Power Games: Ritual and Rivalry at the Ancient Greek Olympics - Tapa blanda

'David Stuttard can make language crack and spark like an electric storm.' --Yorkshire Evening Press

'[Stuttard's] prose is admirably direct and accessible.' --The Guardian

Stuttard s writing is immensely readable and engaging. Empathetic descriptions of the often rather unpleasant- conditions for spectators and competitiors are interspersed with clear factual descriptions of the site and the events, as well as interludes of telescoped history from before and after 416BC which help to contextualize and explain the events themselves. --BBC History Magazine

Power; the power of the gods; the power of Greek cities; the power of the human body: all these were celebrated at the ancient Olympic Games. Ancient Olympia symbolized excellence and supremacy in every sense of the word, not only athletic, but also political. Every four years, this international festival – carefully timed to coincide with the August full moon – drew the strongest and fastest athletic champions, hoping to win glory for their city-state. With them came the ruling elite, equally intent on displaying their city’s power and prestige by excelling at the Games. After the athletic contests, Olympia also served as the ideal forum for political parleys and alliances. This absorbing narrative, told from a spectator’s viewpoint, revolves around the Games of 416 BC – a turning point in Greek politics when a cold war between Athens and other major cities was about to erupt into bloody fighting. The reader vividly experiences what it was like to be there, to witness the rituals, official banquets, bloody contests, victory celebrations and subsequent political parleys.