Sport, Democracy and War in Classical Athens

This book explains why the democracy of classical Athens generously sponsored elite sport and idolised its sporting victors.

David M. Pritchard (Author)

9781316610305, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 23 June 2016

264 pages, 10 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.4 kg

'Pritchard's monograph is a significant achievement. For those interested in any or all of its three components - sport, democracy and war - it is recommended reading. For those interested in Athenian culture, however, it should be considered absolutely essential.' Jason Crowley, The Journal of Hellenic Studies

Athenian democracy may have opened up politics to every citizen, but it had no impact on participation in sport. The city's sportsmen continued to be drawn from the elite, and so it comes as a surprise that sport was very popular with non-elite citizens of the classical period, who rewarded victorious sportsmen lavishly and created an unrivalled program of local sporting festivals on which they spent staggering sums of money. They also shielded sportsmen from the public criticism which was otherwise normally directed towards the elite and its conspicuous activities. This book is a bold and novel exploration of this apparent contradiction, which examines three of the fundamental aspects of Athens in the classical period - democratic politics, public commitment to sport and constant warfare - and is essential reading for all of those who are interested in Greek sport, Athenian democracy and its waging of war.

1. Problems, models and sources
2. Athletic participation and education
3. The democratic support of athletics
4. Athletics in satyric drama
5. The common culture of athletics and war
6. The democratisation of war
7. Conclusion: athletic ephebes.

Subject Areas: Political structures: democracy [JPHV], Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]