Greek Athletics and the Olympics
Greek Athletics and the Olympics

Author: Alan Beale

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2011-09-29

Total Pages: 201

ISBN-13: 0521138205

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

An exciting series that provides students with direct access to the ancient world by offering new translations of extracts from its key texts. Where did the idea of celebrating the Olympic Games every four years come from? The short answer is ancient Greece. The very name 'Olympic' announces an origin for the competition, but, as with most of our classical heritage, it is easy for the superficial similarities to conceal major cultural differences. The purpose of this new book in the Greece and Rome: Texts and Contexts series is to provide an introduction to Greek athletics and their most important competition at Olympia through a selection of contemporary visual and literary sources.

Ancient Greek Athletics
Ancient Greek Athletics

Author: Stephen Gaylord Miller

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2004-01-01

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 9780300115291

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Presenting a survey of sports in ancient Greece, this work describes ancient sporting events and games. It considers the role of women and amateurs in ancient athletics, and explores the impact of these games on art, literature and politics.

The Smell of Sweat
The Smell of Sweat

Author: William Blake Tyrrell

Publisher: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 086516553X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A survey of Greek athletics from Homeric times through the fourth century C.E. From the games of the "Iliad, to the foundation of the Olympic games, to the poetry of Pindar and the Olympic Festival, this book covers all aspects of Greek athletics: the events themselves--from the running events held at the first competitions to the later "heavy" events of wrestling, boxing, and the pankration, to the pentathlon, jump, discus, and javelin, held only at festival; the religious and athletic centers; the festivals in which the games took place; the voices of the games' celebrators (like the poet Pindar), critics, and the athletes themselves; the "gyymnasion and its culture; and the evidence--literary, artistic, archeological, and historical. The introduction examines the nineteenth-century bias that created the myth of Greek amateurism. An extensive bibliography aids the reader in pursuing further study.

Games for the Gods
Games for the Gods

Author: John Herrmann

Publisher: MFA Publications

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, proudly presents the original Olympics in all their sweaty, heroic glory. Like today, sports were a vital part of daily life in ancient Greece. "Games for the Gods" unearths the original traditions of athletics, highlighting both the fascinating similarities and the jarring differences between the ancient ways and our own. We might not be used to such Classical customs as associating athletic festivals with certain gods, seeing our athletes compete in the nude, or having them indulge in dirty fighting as accepted practice (then again...), but the excitement of competition, admiration for athletic skill, and adoration of champions--as well as several of the sports--are just as familiar to fans today as they were to the ancients. The Greek Games here come to life in a series of texts that explore the Olympics then and now, the origins of the games and various athletic events, and the ways in which the contests were prepared for and the victors honoured. With stunning illustrations of over 140 sculptures, vases, and coins, as well as photographs of modern athletes, "Games for the Gods" is a unique celebration of the Olympic spirit through the ages.

The Ancient Greek Olympics
The Ancient Greek Olympics

Author: Richard Woff

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 40

ISBN-13: 9780195215816

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Describes the history, traditions, and competitive events connected with the Olympic games held in ancient Greece.

The End of Greek Athletics in Late Antiquity
The End of Greek Athletics in Late Antiquity

Author: Sofie Remijsen

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2015-05-28

Total Pages: 409

ISBN-13: 1107050782

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A comprehensive study of how and why athletic contests, a characteristic feature of ancient Greek culture, disappeared in late antiquity.

Greek Sport and Social Status
Greek Sport and Social Status

Author: Mark Golden

Publisher: University of Texas Press

Published: 2009-09-15

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 0292778953

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

From the ancient Olympic games to the World Series and the World Cup, athletic achievement has always conferred social status. In this collection of essays, a noted authority on ancient sport discusses how Greek sport has been used to claim and enhance social status, both in antiquity and in modern times. Mark Golden explores a variety of ways in which sport provided a route to social status. In the first essay, he explains how elite horsemen and athletes tried to ignore the important roles that jockeys, drivers, and trainers played in their victories, as well as how female owners tried to rank their equestrian achievements above those of men and other women. In the next essay, Golden looks at the varied contributions that slaves made to sport, despite its use as a marker of free, Greek status. In the third essay, he evaluates the claims made by gladiators in the Greek east that they be regarded as high-status athletes and asserts that gladiatorial spectacle is much more like Greek sport than scholars today usually admit. In the final essay, Golden critiques the accepted accounts of ancient and modern Olympic history, arguing that attempts to raise the status of the modern games by stressing their links to the ancient ones are misleading. He concludes that the contemporary movement to call a truce in world conflicts during the Olympics is likewise based on misunderstandings of ancient Greek traditions.

Athletics and Games of the Ancient Greeks
Athletics and Games of the Ancient Greeks

Author: Edward M. Plummer

Publisher: Good Press

Published: 2021-11-05

Total Pages: 77

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In Athletics and Games of the Ancient Greeks, Plummer examines ancient Greek exercise, Olympics, sports, and games. Edward M. Plummer was a highly accomplished ear surgeon in early 20th century Massachusetts. "Bodily exercise was not an irksome task, but an agreeable pastime. The ancient Hellenes were therefore a very happy people, the ends that they sought to attain prescribed tasks that were congenial with their national temperament."

The Ancient Olympics
The Ancient Olympics

Author: Nigel Spivey

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2012-06-14

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 0191655414

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The word 'athletics' is derived from the Greek verb 'to struggle for a prize'. After reading this book, no one will see the Olympics as a graceful display of Greek beauty again, but as war by other means. Nigel Spivey paints a portrait of the Greek Olympics as they really were - fierce contests between bitter rivals, in which victors won kudos and rewards, and losers faced scorn and even assault. Victory was almost worth dying for, and a number of athletes did just that. Many more resorted to cheating and bribery. Contested always bitterly and often bloodily, the ancient Olympics were not an idealistic celebration of unity, but a clash of military powers in an arena not far removed from the battlefield.