Sport, democracy and war in classical Athens [electronic resource] / by David M. Pritchard.

9781107007338
9781139782395 (electronic book)

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2013.

English

xii, 251 p. : ill.

GV573 .P75 2013

796.0938

"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"-- Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

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