Details
Sport was, as this collection of important papers shows, central to Greek life, and there are a corresponding number of avenues of enquiry. Among topics discussed are the religious aspects of sports and festivals, as well as their role in providing a meeting point for all Greeks and a focus of panhellenism. The centrality of sport to the higher education system, or gymnasion, is also discussed, along with the spread of athletic festivals into the near east, and chronologically into the Roman era. Also discussed are the ideology of the games, and of competition, ancient representations of athletics, and the legacy of the ancient games. Introductory sections throughout help to bring out key points and to bind the book into a coherent whole.