A Companion to Sport and Spectacle in Greek and Roman Antiquity

A Companion to Sport and Spectacle in Greek and Roman Antiquity presents a series of essays that apply a socio-historical perspective to myriad aspects of ancient sport and spectacle.

• Covers the Bronze Age to the Byzantine Empire
• Includes contributions from a range of international scholars with various Classical antiquity specialties
• Goes beyond the usual concentrations on Olympia and Rome to examine sport in cities and territories throughout the Mediterranean basin
• Features a variety of illustrations, maps, end-of-chapter references, internal cross-referencing, and a detailed index to increase accessibility and assist researchers

Paul Christesen is Professor of Classics at Dartmouth College. He is the author of Olympic Victor Lists and Ancient Greek History (2007), Sport and Democracy in the Ancient and Modern Worlds (2012), and numerous articles and chapters on Greek historiography, ancient Greek history, and ancient sport.

Donald G. Kyle is Professor and former Chair of History at the University of Texas at Arlington. He is the author of Athletics in Ancient Athens (1987), Spectacles of Death in Ancient Rome (1998), Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World (Wiley Blackwell, 2007), and numerous articles and chapters on ancient sport history.

Notes on Contributors

Acknowledgments

1. General Introduction
Paul Christesen and Donald G. Kyle

Section One: Greece

Part One: The Background

2. Greek Athletic Competitions: The Ancient Olympics and More
Donald G. Kyle

3. Sport in the Aegean Bronze Age
Jeremy B. Rutter

4. Sport in the Early Iron Age and Homeric Epic
Timothy P. J. Perry

5. Representations of Sport in Greek Literature
Nigel Nicholson

6. Picturing Victory: Representations of Sport in Greek Art
Jenifer Neils

7. Inscriptions as Evidence for Greek Sport
H. W. Pleket

8. Recent Trends in the Study of Greek Sport
Ingomar Weiler

Part Two: Places

9. Panhellenic Athletics at Olympia
Thomas Heine Nielsen

10. Sport and Society in Sparta
Paul Christesen

11. Sport, Society, and Politics in Athens
Donald G. Kyle

12. Athletic Festivals in the Northern Peloponnese and Central Greece David Gilman Romano

13. Sport and Society in the Greek West
Carla M. Antonaccio

Part Three: People, settings, Ideas

14. Sport and Democratization in Ancient Greece (with an Excursus on Athletic Nudity)
Paul Christesen

15. Growing Up with Greek Sport: Education and Athletics
Werner Petermandl

16. Eros and Greek Sport
Andrew Lear

17. Greek Female Sport: Rites, Running, and Racing
Donald G. Kyle

18. People on the Fringes of Greek Sport
Christian Mann

19. The Greek Stadium as a Reflection of a Changing Society
Stephen G. Miller

20. The Social Life of Greek Athletic Facilities (other than Stadia)Michael Scott

21. The Role of Religion in Greek Sport
Sarah C. Murray

22. Ancient Critics of Greek Sport
Zinon Papakonstantinou

23. Sport, Spectacle, and Society in Ancient
Macedonia Winthrop Lindsay Adams

Part Four: Later Greek Sport and Spectacle

24. Greek Sport in Egypt: Status Symbol and Lifestyle
Sofie Remijsen

25. Sport in Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor
H. W. Pleket

Section Two: Rome Part One: The Background

26. Overview of Roman Spectacle
Roger Dunkle

27. Etruscan Sport
Giampiero Bevagna

28. Writing Arenas: Roman Authors and Their Games
Zara Martirosova Torlone

29. Representations of Spectacle and Sport in Roman Art
Steven L. Tuck

30. Material Evidence for Roman Spectacle and Sport
Gregory S. Aldrete

31. Trends in the Study of Roman Spectacle and Sport
Jerry Toner

Part Two: Spectacles and Sport in Rome

32. Gladiatorial Combat as Alluring Spectacle
Garrett G. Fagan

33. Women with Swords: Female Gladiators in the Roman World
Stephen Brunet

34. Roman Chariot Racing: Charioteers, Factions, Spectators
Sinclair Bell

35. Roman Beast-Hunts
Chris Epplett

36. Spectacular Executions in the Roman World
Chris Epplett

37. Greek Sports in Rome
Hugh M. Lee

Part Three: People, Settings, Ideas
 
38. Amphitheaters in the Roman World
Hazel Dodge

39. Venues for Spectacle and Sport (other than Amphitheaters) in the Roman World
Hazel Dodge

40. People on the Margins of Roman Spectacle
Rose MacLean

41. Religion and Roman Spectacle
John Zaleski

42. Ancient Critics of Roman Spectacle and Sport
Kathryn Mammel

Part Four: Later Roman Spectacle and Sport

43. Romanization through Spectacle in the Greek East
Michael Carter

44. Spectacle and Sport in Constantinople in the Sixth Century CE
David Alan Parnell

List of Illustrations