Olympia and the Classical Hellenic City-State Culture

[...]N. argues that conict with the Persians prompted the Greeks to restrict participation in the Olympic Games by ethnicity, a largely symbolic gesture since there is no evidence that non-Greeks desired to compete (p. 20). Chapter 5 is devoted to Elis and its political ambitions, expressed through...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Classical Review 2009, Vol.59 (1), p.308-309
Main Author: Downie, Susan
Format: Review
Language:English
Subjects:
Greek language
Herodotus (c. 484 – 425/413 BCE)
Notices
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Summary:[...]N. argues that conict with the Persians prompted the Greeks to restrict participation in the Olympic Games by ethnicity, a largely symbolic gesture since there is no evidence that non-Greeks desired to compete (p. 20). Chapter 5 is devoted to Elis and its political ambitions, expressed through control of the sanctuary and its games, which were often conducted with an eye to contemporary political agendas (p. 35). Because of this, the Eleians repeatedly fought wars against much more powerful enemies to maintain control over Olympia. By showing that athletic excellence can both dene an entire culture and The Classical Review vol. 59 no. 1 The Classical Association 2009; all rights reserved the classical review 309 dierentiate poleis within it, N. reminds us that the criteria of ethnic identity are shifting and polysemantic.
ISSN:0009-840X
1464-3561
DOI:10.1017/S0009840X08003120