WHO WERE THE ATHLETES?

* Rich or poor?
* Free men or slaves?
* Which age categories?
* Followers of the traditional cults or Christians?
* Women too?
      - Sport for women in Sparta
      - Sport for women in Athens
      - Games for women : the Heraia
      - Women victorious in the horse races
      - Women as spectators

 

THE IDEOLOGY OF SPORT

Everything for a victory
* The Greek competitive mentality
* Victory or death
* To withdraw
* Resorting to magic
* The connection with the military

The love for honour
* Athletic glory
* Symbolic crowns, valuable prizes and rewards at the home town
* Inscriptions on stone for athletes
* Ancient records
* From legend to hero

Beautiful bodies
* Athletic beauty
* Athletic nudity
* Infibulation
* Pederasty

 

SPORT AND POLITICS

Games as international events
* Ambassadors
* The sacred truce
* Nationality
* Panhellenism
* The international athletic guild

Politicians and sport
* Political propaganda at the games
* Athlete becomes politician
* Rulers as participants in and as organisers of Greek games
      - The Sicilian tyrants
      - The Macedonian kings
      - The Ptolemies
      - Roman rulers (e.g. Augustus, Nero, Domitian)