The victor's crown : a history of ancient sport from Homer to Byzantium / David Potter.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Potter, David, 1957-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sports--History.

Sports.

Greece--Civilization.

Greece.

Byzantine Empire--Civilization.

Byzantine Empire.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (455 p.)

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, c2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Victor's Crown brings to vivid life the signal role of sport in the classical world. Ranging over a dozen centuries--from Archaic Greece through to the late Roman and early Byzantine empires--David Potter's lively narrative shows how sport, to the ancients, was not just a dim reflection of religion and politics but a potent social force in its own right. The passion for sport among the participants and fans of antiquity has been matched in history only by our own time. Potter first charts the origins of competitive athletics in Greece during the eighth century BC and the emergence of the O

Contents:

Cover; Contents; List of Illustrations; Maps; Preface; Then and Now; PART 1: ASHES, LINEN AND THE ORIGINS OF SPORT; 1: Introduction; 2: Homer and the Bronze Age; 3: Homer and Sport; PART 2: OLYMPIA; 4: From Myth to History; 5: Olympia in 480 BC; 6: The Olympic Games of 476 BC; 7: The Festival Approaches; 8: Winning; The equestrian events; The pentathlon and the foot races; Nudity; Pain and suffering; 9: Remembering Victory; The athlete as hero; 10: The Emergence of the Panhellenic Cycle; PART 3: THE WORLD OF THE GYMNASIUM; 11: Sport and Civic Virtue; 12: Beroia

13: Getting in Shape and Turning ProPART 4: ROMAN GAMES; 14: Greece Meets Rome; 15: Kings and Games; 16: Rome and Italy; 17: Actors and Gladiators; 18: Caesar, Antony, Augustus and the Games; PART 5: IMPERIAL GAMES; 19: Watching; 20: The Fan's Experience; 21: Expectations; 22: Crowd Noise; 23: Dreaming of Sport; 24: Images of Sport; 25: Women's Sports; 26: Gladiators; Life as a gladiator; Training and ranking; Dying; Choosing to be a gladiator; 27: Charioteers; 28: Athletes; Athletic guilds; Cheating; 29: Running the Show; Administration; Athletics; Epilogue: The Long End of an Era

BibliographyClassical Sources; Notes; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; R; S; T; V; W; X; Z

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-283-34915-9

9786613349156

0-19-987828-5

OCLC:

760887046