Ancient Sports/Athletics

Organization and Sponsorship, in: W. Petermandl – C. Ulf (Ed.), Nikephoros. Journal of Sports and Culture in Antiquity. Special Issue 2012 “Youth – Sports – Olympic Games”, Hildesheim 2012, 73-83

by Kaja Harter-Uibopuu

Of handles and names: remarks on wrestlers' weights

by Andrea Di Castro

East and West 57, No. 1/4 December 2007

Efficacy of the Ankyle in Increasing the Distance of the Ancient Greek Javelin Throw

by Steven Ross Murray

A version of this manuscript is to be published in Nikephoros.

Tagungsbericht 'Agon in der Spätantike'

by Karsten Dahmen

Tagungsbericht Agon in der Spätantike. 06.05.2005-07.05.2005, Halle, in: H-Soz-u-Kult, 20.06.2005.

Am 6. und 7. Mai 2005 fand das Internationale Symposium zum 'Agon in der Spätantike' an der Martin-Luther Universität... more Am 6. und 7. Mai 2005 fand das Internationale Symposium zum 'Agon in der Spätantike' an der Martin-Luther Universität in Halle statt.

Ancient Hellenic Ideals and The Modern Olympic Games

by Heather Reid

Co-authored with Christos Evangeliou.
In the Olympic Studies reader, available through the link.
Text in English and Chinese.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and articulate the philosophical ideals that, in our view, underpinned the... more The purpose of this paper is to identify and articulate the philosophical ideals that, in our view, underpinned the ancient Olympic Games and may serve the modern Olympic Movement in its quest for global harmony.  Although the claim of the ancient Games to unite the far corners of Hellas may appear quaint when compared to our worldwide festivals, the political and logistical challenges were arguably no less formidable than ours.  Furthermore the ancient Games’ more than 1,000 year span makes the modern Games’ single-century history look like a flash in the pan.  Big and strong as the modern Games seem, they should humbly acknowledge their infancy and look to their venerable ancestor for advice as they face an uncertain future.  It was the ideals associated with Olympia that secured the ancient Games’ long-enduring success.  We believe that only if the modern Olympic Movement actively understands and consciously preserves its ancient heritage, can the Games remain a beacon of idealism amid the headlong pursuit of worldly wealth and power.

Olympic Sport and Its Lessons for Peace

by Heather Reid

To the ancients, an Olympic victory was imagined as a visit from the winged goddess Nike, who swooped down from... more To the ancients, an Olympic victory was imagined as a visit from the winged goddess Nike, who swooped down from Olympus to briefly bless the mortal athlete with a divine crown of sacred olive. To us moderns, Olympic victory is more likely to be associated with Nike, the multinational megacompany, which swoops down from Wall Street to briefly bless the athlete with a fat paycheck and temporary status as a corporate shill. Just as the corporate Nike differs from the goddess after whom it is named, the modern Olympic Games differ in important ways from their Ancient Greek ancestor. Nevertheless, the modern Olympic Movement should take its ancient inspiration seriously. After all, the ancient festival boasts a nearly uninterrupted millennium-long history, and modern Games already have been stopped twice by war in the relative infancy of their first century. For a movement that proclaims one of its central goals to be peace, that does not seem the most auspicious of beginnings. Do the ancients have any lessons to teach us moderns about the relationship between sport and peace? Or is the Olympic ideal of peace, like the ancient goddess Nike, merely a rhetorically convenient marketing tool to be exploited for power and profit?
In this paper, I suggest that we can learn from the ancient association between Olympic Games and peace because that association derives not merely from mythology and rhetoric but also from particular (and perhaps unexpected) effects of athletic competition itself. I think that Olympic sport taught the ancient Hellenes something about peace by obliging them to set aside their conflicts, treat others as equals, and tolerate differences. These aspects of Olympic sport depend partly on cultural particularities from ancient Greece, but they continue to manifest themselves in the structure of the modern Games. As such, the Olympic Games retain the potential to teach us similar lessons—as long as we are willing to listen. This requires us to do more than recount what our predecessors did—it demands that we ask why they did it and to seek common ground between their reasons and ours. The goal of this article is to discover enlightening intersections in the relationship among Ancient Greek culture, Olympic sport, and the philosophical ideal of peace that emerged at the onset of the modern age. It seeks to revive the lessons inherent in the Olympic tradition so that they may continue to help us in the struggle for peace.

Epinici in distici in età ellenistica? Una composizione sul pugilato? Nota su P.Schubart 13 (O.Berol. 9303), in Papyrologica Lupiensia (Studium atque Urbanitas. Miscellanea di in onore di Sergio Daris), 9 (2000), 65-72

by Silvia Barbantani

http://siba-ese.unisalento.it/index.php/plup/article/view/6071

"Hellenistic epinicians in elegiac couplets. A composition on boxing? Note on P.Schubart 13 (O.Berol. 9303)" "Hellenistic epinicians in elegiac couplets. A composition on boxing? Note on P.Schubart 13 (O.Berol. 9303)"

Hellenistic Epinikion, in Receiving the Komos: Ancient and modern Receptions of the Victory Ode, ed. by C. Carey, R. Rawles, P. Agocs. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies Supplement 112, London 2011, pp. 37-55.

by Silvia Barbantani

Originally presented at the conference “Epinician,” held at the University College London, 5th-9th July 2006

ISBN 978-1-905670-34-5.

Hellenistic Epinician

With the notable exception of Callimachus’ elegiac and iambic epinician experiments... more Hellenistic Epinician

With the notable exception of Callimachus’ elegiac and iambic epinician experiments (Victoria Berenices, Victoria Sosibii, Iamb VIII), in the Hellenistic period the epigrammatic genre seems to be the true heir of the lyric victory ode, as clearly shown by the work of scholars such as Robert, Ebert and Moretti. The publication of P.Mil.Vogl. VIII 309 brought to us eightheen new agonistic epigrams, attributed to Podisippus; some others, mainly anonymous, are scattered through old and recently published epigram collections. Taking into consideration Callimachus’ elegiac poems and agonistic and dedicatory epigrams, I shall explore how the theme of victory (both athletic and military), which is at the core of the Hellenistic royal ideology, is presented in the Hellenistic epinician code, focusing in particular on the actualization of the archaic topos of the aggelia, and on the adaptation of the epinician kudos to royal women. I shall also discuss the relation between agonistic “epinician” epigrams, especially those in honor of Ptolemaic and Attalid dynasts, and the monumental representation of royal victory.