konstantinos, encouraged the Greek government to put in some of that legacy to fund the 1896 Athens Olympic Games in addition to the legacy of Evangelis Zappas.^[10]

The statues of Konstantinos and his cousin Evangelis Zappas are situated in front of the Zappeion.

References

Sources

• Canner. Efi. Embourgeoisement, résaux sociaux et identités de genre dans les Balkans (Deuxième moitié du XIXe siècle): Le cas de Sotiria Cléoménous-Alibertis. Turcica. 39. 175–199. 2007. 0082-6847. 10.2143/TURC.39.0.2033061.
• Book: Martens, Fedor Fedorovich. 1893. Memoire sur le conflit entre la Grece et la Roumanie concernant l'affaire Zappa. Athens. fr.
• Book: Ruches, Pyrrhus J.. 1967. Albanian Historical Folksongs, 1716–1943: A Survey of Oral Epic Poetry from Southern Albania, with Original Texts. Chicago, IL. Argonaut Incorporated.
• Book: Rühl, Joachim K.. 2004. Olympic Games Before Coubertin. 3–16. Findling. John E.. Pelle. Kimberly D.. Encyclopedia of the Modern Olympic Movement. Westport, CT. Greenwood Publishing Group. 978-0-313-32278-5.
• Book: Streit, Georges. 1894. L'affaire Zappa: Conflit Gréco-Roumain. Paris. L. Larose. fr.
• Book: Vizoukidou, P. K.. 1947. Megaloi Evergetai tou Ethnous ek Voreiou Hepeirou – Oi Exadelfoi Zappai. Thessalonica. Triantafyllou. el.
• Book: Young, David C.. 1996. The Modern Olympics: A Struggle for Revival. Baltimore, MD. Johns Hopkins University Press. 0-8018-5374-5.
• Book: Young, David C.. 1992. Greece and the Origins of the Modern Olympic Games. 175–184. Coulson. William D. E.. Kyrieleis. Helmut. Proceedings of an International Symposium on the Olympic Games, 5–9 September 1988. Athens. Deutsches Archäologisches Institut Athen. 9780946897537 .

External links

• Testaments of Evangelis and Konstantinos Zappas. (Greek)

Notes and References

1. .
2. citing .
3. Sfetas . Spyridon . Το ιστορικό πλαίσιο των ελληνο-ρουμανικών πολιτικών σχέσεων (1866-1913) . Makedonika . 2003 . 33 . 33 . Εταιρεια Μακεδονικων Σπουδων. . el . Όταν το 1892 πέθανε και ο Κωνσταντίνος Ζάππας, η ελληνική πρεσβεία του Βουκουρεστίου διεκδίκησε την ακίνητη περιουσία του,... A family named Zappa, of Greek origin, settled in Romania, amassed a considerable fortune in trade,....
4. Book: Pericles Smerlas. About Greece. 1999. Some of the biggest national benefactors and personalities of the Greek history belong to Vlach families, like Pavlos Melas, Evangelos and Konstantinos Zappas, Stefanos and Ion..
5. Book: Ioannis Kaphetzopoulos. The struggle for Northern Epirus. 2000. Kolletes and Spyridon Lampros were Vlachs. So were the great national benefactors George Averoff, Nicolaos Stournares, Tositsas, Sinas, Evangelos and Konstantinos Zappas.... 21. Hellenic Army General Staff, Army History Directorate . 9789607897404.
6. Aromanians in Greece: Minority or Vlach-speaking Greeks?. Thede. Kahl. Thede Kahl. Jahrbücher für Geschichte und Kultur Südosteuropas. 5. 213. 2003. Indeed, the list of examples of Aromanians in Greek history is quite impressive: [...] Konstantinos Zappas (1814-1892, endowed the Zappeion Hall and the surrounding gardens).
7. Jovanovski. Dalibor. Minov. Nikola. 2017. Ioannis Kolettis. The Vlach from the ruling elite of Greece. Balcanica Posnaniensia. . 24 . 1 . 2450-3177. 8 May 2017. 222. Vlachs are to be found among [...] Konstantinos Zappas.
8. Book: Hē kathēmerinē zōē tōn Hellēnōn stēn Tourkokratia. 2002. el. 167. Από τους Βλάχους αναδείχθηκαν επιφανείς μορφές του Ελληνισμού όπως: [...] Γ. Αβέρωφ Γ. Αρσάκης, Στέργιος Δούμπας, Ευάγγελος και Κων. Ζάππας, Χρ. Ζαλοκώστας, Γεώργιος και Χρηστάκης.. Chatzēphōtēs. Iōannēs M..
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