The Victor's Crown: A History of Ancient Sport from Homer to Byzantium

455 Pages·2011·2.45 MB·English

by  David Potter

The Victor’s Crown
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The Victor’s Crown
A History of Ancient Sport from
Homer to Byzantium
David Potter
1
3
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First published as a hardcover original in Great Britain by Quercus
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Copyright © 2012 David Potter
First published as a paperback Original by Oxford University Press, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Potter, D. S. (David Stone), 1957–
The victor’s crown : a history of ancient sport from Homer to Byzantium / David Potter.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-19-984275-9—ISBN 978-0-19-984273-5
1. Sports—History. 2. Greece—Civilization. 3. Byzantine Empire—Civilization. I. Title.
GV573.P67 2011
796'.09—dc22 2011008813
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Maps xii
Preface xv
Then and Now xvii
PART 1: ASHES, LINEN AND THE ORIGINS
OF SPORT
1: Introduction 3
2: Homer and the Bronze Age 13
3: Homer and Sport 24
PART 2: OLYMPIA
4: From Myth to History 37
5: Olympia in 480 BC 49
6: The Olympic Games of 476 BC 55
7: The Festival Approaches 62
8: Winning 67
The equestrian events 67
The pentathlon and the foot races 73
Nudity 76
Pain and suffering 78
9: Remembering Victory 89
v
contents
The athlete as hero 93
10: The Emergence of the Panhellenic Cycle 98
PART 3: THE WORLD OF THE GYMNASIUM
11: Sport and Civic Virtue 109
12: Beroia 127
13: Getting in Shape and Turning Pro 137
PART 4: ROMAN GAMES
14: Greece Meets Rome 163
15: Kings and Games 169
16: Rome and Italy 179
17: Actors and Gladiators 186
18: Caesar, Antony, Augustus and the Games 209
PART 5: IMPERIAL GAMES
19: Watching 225
20: The Fan’s Experience 229
21: Expectations 233
22: Crowd Noise 237
23: Dreaming of Sport 242
24: Images of Sport 246
25: Women’s Sports 252
26: Gladiators 258
Life as a gladiator 259
Training and ranking 262
Dying 264
Choosing to be a gladiator 269
27: Charioteers 273
vi
contents
28: Athletes 278
Athletic guilds 279
Cheating 286
29: Running the Show 288
Administration 292
Athletics 300
Epilogue: The Long End of an Era 308
Bibliography 321
Classical Sources 350
Notes 359
Index 407
vii
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List of Illustrations
1. Evans’ reconstruction of the Taureador fresco.
2. Marinatos’ reconstruction of the Taureador fresco.
3. Terracotta image of a charioteer and horses from Olympia. ©
Olympia Archaeological Museum
4. Hoplitodromos. © Indiana University Museum
5. Panathenaic amphora with discus thrower and teacher by
Euthymides, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples, Italy. ©
Scala / Ministero Beni e Att. Culturali
6. Amphora with black figures engaged in a stadion race by
Kleophrades, 500 - 490 BCE, Paris, Musée du Louvre. © Scala
/ White Images
7. Amphora depicting the end of a boxing match. © National
Archaeological Museum, Athens
8. Two wrestlers. Hellenistic Bronze statuette from Alexandria,
2nd century BCE, Paris, Musée du Louvre. © akg-images /
Erich Lessing
9. Wrestler about to drop his opponent on his head. Hellenistic
Bronze statuette from Alexandria, 2nd century BCE, Paris,
Musée du Louvre. © akg-images / Erich Lessing
10. Reconstruction of the Olympic site as it was in 476. © Matthew
Harrington
11. The judge’s box in the stadion at Olympia. © Matthew
Harrington
ix