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The Ancient Olympics: A History |
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The Ancient Olympics: A History
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by Nigel Spivey
Sales Rank: 723338
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Discount: 25 %
$4.38
At Amazon
on 6-22-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 298 pages
Published by: Oxford University Press, USA June 8, 2006
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0192806041
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0192806048
Book Dimensions:
7.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
Weighs: 8.5 ounces
Product Review
`Review from previous edition great fascinating background reading for anyone planning to watch Athens 2004.' Sunday Times
`Spivey's prose is always full of flavour and The Ancient Olympics must rate as one of the most enjoyable and intelligent books about the ancient Greeks currently on the market.' James Davidson, Daily Telegraph
`Absorbing crammed with information about the sporting events themselves' The Spectator
`For the real story of the Olympics this is the ideal read: a very lively look at the games from ancient to modern.' Publishing News
`Spivey is an ideal companion for this fine journey through Greece - past and present. We find out what Olympia represented in Antiquity and how the Olympics have become a part of the Western psyche.' Bettany Hughes, historian and presenter of The Spartan and Seven Ages of Britain
Product Description
The word "athletics" is derived from the Greek verb "to struggle or to suffer for a prize." As Nigel Spivey reveals in this engaging account of the Olympics in ancient Greece, "suffer" is putting it mildly. Indeed, the Olympics were not so much a graceful display of Greek beauty as a war
fought 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, the author notes, 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. The author explores what the events were, the rules for competitors,
training and diet, the pervasiveness of cheating and bribery, the prizes on offer, the exclusion of "barbarians," and protocols on pederasty. He also peels back the mythology surrounding the games today and investigates where our current conception of the Olympics has come from and how the Greek
notions of beauty and competitiveness have influenced our modern culture.
Reader Reviews
I cannot praise enough the excellence of Nigel Spivey's research and presentation involved with the ancient Olympics. The craftsmanship of his narrative is first-rate and there is a refreshing candor and lack of romanticizing regarding this event and the times surrounding it. Mr. Spivey may be remembered from his presenting of "The Queens and Kings Of England" on the Biography Channel. He is a charming host on this particular documentary and one can see his sincere interest in putting forth well done research in a way to include the viewer outside the convention of a professor ponticificating to his classroom. A perfectly wonderful book by a perfectly wonderful writer! Thomas Lee
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The Ancient Olympics: A History
Available from Amazon
Price: $4.38
Updated on 6-22-2008.
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