Ancient and Modern Perspectives on Athletics, Olympics, and Greek Culture

How did classist prejudices play a role in early athletics? Use the Cambridge/Oxford rowing teams and/or the clip from Chariots of Fire in your answer

poor people werent allowed to participate in sports, because they had an "unfair" advantage because they had jobs involving physical labor.

IN chariots of fire, an athlete was not allowed to hire a professional coach, because it was seen as treating sports as a job instead of a hobby.

What were nineteenth century amateurs? What were the opinions of Edward Norman Gardiner and KU's own James Naismith? Do these ideas have relevance today?

19th century amateurs were rich people who saw sports as a hobby, focusing on glory rather than financial gain.

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Who was Pierre de Coubertin? How does his concept of Olympic victory/participation contrast with that of an ancient Greek such as Pindar?

He was the founded the international olympic committee,

1. What do Polites from Caria and Michael Johnson have in common?

They both won the 200m and 400m on the same day.

Define the Greek word agōn. What is the Greek "agonistic" spirit?

Agon - A gathering for games, or a struggle/contest. The drive to excel and live in glory through competition.

What is the etymology (word origin) of the word "athlete"? What people does Plato, perhaps surprisingly, refer to athletes?

It comes from the greek word "ἀθλητής", meaning one who competes for a prize, he used the word for musicians.

What is the Latin origin for the word amateur, and how has its meaning changed over time?

It comes from the word amator, which means lover, it started as someone who is an unpaid enthusiast, but now it means lacking skill.

Why is the term Olympic "Games" not an ideal translation of the original Greek Olympiakoi Agones?

Because there were no team sports, only solo competitions.

How did Greek athletics differ from Persian agones according to Xenophon in his Cyropaedia?

The persian agones were designed to prepare soldiers for war, where as greek athletics were a display if athletic skill.

What was the "world" of Homer like around 800 BC?

What did Friedrich Wolf and Milman Perry discover about the epic poetry of Homer? Be sure you mention Bellerephon and the Croatian guslari.

What is a dilletante? Is it a good thing or a bad thing? What does pejorative mean?

a dilletante is a person who has a hobby of science or art without a goal of financial gain, it was a good thing, but is now bad.

Pejorative is a negative connotation.

Does McKayla Maroney reflect ancient notions of "winning"? If yes or no, why?

yes, she got silver instead if gold and in ancient Greece only first place got a prize.

What is significant about the so-called "Cup of Nestor" for the history of writing and the Homeric poems?

It is one of the oldest surviving examples of the Greek alphabet, and it confirms homers Iliad.

Summarize the conflict between Odysseus and Eryalos during the athletic events on the Island of the Phaeacians.

Eurylaus taunts odysessus, calling him unathletic, then odysessus says he cant be good at everything, so they get into a disc heavier than normal and throws it farther than anybody else, then get into a boxing, wresting, and race.

Who was Heinrich Schliemann?

He was the German archaeologist who uncovered the first artifacts of ancient Troy, and discovered evidence of the ancient civilization known as the Mycenaeans.

What is a "death mask"? Describe the ones found at Mycenae in Grave Circle A.

a likeness of a person's face created from plaster, wax, or metal shortly after death to preserve their features for memory or funeral rites

They served as funeral offerings intended to preserve the image of fallen leaders, with small holes near the ears indicating they were secured over the face with twine.

Bronze Age masonry like that at Mycenae is called "Cyclopean" by classical Greeks. What does this mean?

hwqa Bronze Age building technique using massive, roughly dressed limestone boulders, assembled without mortar

What is "bull leaping"? Where did it occur?

participants somersault or vault over a charging bull's back, it occured in ancient Crete.

The "Boxing Fresco" was found at Akrotiri on Thera/Santorini. What happened here in the 17th c. BC and how was this disaster useful for archaeologists?

a massive volcanic eruption on Thera/Santorini buried the thriving Bronze Age town of Akrotiri under thick layers of ash and pumice, perserving the site.

What does the so-called Dorian Invasion have to do with the Olympic Games? What negative baggage does this theory have?

greeks migrated, causing greek dark ages, which allowed for the greeks to use the games as a tool to show physical dominance.

Why does Hercules/Herakles have to perform his Twelve Labors?

as penance to atone for murdering his wife, Megara, and their children in a fit of madness induced by the goddess Hera

The Olympic Games ceased to exist after AD 400. What happened?

they were abolished by roman emperor theodosius because he wanted to eliminate pagan festivals and enforce christianity.

Who is Pausanias? Why is he important for our study of Olympia?

Pausanias was a 2nd-century CE Greek traveler and geographer, he has first hand descriptions of Greece

What's the strange thing about the columns of the Temple of Hera?

their exaggerated, swollen, cigar-like shape (entasis) and the unusual 9x18 column arrangement.

What is a "treasury"?

building holding offerings and military spoils to the gods

All sources agree Koroibos of Elis was the first Olympic victor. What does Pausanias say about him and the reason Greek athletics were performed in the nude?

people running had their clothes fall off and people thought it was faster

What does the term "Altis" mean in ancient Greece?

the sacred, walled precinct or grove of Zeus at Olympi

What were the two main goals of nineteenth-century German archaeology at Olympia?

completely uncover the ancient sanctuary of Zeus

Why is Pausanias' frequent use of the word πλησίον (plēsion) "nearby, hard by" problematic for archaeologists? Would it have posed the same difficulty for his contemporary audience?

it provides vague relative positioning rather than precise, ordered, or cardinal directions, making it difficult to map specific buildings

What happened in 2011 which made archaeologists consider that the "Altis" is perhaps more than ten times larger than originally believed?

archaeologists digging to install a new pipeline at Olympia discovered the previously unknown sanctuary of the childbirth goddess, Eileithyia

How are wells useful to estimate the changing usage/population of the site? What happens when they go out of use?

by indicating permanent settlement, water demand, and technological ability

What is the "Pelopion"?

a sacred, walled tomb-precinct in the center of the Ancient Olympia sanctuary in Greece, dedicated to the mythical hero Pelops

Altars to Artemis Agoraios and Zeus Agoraios mentioned by Pausanias suggest the location of the agora or marketplace. What did these deities have to do with shopping?!

signify their roles as patron deities, providing protection, sanctity, and divine oversight over the daily economic and social activities of the marketplace

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