Royal Athenians: the Ptolemies and Attalids at the Panathenaia (original) (raw)
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Sport, Victory Commemoration and Elite Identities in Archaic and Early Classical Athens
In archaic and classical Athens, and in keeping with a wider pattern observable around the Greek world, social elites dominated top-flight sport. As a result, sport was instrumental in articulating perceptions and identities of elite status. Following their victories sixth and fifth-century Athenian sport victors expended considerable resources on the construction of athletic commemorative landscapes, thus effectively appropriating sport as an elite signifier. In this paper I expound on the import of practices of victory commemoration by Athenian elites during the archaic and early classical periods. I argue that Athenian practices of athletic victory commemoration were symptomatic of wider power struggles but contrasted to gradually shifting notions, that emerged during the late archaic period, on the value and utility of sport.
Xenophon’s Hipparchikos and the Athenian Embrace of Citizen Philotimia
Polis: The Journal for Ancient Greek Political Thought, 2018
Although negotiations over the competing claims of honour (timê) and awards of instantiated honours (timai) were central features of Athenian democracy, the dangerous ambiguities of philotimia meant that only from the 340s BC were the Athenians explicitly embracing this love of honour and celebrating its display by citizens and non-citizens alike. Here I argue that a close reading of Xenophon’s treatise on cavalry command, Hipparchikos, advances our understanding of this embrace of public-spirited honour in three ways. First, Xenophon founds the success of the cavalry on the training of knowledgeable officers who are able to harness the Athenians’ extraordinary love of honour, on display and on campaign. Second, he reveals the diverse roles played by timê and philotimia throughout the entire institution of the Athenian cavalry, fostering competitive excellence as well as community amongst cavalry, polis, and gods. Third, Xenophon’s arguments about the nature and negotiation of Athen...
Democratic Athens gave citizens who were Panhellenic victors for life free public dining and free front-row seats at its own games. These honours were otherwise only given to victorious generals and its other significant benefactors. The surprising granting of them to sporting victors requires careful explanation. The Panhellenic victory of one of its citizens gave a city of no importance rare international prominence and one which was a regional power proof of its superiority over its rivals. The only other way which it had to raise its standing was to defeat a rival in battle. Thus the classical Athenians judged a Panhellenic victor worthy of their highest honours, as he had raised their standing without the need for them to take the field.