Sport and Festival in the Ancient

A collection that not only explores many aspects of the ancient Olympics and the programme of competitive festivals in democratic Athens but also the broader religious, social and political contexts in which sport and festival flourished in ancient Greece. It shows how the values of sport pervaded Greek society.

How did sport and festival affect the ancient Greek city? How did the values of athletics pervade Greek culture? This collection of fifteen new studies from an international cast took its inspiration from the exceptional Sydney Olympics of 2000. The focus here is on the ancient world, but additionally there is a sophisticated look at how Greek artefacts linked with sport can best be presented to the modern world.