The methods of sport and its cultural importance has shifted substantially since Ancient Greece or Rome, but yet the expectations have stayed fairly consistent. In both Ancient Greece and Rome, victorious athletes were hailed as objects of envy and desire, which is an idea that (though admittedly toned down) is still fundamentally practiced; successful athletes attain a level of celebrity just because they're really good at what they do.
When the first Olympic Games were played in Greece in 776 BC, value was placed on sprinting; in fact, that was the only event. As the Games evolved, other track and field events, like discus throw and triple jump, began to be used. In Ancient Greece, much like in professional sports today, being an athlete was considered a "lucrative and respectable" position, and the winners of the Olympic Games were hailed as sons of gods. Any freeborn Greek was allowed to participate in the Games, and they were played naked to illustrate the fundamental unimportance of class or affluence in competition. Unlike athletic events today, however, Greek sport was all about underlying religious connotations. The men who participated in the games were viewed as the physical manifestations of "perfect human specimens," i.e.: the gods.
In Ancient Rome, the gladiators were often slaves or prisoners, forced not only to train vigorously, but also to eat a high energy diet so they could keep up their pique physical shape. The demographics of the gladiators as compared to the spectators in the colosseum serves to create a very different atmosphere for Roman sport than Grecian sport; instead of having an equalizing religious theme, Roman sport was almost purely for entertainment purposes. It relied on physical contact, and every time a gladiator stepped into the arena, he had a 1 in 6 chance of dying. The focus of Roman sport was more for spectacle than anything else; athletes were praised for their fighting skills, but aside from that, they held very little significant cultural value.
It's really interesting to see how these views on sports are still prevalent in society today. I think that similarly to the ancient Greek society, still today as a society praise athletes for their potential and abilities to practice their sports, however I feel like our society has been shifting to a more "barbaric" stance, this is depicted in the amount of spectators that certain sports have, there would more likely be more people watching a UFC match than a Tennis match. Like in the ancient Rome society, society today tends to find a greater thrill from viewing a physically risky sport vs. a mild less dangerous one, I wonder why that is. -Rosy
ReplyDeleteI like how you related athletes to the way we view celebrities but what do you think it is about todays sport that makes our views of athletes much more toned down then in ancient Greece or rome? You did a good job at separating the purposes of sport in ancient Greece versus ancient Rome.
ReplyDeleteAndee Navarette