The Pentathlon of the Ancient World

The Pentathlon of the Ancient World

Author: Frank Zarnowski

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2013-04-19

Total Pages: 217

ISBN-13: 1476601453

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The pentathlon, comprising competition in the discus, javelin, long jump, sprint, and wrestling, was hailed as the ultimate test of athletic versatility and remained a staple of the ancient Greek Olympic Games, Crown Games and Pan-Hellenic festivals for 1,200 years. Still, there is little scholarly consensus over many major aspects of the event. This detailed exploration of the ancient pentathlon discusses the nature of the spectacle, the method of determining a victor, the five sub-events and the order in which they occurred. It also chronicles the history of the event and its champions, the recognition of ancient pentathletes, and the pentathlon's 18-year modern Olympic history and its influence on its contemporary counterpart, the decathlon. A record book and glossary complete this fresh look at one of the ancient world's most renowned sporting competitions.


Athletics in the Ancient World

Athletics in the Ancient World

Author: E. Norman Gardiner

Publisher: Courier Corporation

Published: 2012-06-11

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 0486147452

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Concise, convincing book emphasizes relationship between Greek and Roman athletics and religion, art, and education. Colorful descriptions of the pentathlon, foot-race, wrestling, boxing, ball playing, and more. 137 black-and-white illustrations.


On the Jump of the Ancient Pentathlon

On the Jump of the Ancient Pentathlon

Author: John Mouratidis

Publisher: Georg Olms Verlag

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9783615004007

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The purpose of this work is to cast more light on some key aspects of the long jump and especially to fill the lacuna which has become ever more evident in the literature on the topic and is related to the kind of long-jump in the ancient pentathlon. This study is completely different or has very little in common with the theories proposed previously. For almost 200 years the long jump in the ancient pentathlon has remained a field of controversy. Scholars have admitted that the subject is confused and presents a great number of unanswered questions, essential and important for any understanding of the event: What significance can be attached to the supposed feats of the two ancient Greek athletes Chionis and Phayllus? What exactly was the long jump in the ancient pentathlon? Where did the long jump have its roots? What and where was the ancient skamma? What was the ancient bater and where was it located? Did athletes drop the halteres just before landing in the skamma? Did all athletes use the same halteres in the same games? How many attempts was each athlete allowed at the jump?


The Pentathlon of the Ancient World

The Pentathlon of the Ancient World

Author: Frank Zarnowski

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2013-05-01

Total Pages: 217

ISBN-13: 0786467835

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The pentathlon, comprising competition in the discus, javelin, long jump, sprint, and wrestling, was hailed as the ultimate test of athletic versatility and remained a staple of the ancient Greek Olympic Games, Crown Games and Pan-Hellenic festivals for 1,200 years. Still, there is little scholarly consensus over many major aspects of the event. This detailed exploration of the ancient pentathlon discusses the nature of the spectacle, the method of determining a victor, the five sub-events and the order in which they occurred. It also chronicles the history of the event and its champions, the recognition of ancient pentathletes, and the pentathlon's 18-year modern Olympic history and its influence on its contemporary counterpart, the decathlon. A record book and glossary complete this fresh look at one of the ancient world's most renowned sporting competitions.


Sport in the Ancient World from A to Z

Sport in the Ancient World from A to Z

Author: Mark Golden

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2004-06

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 1134535961

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Arranged in an easy-to-use dictionary format, this volume includes more than 700 entries discussing ancient athletes, festivals, important sites, equipment and concepts. It is the ultimate guide to ancient sport.


A Visitor's Guide to the Ancient Olympics

A Visitor's Guide to the Ancient Olympics

Author: Neil Faulkner

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2012-04-24

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 0300159072

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A guide to the ancient Olympics features a program of events, transportation options as provided by passenger ferry and ox cart, accommodations, and dining options, all as they would have appeared in 338 BC in the spectacle's early days.


Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World

Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World

Author: Donald G. Kyle

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2014-11-05

Total Pages: 375

ISBN-13: 1118613805

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The second edition of Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World updates Donald G. Kyle’s award-winning introduction to this topic, covering the Ancient Near East up to the late Roman Empire. • Challenges traditional scholarship on sport and spectacle in the Ancient World and debunks claims that there were no sports before the ancient Greeks • Explores the cultural exchange of Greek sport and Roman spectacle and how each culture responded to the other’s entertainment • Features a new chapter on sport and spectacle during the Late Roman Empire, including Christian opposition to pagan games and the Roman response • Covers topics including violence, professionalism in sport, class, gender and eroticism, and the relationship of spectacle to political structures


The Ancient Olympics

The Ancient Olympics

Author: Nigel Spivey

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2012-06-14

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 0191655414

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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.


Sport and Society in Ancient Greece

Sport and Society in Ancient Greece

Author: Mark Golden

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1998-09-10

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 9780521497909

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Sport and Society in Ancient Greece provides a concise and readable introduction to ancient Greek sport. It covers such topics as the links between sport, religion and warfare, the origins and history of the Olympic games, and the spirit of competition among the Greeks. Its main focus, however, is on Greek sport as an arena for the creation and expression of difference among individuals and groups. Sport not only identified winners and losers. It also drew boundaries between groups (Greeks and barbarians, boys and men, males and females) and offered a field for debate on the relative worth of athletic and equestrian competition. The book includes guides to the ancient evidence and to modern scholarship on the subject.


The Naked Olympics

The Naked Olympics

Author: Tony Perrottet

Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks

Published: 2004-06-08

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 081296991X

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What was it like to attend the ancient Olympic Games? With the summer Olympics’ return to Athens, Tony Perrottet delves into the ancient world and lets the Greek Games begin again. The acclaimed author of Pagan Holiday brings attitude, erudition, and humor to the fascinating story of the original Olympic festival, tracking the event day by day to re-create the experience in all its compelling spectacle. Using firsthand reports and little-known sources—including an actual Handbook for a Sports Coach used by the Greeks—The Naked Olympics creates a vivid picture of an extravaganza performed before as many as forty thousand people, featuring contests as timeless as the javelin throw and as exotic as the chariot race. Peeling away the layers of myth, Perrottet lays bare the ancient sporting experience—including the round-the-clock bacchanal inside the tents of the Olympic Village, the all-male nude workouts under the statue of Eros, and history’s first corruption scandals involving athletes. Featuring sometimes scandalous cameos by sports enthusiasts Plato, Socrates, and Herodotus, The Naked Olympics offers essential insight into today’s Games and an unforgettable guide to the world’s first and most influential athletic festival. "Just in time for the modern Olympic games to return to Greece this summer for the first time in more than a century, Tony Perrottet offers up a diverting primer on the Olympics of the ancient kind….Well researched; his sources are as solid as sources come. It's also well writen….Perhaps no book of the season will show us so briefly and entertainingly just how complete is our inheritance from the Greeks, vulgarity and all." --The Washington Post