Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World

Author: Donald G. Kyle
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118613562
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 375

Book Description
The second edition of Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World updates Donald G. Kyle’s award-winning introduction to this topic, covering the Ancient Near East up to the late Roman Empire. • Challenges traditional scholarship on sport and spectacle in the Ancient World and debunks claims that there were no sports before the ancient Greeks • Explores the cultural exchange of Greek sport and Roman spectacle and how each culture responded to the other’s entertainment • Features a new chapter on sport and spectacle during the Late Roman Empire, including Christian opposition to pagan games and the Roman response • Covers topics including violence, professionalism in sport, class, gender and eroticism, and the relationship of spectacle to political structures

Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World

Author: Donald G. Kyle
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN: 063122971X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 424

Book Description
This is a readable, up-to-date, illustrated introduction to the history of sport and spectacle in the ancient world from the Ancient Near East through Greek and Hellenistic times and into the Roman Empire. Covers athletics, combat sports, chariot racing, beast fights and gladiators. Traces the precursors of Greek and Roman sports and spectacles in the Ancient Near East and the Bronze Age Aegean. Investigates the origins, nature and meaning of sport, covering issues of violence, professionalism, class, gender and eroticism. Challenges the notion that Greek sport and Roman spectacle were polar opposites. Approaches sport and spectacle as overlapping and compatible features of civilized states and empires.

Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World

Author: Donald G. Kyle
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118613805
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 375

A Companion to Sport and Spectacle in Greek and Roman Antiquity

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

Spectacles of Death in Ancient Rome

Author: Donald G. Kyle
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134862725
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 301

Book Description
The elaborate and inventive slaughter of humans and animals in the arena fed an insatiable desire for violent spectacle among the Roman people. Donald G. Kyle combines the words of ancient authors with current scholarly research and cross-cultural perspectives, as he explores * the origins and historical development of the games * who the victims were and why they were chosen * how the Romans disposed of the thousands of resulting corpses * the complex religious and ritual aspects of institutionalised violence * the particularly savage treatment given to defiant Christians. This lively and original work provides compelling, sometimes controversial, perspectives on the bloody entertainments of ancient Rome, which continue to fascinate us to this day.

Combat Sports in the Ancient World

Author: Michael B. Poliakoff
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300063127
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 228

Book Description
A comprehensive study of the practice of combat sports in the ancient civilizations of Greece, Rome and the Near East.

The Oxford Handbook Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World

Author: Alison Futrell
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192509586
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 769

Book Description
Sport and spectacle in the ancient world has become a vital area of broad new exploration over the last few decades. This Handbook brings together the latest research on Greek and Roman manifestations of these pastimes to explore current approaches and open exciting new avenues of inquiry. It discusses historical perspectives, contest forms, contest-related texts, civic and social aspects, and use and meaning of the individual body. Greek and Roman topics are interwoven to simulate contest-like tensions and complementarities, juxtaposing, for example, violence in Greek athletics and Roman gladiatorial events, Greek and Roman chariot events, architectural frameworks for contests and games in the two cultures, and contrasting views of religion, bodily regimens, and judicial classification related to both cultures. It examines the social contexts of games, namely the evolution of sport and spectacle across cultural and political boundaries, and how games are adapted to multiple contexts and multiple purposes, reinforcing social hierarchies, performing shared values, and playing out deep cultural tensions. The volume also considers other directing forces in the ancient Mediterranean, such as Bronze Age Egypt and the Near East, Etruria, and early Christianity. It addresses important themes common to both antiquity and modern society, such as issues of class, gender, and health, as well as the popular culture of the modern Olympics and gladiators in cinema. With innovative perspectives from authoratative scholars on a wide range of topics, this Handbook will appeal to both students and researchers interested in ancient history, literature, sports, and games.

Ancient Roman Sports, A-Z

Author: David Matz
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476636249
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 238

Book Description
Chariot races. Gladiatorial combat. Fishing. Hunting. Swimming. The ancient Romans enjoyed these sports--sometimes with fanatical enthusiasm. This reference book contains more than 100 entries covering sporting events and activities of the era, and the Romans who sponsored, competed in and attended them. Charioteer Appuleius Diocles, in a career spanning 24 years, competed in 4,257 races, winning an astounding 1,462 of them. Alypius, the young friend of St. Augustine, was both drawn to and repulsed by gladiatorial battles and struggled to shake his mania for the spectacle of blood sport. Brief abstracts of the entries are included for quick reference, along with an expansive glossary and biographical notes on the ancient authors cited.

Athletics in the Ancient World

Author: E. Norman Gardiner
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 9780486424866
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 356

Book Description
This comprehensive text focuses mostly on athletics in classical Greece and Rome, emphasizing the relationship between athletics and religion, art, and education. Also discussed are such events as throwing the discus and javelin, the pentathlon, the stadium and the foot-race, jumping, wrestling, boxing, ball play, and a Greek athletic festival. According to the Times (London) Literary Supplement, the book "should command the attention not only of classical scholars but of all who are interested in athletics for their own sake; and for such readers, [the author] has spared no pains to make his work intelligible." Unabridged republication of Athletics of the Ancient World, originally published by the Oxford University Press, London, 1930. 137 black-and-white illustrations. Bibliography. Index and Glossary.

Ancient Greek Athletics

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.