The Victor's Crown: Greek and Roman Sport from Homer to Byzantium

What is Sport and why do we love it? These two questions drive David Potter's analysis of the western tradition of competitive athletics from eighth century BC to the sixth century AD. The story of ancient sport offers a paradigm for the tale of sport in our own time. Incorporating the latest research, The Victor's Crown opens with an analysis of the way competitive sport emerged in Greece during the eighth century BC, and then how the great festival cycle of Classical Greece came into being during the sixth century BC. Special attention is paid to the experience of spectators and athletes, especially in the violent sports of boxing, wrestling and pancration. We meet the great athletes of the past and discover what it was that made them so great. The rise of the Roman Empire transformed the sporting world by popularizing new forms of entertainment (chiefly a specialized form of chariot racing, gladiatorial combat and beast hunts). Potter shows us what it was like to be a fan and a competitor, and how to fight like a gladiator. The Victor's Crown looks at the physiology of conditioning, ancient training techniques and the role of sport in education. The Roman government promoted and organized sport as a central feature of the Roman Empire, as sports provided common cultural currency to the diverse inhabitants of this vast empire. The Victor's Crown is not just a history of ancient sport, but also an examination of role sport has played throughout history.

Table of Contents:
List of illustrations. Maps. Preface. Then and Now. Part 1 Ashes, Linen and the Origins of Sport: Introduction; Home rand the Bronze Age; Homer and Sport. Part 2 Olympia: From Myth to History; Olympia in 480 BC; The Olympic Games of 476 BC; The Festival Approaches; Winning (The equestrian events; The pentathlon and the foot races; Nudity; Pain and suffering); Remembering Victory (The athlete as hero); The Emergence of the Panhellenic Cycle. Part 3 The World of the Gymnasium: Sport and Civic Virtue; Beroia; Getting in Shape and Turning Pro. Part 4 Roman Games: Greece Meets Rome; Kings and Games; Rome and Italy; Actors and Gladiators; Caesar, Antony, Augustus and the Games. Part 5 Imperial Games: Watching; The Fan's Experience; Expectations; Crowd Noise; Dreaming of Sport; Images of Sport; Women's Sports; Gladiators (Life as a gladiator; Training and ranking; Dying; Choosing to be a gladiator); Charioteers; Athletes (Athletic guilds; Cheating); Running the Show (Administration; Athletics). Epilogue: The Long End of an Era. Bibliography. Classical Sources. Notes. Index.

About the Author :
David Potter is Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Greek and Latin in the Department of Classical Studies at the University of Michigan. He is the author of Emperors of Rome, also from Quercus.

Review :
"Written in lively style, packed with detail bringing the era to pungent life." --The Independent "Vivid and authoritative....Potter skillfully reveals how the gymnasium lay at the heart of Greek life and culture, but his passion is clearly for the Olympics.... When Potter moves on to Roman sport, things get livelier still....He meticulously traces the origins, careers, and lifestyles of athletes, gladiators and charioteers alike, and demolished some cherished myths along the way. Fascinating and impressive." --James McConnachie, Sunday Times