The Ancient Olympics: War Minus the Shooting (Paperback)
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|Short Description for The Ancient Olympics Contested bitterly and bloodily, the ancient Olympics were not an idealistic celebration of unity, but a clash of military powers in an arena not far removed from the battlefield. This book presents a portrait of the Greek Olympics - fierce contests between rivals, in which victors won kudos and rewards, and losers faced scorn and even assault.
Full description- Publisher: Oxford University Press
- Published: 08 June 2006
- Format: Paperback 304 pages
- See: Full bibliographic data
- Categories: European History | Ancient History: To C 500 CE | Classical History / Classical Civilisation | Sport | Olympic Games
- ISBN 13: 9780192806048 ISBN 10: 0192806041
- Sales rank: 340,977
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Full description for The Ancient Olympics
The word 'athletics' is derived from the Greek verb 'to struggle for a prize'. After reading this book, no one will see the Olympics as a graceful display of Greek beauty again, but as war by other means. Nigel Spivey paints a portrait of the Greek Olympics as they really were - fierce contests between bitter rivals, in which victors won kudos and rewards, and losers faced scorn and even assault. Victory was almost worth dying for, and a number of athletes did just that. Many more resorted to cheating and bribery. Contested always bitterly and often bloodily, the ancient Olympics were not an idealistic celebration of unity, but a clash of military powers in an arena not far removed from the battlefield.
