- Paperback: 298 pages
- Publisher: Oxford University Press (July 12 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0192806041
- ISBN-13: 978-0192806048
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.9 x 2.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 240 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #510,961 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
`Review from previous edition Excellent... 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
`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
Book Description
The word 'athletics' is derived from the Greek verb 'to struggle for a prize'. After reading this book, no one will see the Olympics as a graceful display of Greek beauty again, but as war 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, 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
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellence in Research, Aug 30 2006
By Thomas Randleman - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Ancient Olympics: War Minus the Shooting (Paperback)
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
1 of 27 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Thank God They're Going to England, Not New York!, July 20 2005
By Betty Burks "Betty Burks" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Ancient Olympics (Hardcover)
The anicent Greeks at Adelphia considered the original Olympics a 'civilized mode of war without the shooting.' The aim was winning at any cost (like American politics today), as the losers were called and looked down on as failures in disgrace. He dwells on boy athletes and shows a marble statue of the naked David minus one arm and a hand.Why did the early Greek athletes compete naked? Did it have something to do with sex or did they have perfect bodies? Why did the Romans change the games in Olympia and make it more civilized? There the Greeks raised their sporting prowess to heroic status.
The historian, Bettany Hughes, wrote that this book shows "a number of hand-picked historical characters (which) bring us face to face with ... the ruthless business of winning the games." Nigel Spivey includes a photo of the naked wrestlers in marble. This is an erotic book. The poster for the 1912 Stockholm Olympics shows a naked combatant.
There is a drawing of the Olympic Zeus in the original Parthenon, a huge six-story-tall fixture similar to the modern Athena statuary in the Nashville, Tennessee, Parthenon. He has written many books among which are PANORAMA OF THE CLASSICAL WORLD and UNDERSTANDING GREEK SCULPTURE.
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