Description
Book Synopsis2nd edition (2017) revised and enlarged, updated to include new historical and archaeological research and new photographic material from the many sites and monuments where excavation and restoration works have provided fresh insights.
This book celebrates the athletes, the games, the sanctuaries, the cities and, above all, the inspiring spirit of the ancient Greeks over a span of a millennium and a half—from the earliest mentions of athletics in Homer’s Iliad and other literary sources, through the Classical age, and into the Hellenistic, Roman and late antique periods.
Modelled on the physical exercises and competitions that existed in earlier Near Eastern cultures, hundreds of athletic games took place in Greek antiquity, extending across every area of the Mediterranean in which Greek culture flourished.
In these five games the magnificent culture and ideology of Greek antiquity flourished, and the spectacle of the games gave rise to a sporting tradition that engages the world to this day.
Table of ContentsForeword Sir John Boardman
Acknowledgments
Publisher’s Note
Preface
Introduction
Athletics and Religion
The Prehistory of Athletics
Great Festivals and Games
Οlympia
The Site
Olympia And the Olympic Games
Zeus
Οlympia Over the Centuries
3rd And 2nd Millennia BC Prehistoric Elis And Olympia
11th–8th C. BC The Establishment of the Sanctuary and the Early Period
8th C. BC The Foundation of The Olympic Games
7th–6th C. BC The Period of Great Development
5th C. BC The Glory of the Classical Period
4th C. BC The Late Classical Period
3rd–2nd C. BC The Hellenistic Period
1st C. BC–2nd C. AD The Roman Intervention
3rd–4th C. AD Olympia in Late Antiquity
Delphi
The Site
Foundation Myths and Legends
Apollo
Delphi Over The Centuries
16th–11th C. BC The Prehistoric Settlement
10th–8th C. BC The Arrival of Apollo
7th–6th C. BC The Great Development of the Sanctuary and the Amphictyony
6th C. BC The Archaic Period
5th–4th C. BC Classical Period
3rd–2nd C. BC The Hellenistic Period
1st C. BC–4th C. AD Roman Times
Ιsthmia
The Site
Foundation Myths and Legends
Poseidon
Isthmia Over The Centuries
11th–6th C. BC Early History of The Sanctuary
5th–4th C. BC The Classical Period
3rd–2nd C. BC The Hellenistic Period
1st C. BC–3rd C. Ad Roman Times
Νemea
The Site
Foundation Myths and Legends
Nemea Over The Centuries
6th C. BC The Early History of the Sanctuary
5h C. BC The Classical Period
340/30–270/60 BC The Return of the Games to their Cradle
Panathenaia
Foundation Myths and Traditions
Athena
The Organisation and Conduct of the Festival
The Panathenaic Procession
Other Greek and Roman Games
Local Games in Greece
Games in the Hellenistic East
The Games and the Roman Emperors
Games in the East in Roman Times
The Olympic Games of Antioch
The End of the Ancient Games
The Events, Rules and Great Champions
Bibliography
Illustration Credits
Index
