The End of Greek Athletics in Late Antiquity (Greek Culture in the Roman World)

Book info: The End of Greek Athletics in Late Antiquity (Greek Culture in the Roman World) (Paperback, 407 pages) – Cambridge University Press, 2018. Language: English.

This book presents the first comprehensive study of how and why athletic contests, a characteristic aspect of Greek culture for over a millennium, disappeared in late antiquity. In contrast to previous discussions, which focus on the ancient Olympics, the end of the most famous games is analyzed here in the context of the collapse of the entire international agonistic circuit, which encompassed several hundred contests. The first part of the book describes this collapse by means of a detailed analysis of the fourth- and fifth-century history of the athletic games in each region of the Mediterranean: Greece, Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, Italy, Gaul and northern Africa. The second half continues by explaining these developments, challenging traditional theories (especially the ban by the Christian emperor Theodosius I) and discussing in detail both the late antique socio-economic context and the late antique perceptions of athletics. Editorial Reviews Book Description A comprehensive study of how and why athletic contests, a characteristic feature of ancient Greek culture, disappeared in late antiquity. About the Author Sofie Remijsen is a Junior Professor in the Department of History at Universität Mannheim, Germany.