Olympia. The Story of the Ancient Olympic Games

In the northwestern corner of the great peninsula of the Peloponnese, close to the meeting point of the Cladeus and Alpheus rivers, lies a peaceful river valley overlooked by the steep-sided hill of Cronus.  Here, between the eighth century BCE and the fourth century CE, rival athletes competed for glory in the ancient Olympic Games.  Every four years, and from every corner of the Mediterranean world – from Samos to Syracuse and from Sparta to Smyrna – they descended on this quiet corner of southern Greece sacred to Zeus, seeking to excel in disciplines as diverse as sprinting, boxing, wrestling, trumpet-blowing and chariot and mulecart racing.

The victors of these ancient games may have been awarded crowns of olive leaves in recognition of their achievements, but these original Olympics were no idealistic celebration of the classical aesthetic of grace and beauty shared by all of the participating Greece city-states, but often a bitterly contested struggle between political rivals.

Robin Waterfield paints a vivid picture of the reality of the ancient Olympic Games; describes the events in which competitors took part; explores their purposes, rituals and politics; and charts the vicissitudes of their remarkable thousand-year history.

 

Robin Waterfield is a gold medallist among historians of ancient Greece.  This is a carefully calibrated, deeply learned and yet accessible study of the original Olympic Games.

Professor Paul Cartledge