Thomas Heine Nielsen 2006, Book Review of David J. Phillips and David M. Pritchard 2003 (eds.), Sport and Festival in the Ancient Greek World, Swansea (Classical Press of Wales), Bryn Mawr Classical Review July, no. 51. (original) (raw)
The genesis of the present collection of articles dates back to 2000, when a conference on the theme of "Olympia and the Olympics: Festival and Identity in the Ancient World" formed a part of the "cultural lead-up to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games" (x). As the editors note (xxv n. 59), the modern Olympics traditionally generate books etc. on the ancient Olympics and so, if nothing else, at least ensure some regularity of public attention to matters ancient. Not all the contributions, however, originate from the symposium; those of e.g. Miller and Crowther were commissioned after the event "to fill out the book's treatment of key topics and themes" (xv). As published, the volume's stated aim is to explore in detail the cultural, religious, political and social significance in the archaic and classical Greek world of athletics and festivals as well as how sporting and musical competitions "led the way, throughout the archaic period, in the crystallization and development of the polis and in the creation of its juridical and political practices" (xv). That, indeed, is a very ambitious undertaking but in fact some of the contributions, such as e.g. those of Ben Brown and Peter Wilson, tackle these issues directly.
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