Book Description
This sourcebook presents a wealth of material that casts light on the rich tradition of Roman spectacle, with special focus on gladiatorial combat and chariot racing. Drawing on literary descriptions, inscriptions, reliefs, mosaics, and archaeological features, The Roman Games offers a range of political, social, and religious perspectives.Featuring the accounts of eyewitnesses and participants, the book reconstructs the experience of "a day at the games " and the expectations of "the life of a gladiator. "The editor provides historical framework and analytical commentary for each of the entries, as well as a glossary of technical terms and a timeline to give additional context for students and general readers.
Book Description
What was it like to live in ancient Greece? What gods and goddesses did Greeks believe in? How did the Olympics start? What was the winner’s prize? Find out the answers to these questions and many more in this Magic Tree House Research Guide. Includes fun facts from Jack and Annie, fantastic photos and illustrations, and a guide to doing further research!
Customer Reviews:
review on ancient greece and the olyimpics.......2005-04-13
(......) My Summary on Ancient Greece and the Olympics 4/13/05
Book by Mary pope osborne
This book is about two kids Jake and Annie are kids who like to find thing out about the Titanic, twisters, and the Olympics.
In this book they want to find out about ancient Greece and the Olympics. So in this book going back in the past and try and figure out how the Olympics worked in the past.
I like the book because it gives you the idea of what the people in Greece lived. The book over all the book is great.
I recommend this book so that boys and girls age 10-14 can read this book. It is so great that I want to read it again.
Book Description
As religious rituals, rites of passage, and celebrations of the body, athletics were deeply woven into the fabric of ancient Greek life. Modeled after physical exercises and competitions that existed in earlier Near Eastern cultures, hundreds of athletic contests were held throughout the
ancient Greek world. In the eighth century B.C., the games held at Olympia began to surpass all others in their fame and glory and gave rise to a sporting tradition that engages and enthralls the world to this day.
Published to coincide with the return of the Olympics to Greece in 2004, this thoroughly researched book studies sport in ancient Greece over a span of a millennium and a half-from the earliest mentions of athletics in Homer's Iliad and other literary sources, through the Classical age, and into the
Hellenistic, Roman, and late antique periods. With more than five hundred illustrations, the book tours the monumental stadiums, bathhouses, temples, and other structures built to host the athletic events and to house the wealth of art created to pay tribute to the athletes, gods, and heroes of the
games.
Customer Reviews:
Superbly presented history of the origins of the Greek games.......2004-09-07
Impressively enhanced with 609 color and 40 b/w illustrations, along with 10 maps and 3 foldouts, Games And Sanctuaries In Ancient Greece: Olympia, Delphi, Isthmia, Nemea, Athens by Panos Valavanis (Associate Professor of Archaeology, University of Athens) is an informed and informative 448 page, "coffee table book" compendium showcasing the history of the Hellenic games, the athletes, the sanctuaries, the cities, and the legacy of the ancient Greeks who some 2,500 years ago created the enduring traditions of the Olympic games that continues down to this very day. Games And Sanctuaries In Ancient Greece is a superbly presented history of the origins of the Greek games and traces the development of athletic competitions in Greece from their first mention in the fables of the Illiad and other literary sources down through the late antique period of Hellenic history. A work of inspired scholarship, Games And Sanctuaries In Ancient Greece is very highly recommended reading for anyone with an interest in the Olympic Games, and would make an enduring popular and suitable selection for an academic or community library "Memorial Fund" acquisition.
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Statius and Epic Games: Sport, Politics and Poetics in the Thebaid (Cambridge Classical Studies)
Helen Lovatt
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Book Description
Epic games are more than just an interlude; they reflect the realities of epic: heroism, power and war. This first major study of the athletic games in Statius' Thebaid Book 6 uses them to produce a new reading of the poem as a whole. It explores each event in Statius' games, discussing intertextual manoeuvres, historical context and poetic positioning, developing a theme from each: audience power, cosmic disruption, national identity, masculinity and the body, games and war, kingship and narrative control. This book uses a close reading of one part of one text to range over ancient literature. It casts light on the tradition of games in ancient epic as a whole, examining the works of Homer, Virgil, Apollonius, Ovid and Lucan. It is essential reading for the student of Statius and of ancient epic and of interest to historians of Roman society with an interest in sport and spectacle.
Book Description
The New York Times Superfit, muscled, and macho, gladiators were hero-worshipped for their skills and courage as they fought to the death, yet despised for their humble status. For over six centuries, tens of thousands died in the arenas of Rome and its colonies, watched by enthralled crowds screaming for violence.
Customer Reviews:
EXCELLENT WORK - VERY INFORMATIVE AND READABLE.......2006-03-22
The author has presented us with a very readable and informative account of Rome's gladiators. This work seems quite well researched and is very well illustrated by black and white photographs. The author's style is quite readable and, like all well written popular history, does not bog the reader down with endless meaningless dates, although he does do a very nice job of chronology. This work is well organized and gives quite good descriptions of the various types of gladiators, the animals fought and interestingly, the social status of the various gladiators. The author has done a very nice job of presenting what little we know of the origins of this particular institution. I particularly enjoyed the point the author makes (a belief I have held for a number of years) that we are not as far from those barbaric times as we would like to think ourselves. The author builds a very good case for this. I suppose if it was forty years ago and I were a graduate student, I might want a work which is more formal, but for my needs, at this time, this well fit the bill. The book is a fast read which could almost be classified as a page turner if it were a different genre. Recommend this one highly. Thank you Prof. Meijer. Don Blankenship, The Ancientreader
Book Description
The ancient Greeks were famous for their love of competition and athleticism. Their most important sporting festival, held at Olympia and honoring Zeus, became the inspiration for our modern Olympic games. It was open to the citizens of every Greek polis, and became so important, that all warfare had to be suspended for its duration. This book runs through the entire five-day session of the ancient games. The athletes' training and the actual sporting events--some familiar, some quite strange to the modern reader--are described in vivid detail and illustrated with both classical art from the collections of the British Museum and photographs of the modern Games. Day Two, for instance, starts with morning activities (a procession into the hippodrome, chariot and horse races), followed by the afternoon pentathlon events (discus, javelin, running, jumping, and wrestling), and ends with the evening celebration (winners' parade, victory hymns, feast, and revels). Supplemental sidebars--such as Homer's description of Odysseus' triumphant discus throw and an explanation of why athletes and trainers had to appear naked--add lively, colorful detail. Commentary on the modern Games and a running comparison of modern and ancient athletic events is scattered throughout the book, providing an important historical perspective on today's Olympics. Three supplemental chapters--"Women at the Olympics," "Games Elsewhere in Greece," and "The End of the Olympics"--complete this fascinating look at ancient Greek customs, competitive spirit, and character.
Book Description
What was it like to attend the ancient Olympic Games?
With the summer Olympics’ return to Athens, Tony Perrottet delves into the ancient world and lets the Greek Games begin again. The acclaimed author of
Pagan Holiday brings attitude, erudition, and humor to the fascinating story of the original Olympic festival, tracking the event day by day to re-create the experience in all its compelling spectacle.
Using firsthand reports and little-known sources—including an actual Handbook for a Sports Coach used by the Greeks—
The Naked Olympics creates a vivid picture of an extravaganza performed before as many as forty thousand people, featuring contests as timeless as the javelin throw and as exotic as the chariot race.
Peeling away the layers of myth, Perrottet lays bare the ancient sporting experience—including the round-the-clock bacchanal inside the tents of the Olympic Village, the all-male nude workouts under the statue of Eros, and history’s first corruption scandals involving athletes. Featuring sometimes scandalous cameos by sports enthusiasts Plato, Socrates, and Herodotus,
The Naked Olympics offers essential insight into today’s Games and an unforgettable guide to the world’s first and most influential athletic festival.
"Just in time for the modern Olympic games to return to Greece this summer for the first time in more than a century, Tony Perrottet offers up a diverting primer on the Olympics of the ancient kind….Well researched; his sources are as solid as sources come. It's also well writen….Perhaps no book of the season will show us so briefly and entertainingly just how complete is our inheritance from the Greeks, vulgarity and all."
--The Washington Post
Customer Reviews:
The truth about the Olympics.......2007-01-06
I've never been a sports fan, so I thought I might find this book rather a bore. But in fact there isn't a dull moment in this very entertaining account of what the Olympic Games were like in ancient Greece.
It is fascinating to learn that the games themselves were only a part of the events that took place, with religious celebrations predominating. Enormous numbers of animals were sacrificed to the gods in the course of the games. The events were a lot more colourful than the modern Olympics, with violence and bloodshed not uncommon. Men competed in the events naked, which you may or may not find an agreeable thought. Married women were not allowed to attend the Games, though women had their own seperate festival where foot races were run. Single women were allowed to attend, and there were prostitutes in plenty.
This is the sort of book I love, packed with fascinating facts that make me exclaim "Gosh, I never knew that!" at frequent intervals. Well worth reading.
Pretty much a drawn-out high school school book report.......2006-08-29
When I picked up this book (thankfully from the library), I thought that, like any decent non-fiction book, a book about the Ancient Olympics would probably be written by someone who knew what he was talking about. Nope. This guy is not a classical scholar. His "primary sources" are all translations. Further, he began studying the Ancient Olympics explicitly for the purpose of writing this book, which means he does not have a broad background of knowledge.
The book is essentially a very long list of regurgitated facts about the games. While the facts themselves are interesting, the writer is not. He didn't have enough to say to fill up an entire book, so he repeats many of the facts throughout the text. His style of presentation is completely unispired and a little disorganized. Further, there are obvious errors. The most glaring exmaple is the discussion of the javelin throw. Perrottet wrote, "Ancient authors claimed that throws of over 90 meters/270 feet were possible, about half the length of the Stadium and far beyond the modern record of 60 meters." (110) Remember that old game from "Highlights" magazine, "What's Wrong With This Picture?". Let's play. First - no source given on the measurement. Second - elsewhere in the text the author claims the Greeks didn't much care about measurements, throws were generally not measured, and ancient measurements should not be given much worth. Third - 90 meters is not 270 feet!. 90 meters is about 295 feet. The 270 figure is not even close. If he said "over 90 meters/300 feet" I would buy that as about right, but the 270 feet figure is simply inexcusable. Fourth - the modern javelin record is not 60 meters . That's two egregious factual errors in the same sentence. The modern javelin world record is 98.48 meters. This isn't just a boo-boo typo. It means the author's entire claim - that the ancient javelin went further - is completely bogus. Why should I believe any of the other things this guy wrote down?
Whipping away the shroud of time.......2006-01-08
"The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Ancient Games" by Tony Perrottet is a wonderful book describing the ancient Greek games. It's aptly titled, too, in two different ways. First, in the ancient Olympics, the contestants performed nude, without clothing that would prevent spectators from admiring their glorious physiques. But more importantly, Perrottet lifts the respectable veneer that is so often draped over classical times. Many writers have difficulties describing the past. Either they write with such awe that the ancients seem to have been gods, instead of mortals, or the writers write in such a way that we seem to be viewing through a dust-covered lens that makes everything seem old and faded.
Perrottet, though, brings the past alive in a way that makes the reader see and hear and even taste, feel and smell - especially smell! - what it was like to participate in these ancient games. Through a variety of different ancient sources, including contemporary texts, vase paintings, statues and a visit to the ruins of Olympia, he is able to give us a well-rounded experience. He guides us through the importance of the games in honoring the gods, how athletes trained, including specific, faddish diets that they followed, the evolution of the different events, the role that women played (unfortunately very little), the discomfort felt by the crowds, and even how physicians treated injuries. "The Naked Olympics" is great fun, and even though the Olympics are not being held in Athens this year, it's worth reading this book to appreciate them wherever they take place (the winter Olympics are taking place in Turin, Italy in 2006).
A Good Read.......2005-03-09
The more books I read about ancient history, the more I come to realize that the best ones are NOT written by historians! Archaeologist Tony Perrottet does a great job describing life in Ancient Greece and the evolution of sport in western society.
I picked this up right after the '04 games in Athens, still in the grip of Olympics fever. But don't wait until '08 to read this wonderful book.
Appropriate release time.......2004-08-22
Now that the summer Olympics are upon us, this book, which tells the reader about the original Greek Olympoics in Olympia, is particularly welcome. It goes through a typical Olympics, showing the religious aspects of the games, and also the various events that were held.It doesn't stint on the darker side of the games, but the approach to the book is rather light-hearted, and even with that a lot of new information is imparted to the reader. It's well worth reading, and I highly recommend it.
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The Panatheniac Games: Proceedings of an International Conference Held at the University of Athens, May 11-12, 2004
Manufacturer: Oxbow Books Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Cruelty and Civilization offers an in-depth look at the Roman games as a force vital to the functioning of an Empire. Gladiatorial combats, chariot races and other spectacles were a kind of public opiate for the citizens of Ancient Rome. These rites gave rhythm and excitement to daily life in the Empire. From one year to the next, the Roman citizen lived in anticipation of the next games; through them he was able to forget the mediocrity of his own condition as well as his political enslavement. The most minutely organized productions were staged at vast expense, and Rome developed cults for arena champions, who were simultaneously idols and outcasts, doomed to a bloody death.
Roland Auguet not only reconstructs in detail the conduct of these spectacles (gladiatorial combats, the sacrifice of prisoners to wild beasts, the chariot races, the combats between man and beast or beast and beast), but also analyzes the feelings of the crowd and the calculations of its rulers. He explainswhy the games dominated the life of the city. Examining the games in the context of a broader study of Roman customs, this book provides a synthesized view of how Roman civilization was to a large degree based on the games.
Customer Reviews:
Good book for subject not often covered in detail .......2005-08-21
I found this to be a good book for a subject in studies of ancient Rome that is not often covered in detail.
To Read or Not To Read.......2002-12-27
The previous reviewers are all correct on the matter of this book-very uneven writing style and an odd presentation of Roman history. But perhaps the reason could be that this is an English translation of a French book...maybe. However, the book has some strong redeeming factors that make it worthy of your perusing. It's more than just a description of gladiator activities, the book covers all the big games popular in Roman society-even a little on theater and the torture dramas.The author does seem to know his Roman history(even though it's not presented well). He unexpectedly uses this knowledge(at odd intervals) to flesh out some of the nuances to the political and religious side of the games. Personally,I found the coverage of chariot racing quite fascinating. As others have stated already,if you're looking for a good coverage of gladiators, Michael Grant's book is the one. If animals in the arena interest you, then Daniel Mannix's book is good. But if you've read a little on this subject already, this book will add a few facts that you probably didn't know.
"Not Impressive; Not Disappointing".......2002-04-07
Roland Auguet's "Cruelty and Civilization: The Roman Games", translated out of the original French edition, is a work that fails to provide itself as an introduction to the games. It also fails to furnish itself as a comprehensive, scholarly overview of the spectacles, which caught a hold of the everyday passions and imagination of Roman civilization. Instead, this work is something in between. It is neither impressive or, on the whole, disappointing. In this work, Auguet briefly touches on the nature and origin of the Circus Maximus, the gladiatorial combats, the hunts, and the patrons and factions which provided funds and fueled the populace to back these extravagant and brutal events. The process of recruiting men and beasts, is a subject in Auguet's work, which carries significant merit in interest and depth. Just how the gladiators, who were notoriously born of humble origins, rose to the status of superstars by the arts of the sword, is another aspect of this work deserving of recommendation. The prose style used in this work, on the other hand, is at times fluid and completely in tune, however other times it is difficult to follow, awkward, and is distasteful to read. Again, there are many terms the author uses that will be difficult for anyone seeking for an introduction to the games to discern. The short glossary in the back does some justice to this minor setback though. Overall this work should not be discounted; but it is not a recommendation. Instead try Michael Grant's "Gladiators."
thumbs down.......1999-12-04
For many centuries in "civilized" Europe, the mostpopular form of mass entertainment was watching other people being putto death in horrible ways. This phenomenon reached its apex (or if you will, its nadir) during the Roman empire, with the infamous games of the amphitheater. As Roland Auguet relates, in his recent book, Cruelty and Civilization, the games had their origin in the funeral customs of wealthy Etruscan families, who would compel a few of their slaves to kill each other in ritual combat as a form of sacrifice to appease the spirit of the deceased. By the time of Caesar Augustus, these gladiatorial combats had pretty much lost any vestige of a religious character and become huge spectacles, organized with all the style of big budget Hollywood productions. Like the blockbuster movie, they often featured a cast of thousands. The big difference was that in the Roman shows, the blood was real, the stunts weren't faked, and the stars really died. Everyone loved the games. The most respectable women in Rome, the Vestal Virgins, had their own reserved seating so they could have a close-up view of men being hacked to pieces, disembowelled, or torn apart by wild animals. Roman fathers would take their sons to see murder done for the same reasons they'd take them to a hockey game today; it was good clean fun. The Romans revelled in violence in a way that is hard for us to accept or understand. In Cruelty and Civilization, Mr. Auguet promises us something more than just a standard narrative history of the Roman games; he also proposes to offer some kind of psycho-moral analysis. Unfortunately, he is such a slavish admirer of Roman culture that he can't bring himself to see it clearly. Right at the beginning of the book, he asserts that "there is nothing more incompatible with the Roman mentality than the form of cruelty known as sadism." - in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. Having ruled out the most natural and logical explanation for the games - that the Romans, like all human beings, had their dark side - Auguet is then unable to come up with any alternative theory. He raises all the usual questions but doesn't provide any new answers. So why did he bother to write the book? And why should we bother to read it?
Fascinating material but difficult reading.......1998-12-31
The book was fascinating but as it was translated from the French the wording and puncutation is often awkard. It was very difficult to stay focused while reading this book. It uses lots and lots of foreign terms/words and at times I felt I was reading a book written in a foreign lancuage. The author also seemed to assume the reader was already thoroughly familiar with the basics of the matertial presented so he jumped right into technical jargon. If you read for pleasure I wouldn't recommend this book.
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![The Ancient Olympic Games: [2nd edition]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/0292777515.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
