2nd edition (2017) revised and enlarged, updated to include new historical and archaeological research and new photographic material from the many sites and monuments where excavation and restoration works have provided fresh insights.

This book celebrates the athletes, the games, the sanctuaries, the cities and, above all, the inspiring spirit of the ancient Greeks over a span of a millennium and a half-from the earliest mentions of athletics in Homer's Iliad and other literary sources, through the Classical age, and into the Hellenistic, Roman and late antique periods.
Modelled on the physical exercises and competitions that existed in earlier Near Eastern cultures, hundreds of athletic games took place in Greek antiquity, extending across every area of the Mediterranean in which Greek culture flourished.
In these five games the magnificent culture and ideology of Greek antiquity flourished, and the spectacle of the games gave rise to a sporting tradition that engages the world to this day.

About the Author

Panos Valavanis is Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Athens, teaching and researching in the fields of classical vase painting, topography of ancient Athens, classical architecture, Greek athletics and ancient Greek technology.

Book Information
ISBN 9786185209186
Author Panos Valavanis
Format Paperback
Page Count 376
Imprint Kapon Editions
Publisher Kapon Editions
Weight(grams) 1835g
Dimensions(mm) 280mm * 220mm * 28mm