Description
Book SynopsisThe Olympic games is a striking testimony to the influence which ancient Greece still exercises over the modern world, and to the important place which athletics occupied in the life of the Greeks. Other nations may have given equal attention to the physical education of the young; other nations may have been equally fond of sport; other nations may have produced individual athletes, individual performances equal or superior to those of the Greeks, but nowhere can we find any parallel to the athletic ideal expressed in the art and literature of Greece, or to the extraordinary vitality of her athletic festivals. The growth of this ideal, and the history of the athletic festivals, are the subject of this book.
Table of ContentsList of IllustrationsList of Common AbbreviationsPART I. A HISTORY OF GREEK ATHLETICS AND ATHLETIC FESTIVALS FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO 393 A.D. -- IntroductoryAthletics in HomerThe Rise of the Athletic FestivalThe Age of Athletic Festivals, Sixth Century B.C.The Age of the Athletic Ideal, 500-440 B.C.Professionalism and Specialization, 440-338 B.C.The Decline of Athletics, 338-146 B.C.Athletics under the RomansThe Olympic FestivalThe Pythian, Isthmian, and Nemean FestivalsThe Athletic Festivals of Athens. PART II. THE ATHLETIC EXERCISES OF THE GREEKS -- The StadiumThe Foot-RaceThe Jump and HalteresThrowing the DiskosThrowing the JavelinThe PentathlonWrestling BoxingThe PankrationThe HippodromeThe Gymnasium and the PalaestraBibliographyIndexIndex of Greek Words.
