When Pierre de Coubertin began to revive the Olympic movement, he understood the importance of symbolism in promoting ideas in the world. The word Olympus itself has a deep and multilateral meaning. This is beauty, and power, and universality, and the divinity of occupation, which develops both the human body and its spirit. He weaved five multi-colored rings and turned them around, symbolizing all 5 inhabited continents, which is why the Olympic rings are of different colors.
The riddle of Pierre de Coubertin
The symbolism of multi-colored rings is readable, it would seem, is simple. The blue ring is Europe, the yellow is Asia, the black is Africa, the green is Australia, the red is America. So it was written in the charter on the Olympic movement until 1951. But the founder of the Olympic movement himself did not say a word about what the colors of the Olympic rings mean . Although this looks strange, it cannot be an accident. This means that these colors have an even deeper meaning than the one that lies on the surface. Therefore, they removed the record of the colors of the rings in the charter, leaving everything else unchanged.
Five multi-colored rings - the most famous symbol of the Olympic Games. He is constantly in front of the eyes of billions of people. And to give him an unambiguous interpretation is to belittle him, turning him into a motto. And, probably, Pierre de Coubertin understood this. Symbols are not readable or explained. They have a many-sided meaning, which each person absorbs in addition to consciousness, and interprets as he is capable of.
The ring itself is a capacious symbol - infinity, closed to itself. It means that each continent is closed to itself, but is somehow gossiped with other continents. And the Olympic Games are also a symbol, a symbol of some future common cause of all mankind. That is why the Olympic rings are of different colors and woven together.
Another symbol of the olympic games
The torch, which is lit from the rays of the Sun, and then carried by the relay to the venue of the games, is also a multifaceted symbol. They carry it, and it establishes peace on the planet, reminding people of different races about some, not yet overlooked, future task of all mankind. After this fire of peace broke out in recent history, two world wars and many civil wars have burned down to our time. He did not establish peace. But this idea lives on. It remains to clarify the task that the Olympic torch speaks to people, and peace will be established on the planet, because wars between races and within races will instantly lose their meaning. After all, the task is for all mankind, it must be solved, and not destroy each other. We are woven together by a common house - the planet Earth. And he is already becoming so small, because humanity is growing out of it ... Different colors of the rings of the Olympic flag and a torch call us to something unprecedentedly beautiful, for which it is worth living and being a man.
Symbols do not die
Pierre de Coubertin drew the idea of the Olympic Games from the depths of the so-called pagan culture and revived it. And she intertwined so organically in our lives that this, too, cannot be an accident. So, the time has come for the given idea.
It is interesting that Coubertin himself called the ancient franc, who fell in love with the beautiful paganism of ancient culture. He said that he ceased to be a barbarian when he saw his sight on the Olympus of the gods, because inexpressible beauty pierced all his senses. The mind has remained the same, but the essence of the soul has changed.
Take the ring for his idea Coubertin advised the Russian artist and esoteric Nikolai Roerich. It is a fact. Maybe he helped pick the colors? After all, the meaning of the Olympic rings in colors has a very specific meaning. The blue ring is divine thought; black is corporeality; red is passion; yellow is sensuality; green - patient poise. The interweaving of these rings symbolizes a certain ideal human personality. True, in esotericism there are two more colored rings, that is, the
ideal person must have seven qualities. But the esoteric roots of
Olympic symbolism are visible.
White flag background
But why are the Olympic rings of different colors on the white cloth? White color is a symbol of all things and purity. And any color on white is dominant, therefore in symbolism and in heraldry there is a silver-gray color instead of white. Applying a white background in symbolism and heraldry is very risky, because it seems to recede and bulge the symbol placed on it.
Thus, diversity is lost, and the symbol turns into a primitive motto. This did not happen with the flag of the Olympic movement, which is further proof that an artist who subtly senses and understands colors participated in its creation.
Conclusion
The question of why the Olympic rings of different colors will never find a solution. That's the symbol, so as not to have a clear answer. And each interpreter will be right in his own way, and wrong in a different way. The symbol is perceived by the soul, but not understood by the mind.