Ancient Greek Athletes

Today’s males and females feel like they have to fulfill the features of their gender, but the one they may be the most conscience about is their body features. Men focus on getting stronger to look tougher and compensate for their lack of being a gentleman towards women “ Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles”( Alex Karras). This quote talks on something men do not understand which is they should not only exercise their physical muscles, but also their internal muscles which are their politeness and kindness towards anyone. Men and society fail to see that internal features are more outstanding than physical features. Meanwhile women also focus heavily

Stephen G. Miller, the author of Ancient Greek Athletics and many other academic writings lived a very astounding life. Miller spent a great portion of his life traveling between the United States and Greece. He went to school to become an archaeologist and afterwards became a professor at Berkeley and the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Miller was driven by Plato’s love for his work; however, he faced a minor setback when he realized Plato’s language was beyond what he could understand. He then decided to change his studies to archaeology because of his new-found love for amazing indoor and outdoor work. Miller had a unique perspective on ancient Olympic games because he directed excavations for multiple years at one of the Panhellenic sanctuary sites. He has written dozens of academic books along with children’s books, therefore I was excited to read this authors rendition of the earliest Olympic Games.

According to the Olympics Game timeline, the first ever Olympic Games was held in 776 BCE, in Olympia which is in Athens, Greece. They were held there at olympia for 13 years. We don't know how the games began according to Robert Woff, some stories say the Zeus started the game. According to this story, it started out with Zeus and his father, Kronos were wrestling in olympia, who knew it would turn into what it has become. Wrestling wasn’t the only sport in the ancient greek olympics, there were many more that were involved. Some of the original events according to “Ancient sports” are boxing, equestrian events (chariot racing & riding), pankration, pentathlon (discus, javelin, jump, running, wrestling).

Finally, Dyer talks about muscularity and what this means for male and female activity. Muscularity is the sign of power and achievement. He states, “The muscle man is the end product of his own activity of muscle-building” (62). The male body shows that he worked hard, or in some cases not at all, to achieve the appearance that he has. However, pertaining to the female body, even though she may have worked hard to get the shape she’s in its seen as “something that has been done to the woman” (Dyer 62). The male goes and actively seeks to achieve muscles,

Tony Percott’s The Naked Olympics created a vivid image of what Greek life used to be consumed by, specifically in times surrounding the Olympics. This book confirmed prior knowledge, as well as dive into greater detail about certain aspects of the Olympics, for example how athletes were treated. Several aspects written about were completely astounding, like the Greek obsession with the human body and physical fitness. All of this information has been explained by telling stories of Olympic athletes and Grecians, and how the events came to life. The Naked Olympics has provided more knowledge on certain topics and offered new concepts and ideas of ancient Greece to explore by recreating an Olympic experience in ancient Greece.

Greeks were constantly in search of the "Ideal"(Riffert). Their "Ideal" was "a body capable of enduring all efforts, either of the racecourse or of bodily strength…this is why the athletes in the pentathlon are the most beautiful." (Tufts) This description of the "Ideal" person given by Aristotle reflects the attitude of the majority of ancient Greeks. People were not judged solely on their minds but rather strong emphasis was given to the body. This emphasis given to the body was given to the nude body. It is understandable that we question why nude art was so accepted by the Greeks, as they were the pioneers in this field. The answer lies in the everyday life of the people. It was commonplace for Greek men to exercise, go to war, and generally go about their daily business in the nude or scantly clothed (Boardman 276).

The Greeks set up athletic events in honor of Zeus for which the Olympics was made.

Exercise was encouraged amongst men to help enhance and maintain masculinity beauty and desirability. Their art of fine athletes was diverse as it emulated strength, poise, pain and suffering, giving a true picture of masculinity, which is not beauty alone, but other traits as well. Nudity in art was associated with power and grace. Most gods in Greece and prominent individuals including athletes were nude whereas other individual’s portraits had clothes. Art of young male figures romanticize the erotic side of masculinity.

Everyone in the world thinks to be athletic and good looking you need to have a muscular body. This is not the case as people come in all different shapes and sizes. This is the same thing as the breast which Natalie Angier talks about in her essay The Story of the Breast. The breast like muscles come in all different shapes and sizes. Nobody is made the same and women shouldn’t be judged about their breast size, while men shouldn’t be judged on how muscular they are. The other pieces that will be mentioned are The Female Nude: Surfaces of Desire by Richard Leppert and Images of Gender by John Berger. These pieces will help me make the case that we should judge humans if they don’t have perfect breasts or a muscular body. People should be praised for being who they are

Stephen G. Miller, an expert Yale professor in the field of Ancient Greek athletics states that the Olympics were held “in honor of Zeus in the city of Olympia” (Miller). “The element of religion is evident in this historical event. Many people have heard of the concepts of the Greek Gods, but this level of religious involvement is interesting. These games were held “for four days every fourth summer”, a tradition that partially continues to this day (Miller). “Many festivals in ancient Greece were dedicated to the Gods” (Miller). In addition to the Olympic Games, there were also other athletic festivals which included the Pythian Games at Delphi, the Isthmian at Corinth, and the Nemean at Argos (Miller). However, the Olympics at Olympia were “the oldest and most prestigious of the four great ancient Greek athletic festivals.

Vanity, infidelity, and envy are transgressions that possess grave consequences; perpetrators of such hubris are cast out, spurned by society. Their actions deemed erroneous and caustic to the way of life. Like outcasts, Olympian gods tend to meddle with these forbidden fruits, violating the canons of god-like behavior. However, instead of being isolated, these Olympian gods are put on pedestals. The early people are blinded by their need for explanation that they do not see that; although the Olympians were gods they had very human frailties.

Our society is physiologically focused. The standards for human physique are high. The shape and size of your body, as well as being glamorous, are overrated. Diets of all kinds are advertised as the quick fix to weight problems. We are continually told that we must be the picture of health and perfection. Celebrities are regularly scrutinized by the media as to what they are wearing or if they have gained a pound or two. The blueprint of physical excellence is presented to men. They are told constantly to act like a man. Women’s discussions involve a man’s performance in the bedroom and the size of his penis. (Chaudhuri, 2012)

What could we do to make our lives more interesting and fun? That is the question. Ancient Rome and ancient Egypt had to ask themselves. That is when they thought of sports it made life easier and more fun and they still have the same effect today.Sports are a really important part of our society today, but where it started, is in ancient history.Most of our sports today come from ancient history, like boxing, racing, and many others.Many of these sports originated in ancient Rome or ancient Africa. Sports were created to pass time. Also they were things to do while not working. Our sports have been an influence on us as time passed, and has made the earth a better place.

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, with many different capabilities, values and attributes. We see heroes’ every day; it can be a firefighter, police officer or even your parents. Heroes have been around for a long time all displaying the same skills and abilities, but as time passed heroes started to present values of their society. But what truly makes a hero? What values does the hero portray about society? We get a good understanding for this after analyzing Ancient Greek heroes like Odysseus. Ancient Greece society valued pride, and bravery as displayed by Odysseus. However, heroes today show more humbleness and selflessness, as our society has changed from the Ancient Greek society.

Today’s males and females often feel compelled to fulfill the image of their gender physical “attractive” attributes. For men this includes having alluring muscles, but other men think otherwise “Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles”( Alex Karras). This quote describes something few men comprehend; society expects men to exercise their physical muscles, but men fail to recognize that internal features are more outstanding than physical features, such as gentlemanly conduct. Meanwhile, majority of women also focus heavily on their physiques as they seem to try to look like the ideal “appealing” woman, but some women realize the fact that in reality there is no