Sport : antiquity and Its legacy / Peter J. Miller.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Miller, Peter J., author.

Series:

Ancients and moderns series

Classical Studies & Archaeology 2022

Ancients and Moderns

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sports--History.

Sports.

Olympics--History.

Olympics.

Arenas--History.

Arenas.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (240 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Distribution:

[London, England] : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021

Place of Publication:

London [England] : Bloomsbury Academic, 2022.

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

"The tension between antiquity and modernity is at the heart of this book: modern sport cannot be understood without ancient sport. Sport saturates contemporary society and the global reach of sport and its intense popularity characterizes the modern world. But, at the same time, sport is one of the most ancient human pursuits. In the globalized sport of today, the type of athletic performance and the ideology of sport and its apparent origins are mostly derived from the model of one pre-modern civilization: Greco-Roman Antiquity. Sport today contains a surprising contradiction: its explicit modernity (from its technological sophistication and integration into capitalist markets to its institutionalization and celebrity culture) and its supposed antiquity (from the mythology of the Olympics to the ancient roots of sporting civic and national pride, and the emotional and near religious fervour of sports fans). Juxtaposing ancient writers with recent ones, including the modern Olympic founder Pierre de Coubertin and physical fitness impresario Bernarr Macfadden, and by examining the representation of sport in Olympic films and popular sports cinema, Miller demonstrates the ancient heritage of contemporary sport, and the creative ways in which ancient sport has been adapted, appropriated, mishandled and reimagined. This book intervenes in one of the most important of the receptions of Classical Antiquity by examining how sports personalities, agencies, institutions and movements have consciously connected themselves to the Greco-Roman past, even as they continue to insist on their own centrality in the modern world."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: Which Ancient Sports?

Chapter 1: Sport in Greek Antiquity

Chapter 2: Sport in Roman Antiquity

Chapter 3: The Ancient and Modern Olympics

Chapter 4: Beauty, Strength, and Physical Culture

Chapter 5: Arenas, Stadiums, and Gyms

Chapter 6: Olympic Art and Cinema

Notes

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9781350140240

9781350140226

OCLC:

1289419191

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.