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Author: Nick Fisher Publisher: Classical Press of Wales ISBN: 1910589101 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 396
Book Description
The words 'aristocrats', 'aristocracy' and 'aristocratic values' appear in many a study of ancient history and culture. Sometimes these terms are used with a precise meaning. More often they are casual shorthand for 'upper class', 'ruling elite' and 'high standards'. This book brings together 12 new studies by an impressive international cast of specialists. It demonstrates not only that true aristocracies were rare in the ancient world, but also that the modern use of 'aristocracy' in a looser sense is misleading. The word comes with connotations derived from medieval and modern history. Antiquity, it is here argued, was different. An introductory chapter by the editors argues that 'aristocracy' is rarely a helpful concept for the analysis of political struggles, of historical developments or of ideology. The editors call instead for close study of the varied nature of social inequalities and relationships in particular times and places. The following eleven chapters explore and in most cases challenge the common assumption that hereditary 'aristocrats' who derive much of their status, privilege and power from their ancestors are identifiable at most times and places in the ancient world. They question, too, the related notion that deep ideological divisions existed between 'aristocratic values', such as hospitality, generosity and a disdain for commerce or trade, and the norms and ideals of lower or 'middling' classes. They do so by detailed analysis of archaeological and literary evidence for the rise and nature of elites and leisure classes, diverse elite strategies, and political conflicts in a variety of states across the Mediterranean. Chapters deal with archaic and classical Athens, Samos, Aigina and Crete; the Greek 'colonial' settlements such as Sicily; archaic Rome and central Italy; and the Roman empire under the Principate.
Author: Heather L. Reid Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1317984951 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 174
Book Description
This book examines the relationship between athletics and philosophy in ancient Greece and Rome focused on the connection between athleticism and virtue. It begins by observing that the link between athleticism and virtue is older than sport, reaching back to the athletic feats of kings and pharaohs in early Egypt and Mesopotamia. It then traces the role of athletics and the Olympic Games in transforming the idea of aristocracy as something acquired by birth to something that can be trained. This idea of training virtue through the techniques and practice of athletics is examined in relation to Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Then Roman spectacles such as chariot racing and gladiator games are studied in light of the philosophy of Lucretius, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius. The concluding chapter connects the book’s ancient observations with contemporary issues such as the use of athletes as role models, the relationship between money and corruption, the relative worth of participation and spectatorship, and the role of females in sport. The author argues that there is a strong link between sport and philosophy in the ancient world, calling them offspring of common parents: concern about virtue and the spirit of free enquiry. This book was previously published as a special issue of the Ethics and Sport.
Author: Mark Golden Publisher: University of Texas Press ISBN: 0292778953 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 233
Book Description
From the ancient Olympic games to the World Series and the World Cup, athletic achievement has always conferred social status. In this collection of essays, a noted authority on ancient sport discusses how Greek sport has been used to claim and enhance social status, both in antiquity and in modern times. Mark Golden explores a variety of ways in which sport provided a route to social status. In the first essay, he explains how elite horsemen and athletes tried to ignore the important roles that jockeys, drivers, and trainers played in their victories, as well as how female owners tried to rank their equestrian achievements above those of men and other women. In the next essay, Golden looks at the varied contributions that slaves made to sport, despite its use as a marker of free, Greek status. In the third essay, he evaluates the claims made by gladiators in the Greek east that they be regarded as high-status athletes and asserts that gladiatorial spectacle is much more like Greek sport than scholars today usually admit. In the final essay, Golden critiques the accepted accounts of ancient and modern Olympic history, arguing that attempts to raise the status of the modern games by stressing their links to the ancient ones are misleading. He concludes that the contemporary movement to call a truce in world conflicts during the Olympics is likewise based on misunderstandings of ancient Greek traditions.
Author: Judith M. Barringer Publisher: JHU Press ISBN: 0801874602 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 313
Book Description
Hunting and its imagery continued to play a significant role in archaic and classical Greece long after hunting had ceased being a necessity for survival in everyday life. Drawing on vase paintings, sculpture, inscriptions, and other literary evidence, Judith Barringer reexamines the theme of the hunt and shows how the tradition it depicts helped maintain the dominance of the ruling social groups. Along with athletics and battle, hunting was a defining activity of the masculine aristocracy and was crucial to the efforts of the Athenian elite to control the social agenda, even as their political power declined. The Hunt in Ancient Greece examines descriptions of hunting in initiation rituals as well as the ideals of masculinity and adulthood such rites of passage promoted. Barringer argues that depictions of the hunt in literature and art also served as striking metaphors for the intricacies of courtship, shedding light on sexuality and gender roles. Through an exploration of various representations of the hunt, Barringer provides extraordinary insight into Athenian society.
Author: Stephen Gaylord Miller Publisher: Yale University Press ISBN: 9780300115291 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 310
Book Description
Presenting a survey of sports in ancient Greece, this work describes ancient sporting events and games. It considers the role of women and amateurs in ancient athletics, and explores the impact of these games on art, literature and politics.
Author: Paul Christesen Publisher: John Wiley & Sons ISBN: 1444339524 Category : Literary Criticism Languages : en Pages : 692
Book Description
A Companion to Sport and Spectacle in Greek and Roman Antiquity presents a series of essays that apply a socio-historical perspective to myriad aspects of ancient sport and spectacle. Covers the Bronze Age to the Byzantine Empire Includes contributions from a range of international scholars with various Classical antiquity specialties Goes beyond the usual concentrations on Olympia and Rome to examine sport in cities and territories throughout the Mediterranean basin Features a variety of illustrations, maps, end-of-chapter references, internal cross-referencing, and a detailed index to increase accessibility and assist researchers
Author: Judith Swaddling Publisher: ISBN: Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 84
Book Description
For over one thousand years between 776 B.C. and A.D. 395, princes, statesmen, and famous athletes gathered every four years at Olympia in western Greece to compete for the olive crowns of the ancient Olympic Games. Judith Swaddling traces the mythological and religious origins of the games and describes the events, religious ceremony, and celebrations that were an essential part of the Olympic festival. The book also features a large, detailed model of the site of ancient Olympia, where, alongside religious and civic buildings, there grew an elaborate sports complex with a stadium for 40,000 spectators, indoor and outdoor training facilities, hot and cold baths, a swimming pool, and a race course. This fascinating description of Ancient Olympia and the Games is superbly illustrated with vases, sculpture and other works of art, views of the site and photographs of the unique model.
Author: Peter J. Miller Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 1009365967 Category : Literary Criticism Languages : en Pages : 398
Book Description
In ancient Greece both epinikian songs and inscribed epigrams were regularly composed to celebrate victory at athletic festivals. For the first time this book offers an integrated approach to both genres. It focuses on the ultimate source of information about athletic victory, the angelia or herald's proclamation. By examining the ways in which the proclamation was modified and elaborated in epinikian song and inscribed epigram, Peter Miller demonstrates the shared features of both genres and their differences. Through a comprehensive analysis of the metaphor of the herald across the corpus, he argues that it persists across form, medium, and genre from the Archaic to the Hellenistic period, and also provides a rich array of close readings that illuminate key parts of the praise of athletes. This title is part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.
Author: Nigel Nicholson
Author: Nigel Nicholson
Author: Nick Fisher
Author: Heather L. Reid
Author: Mark Golden
Author: Judith M. Barringer
Author: Stephen Gaylord Miller
Author: Paul Christesen
Author: Judith Swaddling
Author: Sebastian Scharff
Author: Peter J. Miller