A Brief History of the Olympic Games
Published on 25. February 2008
Software
Other digital
200 pages
978-0-470-77482-3 (ISBN)
Description
For more than a millennium, the ancient Olympics captured the imaginations of the Greeks, until a Christianized Rome terminated the competitions in the fourth century AD. But the Olympic ideal did not die and this book is a succinct history of the ancient Olympics and their modern resurgence. Classics professor David Young, who has researched the subject for over 25 years, reveals how the ancient Olympics evolved from modest beginnings into a grand festival, attracting hundreds of highly trained athletes, tens of thousands of spectators, and the finest artists and poets.
Reviews / Votes
"David Young is one of the world's foremost experts on the Olympic Games, and this book contains many interesting details that have remained in the deep shadows of history much too long. An excellent read!" Anthony Th. Bijkerk, Secretary-General, International Society of Olympic Historians end!-> "An impressively comprehensive, clear and often vivid survey of the ancient Olympics ... The book is packed with carefully considered interventions in long-standing debates." The Journal of Hellenic StudiesMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Hoboken
United Kingdom
Publishing group
John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 224 mm
Width: 144 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
382 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-470-77482-3 (9780470774823)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
David C. Young
A Brief History of the Olympic Games
E-Book
05/2008
Wiley-Blackwell
€90.99
Available for download
Person
David C. Young is Professor of Classics at the University of Florida and author of the acclaimed The Modern Olympics: A Struggle for Revival (1996). His Olympic Myth of Greek Amateur Athletics (1984) won the Book of the Year award from the North American Society of Sports Historians. He translated the Words of Pindar which were read out at the closing ceremony of the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Content
List of Figures. Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Beginnings and Evidence. 3. Athletic Events. 4. Combat and Equestrian Events. 5. Zeus Country. 6. Pindar and Immortality. 7. Body, Mind, and Greek Athletics. 8. Questions of Profit and Social Class. 9. The Athletes. 10. Women and Greek Athletics. 11. Between the Greek and Roman Worlds. 12. The Later Centuries of Olympia. 13. The Origin and Authenticity of the Modern Olmpu Games. Appendix A: Chornology and Schedule of the Athletic Circuit. Appendix B: Technical Note on Discuss and Long Jump. Appendix C: Modern Issues: The Marathon and Torch Relay. Notes. Glossary. Bibliography. Index.