Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World

Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World
ISBN-10
063122971X
ISBN-13
9780631229711
Category
History
Pages
424
Language
English
Published
2006-09-18
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
Author
Donald G. Kyle

Description

This is a readable, up-to-date, illustrated introduction to the history of sport and spectacle in the ancient world from the Ancient Near East through Greek and Hellenistic times and into the Roman Empire. Covers athletics, combat sports, chariot racing, beast fights and gladiators. Traces the precursors of Greek and Roman sports and spectacles in the Ancient Near East and the Bronze Age Aegean. Investigates the origins, nature and meaning of sport, covering issues of violence, professionalism, class, gender and eroticism. Challenges the notion that Greek sport and Roman spectacle were polar opposites. Approaches sport and spectacle as overlapping and compatible features of civilized states and empires.

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