This post has been inspired by recent posts regarding the Olympic Games. It consists of some thoughts that occurred to me when reading the posts, and various other musings from reading a number of sources over the years. What struck me most was the relative absence of women in the written and pictorial record of ancient sports. This is reflected, too, in the absence of women in the early modern… Read more
Water is best, and gold, like a blazing fire in the night, stands out supreme of all lordly wealth. But if, my heart, you wish to sing of contests, [5] look no further for any star warmer than the sun, shining by day through the lonely sky, and let us not proclaim any contest greater than Olympia. Pindar, Olympian 1, 1–7, translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien[1] The ancient Olympic Games… Read more
The Ancient Olympic Games were not the first occurrence of organized sport in the ancient world. There were funeral games, ancient Egyptian sports during the reign of the Pharaohs, and other ancient civilizations (Sumer, Hittite, Chinese etc.) most probably had forms of organized sport. It may be safe to say that the first organized sport originated long ago with whoever could launch a projectile (rock, spear, archery, or sling to… Read more
A ship operated by a dysfunctional crew is the metaphor of Plato when discussing the problems of governance in a political system not based on expert knowledge. The teller of this parable, Adeimantus, firstly asks his listener, Socrates, to imagine a ship which is in a state of mutiny, with sailors who are quarreling about the steering and take possession of the ship.[1] Hieronymus Bosch: The Ship of Fools, c.… Read more
The wine-transporting ships of Portus The third century marble plaque of the Collezione Torlonia—as represented in Figure 1— is a votive dedicated to the wine god Liber—Bacchus.[1] The relief represents a ship arriving at Rome’s imperial seaport Portus. A line of waves frames the lower side of the decoration on the relief. On the left the waves are high and on the right the waves are low. The left of… Read more