The Ancient Olympics
Product ID: 11979763
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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. Review: Excellence in Research - 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 Review: A solid and interesting look at the ancient Olympics - A solid and interesting look at the ancient Olympics. Well-researched with attention to primary sources. I learned a lot but think the organization and structure could have been better, or clearer. It wasn't obvious to me why this or that chapter or section was where it was and how it fit into a whole. It could be a good supplement for a course on the Olympics--though I am not sure it would be a could primary text.
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,480,031 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #187 in Olympic Games #1,003 in Ancient Greek History (Books) #1,684 in Sports History (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 33 Reviews |
T**N
Excellence in Research
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
S**N
A solid and interesting look at the ancient Olympics
A solid and interesting look at the ancient Olympics. Well-researched with attention to primary sources. I learned a lot but think the organization and structure could have been better, or clearer. It wasn't obvious to me why this or that chapter or section was where it was and how it fit into a whole. It could be a good supplement for a course on the Olympics--though I am not sure it would be a could primary text.
N**3
Interesting book
Very interesting book about the history of the Olympic Games. Helpful and informative. Definitely recommend.
S**F
Five Stars
Great product
N**E
This book was so good. Highly recommend it
This book was so good. Highly recommend it. It was such a great read and hope that other people can enjoy this as me. The history that they include is also really good. Overall if you want to read this book... I would if i were you!
B**S
Thank God They're Going to England, Not New York!
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.
D**A
schlecht geleimt, fällt sofort auseinander
von diesem renomiertem Verlag ist eine so schlechte Qualität nicht zu erwarten. Alle Seiten fallen bei normalem Lesen und üblicher Behandlung sofort auseinander. Diese Rezension bezieht sich auf die Paperback edition, die ungebundene Ausgabe.
A**D
Scholarly and fascinating
The three things most people know about the Ancient Olympics are - everyone competed naked, Nero is still the reigning chariot-racing champion, and everyone was an amateur. Well, as this book reveals, the first two are mostly true (charioteers wore clothes, and Nero's antics may have been inflated in the telling), and the last is palpably false. Whatever Baron de Coubertin believed, ancient Greek athletes were full-time professionals. Indeed, some of them became rich and extremely famous. Other facts revealed by this scholarly, but supremely readable, account - though a hundred thousand people descended on Olympia every four years, no-one ever got round to supplying lodgings or sanitation, so everyone camped out and the place smelled to high heaven; the poet Pindar made a good living writing victory odes; and only one woman was ever allowed to watch, and she was a priestess. For anyone remotely interested in the period, this is an indispensable book.
T**R
Five Stars
Well written and informative book on the Olympics as preformed in Archaic and Classical Greece.
M**M
The olympic games - the winners and the losers
An interesting and vivid survey in a nice shape and size!!
A**O
The Ancient Olympics: war minus the shooting
It is not a book for GCSE Classics students but for A level students or university degree. Nigel Spivey is an author who breaks the conventional rules. It makes you see the Ancient Olympics or the Greeks from a different perspective, quite revolutionary! It is a book written with heart and soul, trying to be as sincere and as honest as possible, getting rid of the cliches and the prejudice. Above all, Nigel Spivey takes you to the heart of The Ancient Olympics and makes you see the Games with the eyes of an Ancient Greek. It is thanks to him that you are able to understand the truth of the Ancient Greek World.
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