Following Poliakoff’s introduction to the ancient combat sports, he proceeds to provide a basic outline to the world of ancient combat sports in a series of sections within the chapter, including: The definition of a ‘combat sport’ and its relation to recreation and training; similarities amongst combat sports, training methods and common practise; the premise of athletic festivals, and the organization of said competition.
The first area that Poliakoff studies is ‘General aspects of the ancient combat sports’ is the definition of a combat sport, which he splits into two explanations. Firstly, the idea of sport or athletics, Poliakoff believes, is an “activity in which a person physically competes against another in contest with established regulations and procedures, with the immediate object of succeeding in that contest under criteria for determining victory that are different from those that mark success in everyday life”. Furthermore, he explains that sport cannot exist without opponents and the measurement of success or failure, and that most forms of physical recreation could become athletic competition when performances begin to be compared. Following on from this line of thought, Poliakoff excludes a number of forms of combat under these conditions: fencing, armed duelling and gladiatorial events.
This stating of terms of the definition of sport is arguably the most prominent of arguments in this chapter. As Donald Kyle, author of Sport and Spectacle, rightly suggests, some may indeed question his approach to the exclusion of fencing, duelling and gladiatorial combat. Whilst other reviewers such as Stephen Instone comment on Poliakoff’s general lack of argument, and some just waive this chapter as satisfactory, All...
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...liakoff. The Journal of Hellenic Studies , 109, 256-257.
Kyle, D. (1989). Review of Combat Sports in the Ancient World: Competition, Violence and Culture by Michael B. Poliakoff. The American Historical Review , 94 (1), 106.
Kyle, D. (2007). Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World. Blackwell Publishing.
Matthews, V. J. (1988). Review of Combat Sports in the Ancient World: Competition, Violence, and Culture by Michael B. Poliakoff. Phoenix , 42 (3), 270-272.
Pleket, H. W. (1989). Review of Combat Sports in the Ancient World: Competition, Violence, and Culture by Michael B. Poliakoff. The Classical Review , 39 (1), 107-109.
Poliakoff, M. B. (1987). Combat Sports in the Ancient World. Yale University.
Scanlon, T. F. (1989). Review of Combat Sports in the Ancient World: Competition, Violence, and Culture by Michael B. Poliakoff. The Classical World , 82 (6), 482.
“No man ever proves himself a good man in war unless he can endure to face the blood and the slaughter, go against the enemy and fight with his hands.” The preceding was quoted from “The Spartan creed” by the poet Tyrtaeus. There are two authors in this primary resource reading which include Tyrtaeus as well as Xenophon, whom authored “The laws and customs of the Spartans”. These two works give great detail to the Spartan society. As history has presented it, Sparta was a smaller polis and yet was one of the most, if not most, influential societies in history. What we know of this culture comes to us from excavation of its heritage as well as literary works such as these. But are these “eyes” into history factual and creditable enough to base our own interpretations of such a masterful race? These writings are great resources for Spartan’s war enhanced values and societal customs, but lack in evidence of governmental affairs and religion. This lacking may have been due to both writer’s motives for their work.
The imaginative recreation of sport as play has become the world. There is not the slightest sign here of any other reality; even the existence of a creator external to the play-world may now only be inferred (Berman 219).
During their travels the Trojans often played games and had competition, this principle of honor and competition would develop a type of mastery within the nation. But even so competition is a catalyst for anger and hatred that can boil men’s blood, so did it build or break the Roman empire? In either case it happened, which did improve the men’s strength from athletic competitions and grew the culture immensely, but also inspired a competition that had the ability to ruin the people’s love for each-other. In addition this competition has inspired western culture even today with the Olympics and sports. Aeneas’ men were inspired and motivated in their competition which led them to pushing and working harder than their normal capacity would allow, so this competition helped the people work harder than thought possible. Although the side-effects of things like this could be problematic the good that comes from it outweighs the problems, and it is a principle for nations to seek out correctly. In conclusion the competition of the Romans inspired men and women to go beyond their natural capacities and do great things for their nation, proving that it acted as a type of masterful competition against one’s
Training was hard for these great warriors, they often trained at special gladiator schools, the largest of which was connected to the great Coliseum by underground passages. Here they learned how to fight skillfully with swords, daggers, nets, chains, and an...
Halsall, Paul."Ancient History Sourcebook: 11th Brittanica: Sparta." Fordham University: The Jesuit of New York. Fordham University, n.d. Web.17 Feb 2014.
Lendon, J. E. Soldiers & Ghosts A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity. Yale U 2005
Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Print. The. Sekunda, Nick. A. The Spartan Army.
The Gladiators – History’s Most Deadly Sport. New York: St. Martin’s Press/Thomas Dunne Books, 2003. Potter, David S. and David J. Mattingly, eds. Life, Death and Entertainment in the Roman Empire. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 1998.
Duels and the act of dueling is something that has characterized not only the imagination of historians and modern warfare enthusiasts, but also the minds of writers and readers of literature for years. The numerous literary variations on the theme of dueling are enough of an indication of its importance, and the fascination with the act continues to increase. However, dueling is more than a literary climax or a plot twist; duels have been being fought for centuries and are actually derivatives of many medieval practices.
Farris, Dale. "Shutt, Timothy B.: A History of Ancient Sparta." Library Journal 15 May 2009: 45.
This high-demanding sporting event definitely must be one of the ultimate exceptions of our time. The 1820s and 1830s were marked by increased urbanization and industrialization, which stimulated a need for new and accessible diversions. The mood of society at large was captured in Beyond the Ring with this classic line, “Men, women, and children who cannot live on gravity alone, need something to satisfy their lighter moods and hours”(4). Leisure’s and, more importantly, boxing’s opponents lost further ground as the giant cities attracted more and more immigrants who were unfamiliar to limitations upon amusements and games.
War has been around for the past couple of centuries now. A question that comes out of many people’s mouths’ is, “Is war the answer?” Centuries ago people may have agreed, however for nowadays maybe not so much. In the BC time era, men were trained to fight with their bodies as their weapons and to take no mercy when it comes to the enemy. If one were to dishonor their kind or betray them, the consequences would be a painful death. The following information portrayed in this essay is to discuss the causes of the Peloponnesian War, who won the war and why they conquered a nice victory.
Research guided by conflict theory generally falls into the following categories: 1) studies of how athletes become alienated from their own bodies; 2) studies of how sports can be used to coerce and control people; 3) studies of sports and the development of commercialism in society; 4) studies of sports and various forms of nationalism and militarism; and 5) studies of sports and racism and sexism. (Coakley, 1998) In the book, Meggyesy provided examples of each of these categories which occurred during his footba...
...at the two fighters are civilized individuals, not barbaric brutes. Do these fighters look like barbarians who want to brutally kill each other? Unlike a barbaric death match, these athletes are not trying to kill one another; they are simply participating in a sport that they love and abiding by the rules and regulations. They love the sport so much because it takes an enormous amount of time and dedication to excel at it. It has the same exact concept for the athletes as other sports, which consists of training hard and eating, sleeping, and breathing the sport.
Because of the tranquil times, the civilization’s society had more time to focus on writing, math, astronomy, and artistic fields, as well as trade and metallurgy. Out of all the city-states of Greece, two excelled over all the rest, Sparta and Athens. Even though they were the most advanced and strong civilizations, they were bitter enemies. While Athens focused mainly on the people’s democracy and citizen rights, Sparta were ferocious and enslaved its original inhabitants, making them unable to leave and kept under a close eye to prevent insurgence (History of Greece:The Golden Age of Greece). Additionally, Sparta had strict and trained soldiers that underwent intense physical exercising and instruction.