Ancient War Games  Spring 2020  Final Exam Study Guide

BRONZE AGE According to the evidence, who was mostly engaging in sports spectacles
at this time, and for what reasons? What sports/events were they taking
part in and what was involved?
Mesopotamia- combat sports, running, hunting; rulers showing off
Egypt- combat, running, ball games, hunting; public displays and rulers showing off
Don’t forget: Mesopotamia (e.g., Shulgi of Ur III the long-distance runner,
Ashurbanipal’s lion-hunt friezes); Egypt; Minoan Crete; the Mycenaeans
Shulgi- ran 100km in one day
Ashurbanipal- killed lions
Key terms: pharaoh, Sed run, bull-leaping, Late Bronze Age Collapse
Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age, a transition which historians believe was violent, sudden,
and culturally disruptive.
Bull-leaping is minoan sport
Sed festival- Egypt; pharohs would run to show their physical ability

HOMER What period(s) of Greek social history do we think the Iliad and Odyssey
reflect? What kind of sporting events are depicted in the poems? What is
the social status of the competitors? What are the characters’ attitudes
toward athletic prowess as opposed to military glory?
Written in 8th BCE, written down in 6th BCE, maybe in Athens
Represents Part Mycenaean/ Late bronze age with some iron age transitional period
Iliad- funeral games for patroklos, idle myrmidons recreation
Odyssey- idle suitors, phaiakians hospitality games, beggars boxing match, bow (suitor contest)

Don’t forget: The funeral games for Patroclus in the Iliad; how prizes were
allocated and what the participants stood to gain (or lose) from taking
part
Key terms: epic, funeral games

ARCHAIC GREECE What kinds of sporting contests were held in this period and what kinds
of people took part in them? What kind of sporting/athletic culture
 develops in the Greek city-states during this period? How does that
culture relate to (a) warfare and (b) colonization?
Panhellenic- compete for crown, amateur or pure
Local/civic- compete for money, professional, corrupt

Funeralgames and festivals

Aristocratic traditions fade with the rise
Changed the methods and participation of warfare, created meritocratic competition in athletic
festivals
but I will expect you to know that there were no team events at the Panhellenic festivals; that
competitors were sorted into different age groups (men, young men, boys);
that there were artistic events at the Pythian Games but not the Olympics;
and so on.

Don’t forget: aristocratic vs. festival games; Panhellenic vs. civic games;
gymnasium culture and intersections with social class and sexuality
Key terms: periodos, gymnasium, athletic nudity, pederasty
Nudity- maleness ethnicity statues freedom priviledge
Gyms- Emerged in archaic age, origins are debated. Earliest gymnasia were sites at the edges of
towns for exercise.
Adoption of the hoplite phalanx (infantry) led to the emergence of the gymnasium to exercise
and train

CROWN GAMES How were the Panhellenic festivals alike and different (with emphasis on
the Olympic and Pythian Games)? How has the ancient Olympics been
idealized in modern times, and what were the realities?
(Pythian)Delphi- Apollo, laurel; emphasis on the arts(singing, instuments, plays, poems
Isthmia- Poseideon, pine; drowned boy origin myth, place for speeches/announcements
Nemea- Zeus, celery; orgin myth was funeral games for an infant

Don’t forget: setting, religious aspects, prizes, origin myths, rules,

program of events (i.e., what sports were featured?), spectator
experience (and how Herodes Atticus, a.k.a. The Man, improved it at
Olympia)
Prices- palm, fillets, olive leaf crown
Spectators- uncomfortable
Atticus- bought fountain, seating at athens; at delphi a concert hall and baths
Key terms: oracle, mousikos agon, pentathlon, pankration, Olympic oath,
Olympic truce, Zanes
Zanes- bronze staues of zeus made of oney from those who mock the games
Mousikos agon- musical comp
Pentahlon- footrace, discus, jump, jav, wrestlin
Pankration- wrestling and boxing mix
Truce- no war during games

ATHENS How was athletics integrated into Athenian life and ideology? How did
the Athenians reward victors in the Panhellenic festivals?
Panathenaia- all athenian festival- celelbrate new year, and athena
Prizes- olive oil
Don’t forget: the Greater Panathenaia, how it was like/unlike the Olympic
Games and how it served both to strengthen Athenian community bonds
and improve Athens’ image abroad
Athletic, musical, dramatic contests + rituals
Key terms: Greater Panathenaia, Panathenaic amphora, tribal contests
Tribe comps- pyrrhic dance, manly beauty, torch relay, contest of ships
Amphora- olive oil holder
Greater games held every 4 yrs
SPARTA How was athletics integrated into Spartan life and ideology? How did the
Spartans reward victors in the Panhellenic festivals?
Militaristic; focused on discipline, toughness, and male bonding

Don’t forget: the state-run physical education system for both boys and
girls; the special importance of initiations as occasions for sport/games
Key terms: Agoge, initiation
Initiation- ball battle, plant tree-grove(opposing team off island), Diamastigosis (cheese
stealing)
Agoge- militaristic, collective ethos institutionalized in education system (leading)
ATHLETES How might an athlete’s victories be rewarded/celebrated/remembered
on the spot and back home, at the time and in later years? What mythical
heroes were athletes and what real-life athletes became heroes?
Given palm branch, vicorty lap
Back at home- truimp entry into city, free meals, maybe statues

Don’t forget: the ancient meaning of hero(ization); opportunities to gain

wealth and/or power from athletic victory; commemorative art and
poetry
Treating someone as a hero
Key terms: heroization, victory ode, Olympic victor lists
Key names: Herakles, Milo of Kroton, Kleomedes of Astypalaia,
Theagenes of Thasos, Diagoras of Rhodes and his family, Pindar,
Alcibiades
• Kyniska of Sparta – first female Olympic victor
• Milo of Kroton – wrestler (31 crown wins), defeated a bull, died in tree, eaten by beast
• The Diagorids of Rhodes – boxers, said to be son of Hermes
• Kleomedes of Astypalaia – boxer who pulls down roof of school and kills kids; “last of heros”
must be worshiped
• Theagenes of Thasos – boxer, son of Herakles, had his statue kill someone
• Polydamas of Skotoussa- lion wrestling like Herakles, statue thought to have healed fevers

WOMEN What opportunities were there for women to participate in competitive

sports in Greece? How did that change from place to place or over time?
Spartan women were considered shocking/alluring
-nude performance
There were athletic contests for freeborn women b/c strong women= strong kids
Kyniska of Sparta was first Olympic victor

No female spectators- thrown off Mt. Typaion

Heraia- footrace for women

Little bears of Brauron- sanctuary to Artemis; all female

 Don’t forget: the heroine Atalanta; rules regarding women at Olympia
(but also Diagoras’ daughter); regional variations (e.g., Sparta, Hellenistic
Egypt)
Key terms: Heraia- footrace for women
Key names: Kyniska of Sparta- first female olympic victor (chariot race)

MACEDON, ETC. How were Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander involved with
sport? What were their attitudes toward sport, esp. in relation to war?
Phillip- Used sport and sanctuaries to legitimize his extension of power over Greece. Competed
in 4horse chariot races
Alexander- disdained in athletics (was swift-footed). Did have ad hoc games for his troops
What role did athletics play in the vast Hellenistic (i.e., Greek-like) empire divided into
separate kingdoms upon Alexander’s death?
Festivals/spectacles played into relations betw. cities; cities + rulers; Greek (Hellenic), Greek-like
(Hellenistic), non-Greek
Rulers improve/expand facilities, sponsor/subsidize athletes, host/endow new games or
displays, and/or seek prestige of original Panhellenic games
Gymnasia, ephebeia= markers of status for Greeks over non-Greek locals

Don’t forget: Philip’s control of Delphi and Olympia; sports in Alexander’s

army; athletics as an index of Greekness
Key terms: Philippeion, sports diplomacy, Hellenization, iso- titles
New festivals sought “iso-” titles to be on par (sort of) w/ Panhellenic crown games

ETRUSCANS How might they have influenced Roman sport/spectacle?

Don’t forget: Rome’s Etruscan kings and the first Ludi Romani; the Phersu
game and Roman blood sport; the apparent social divide between
athletes and spectators in Etruscan (and Roman) society
Key terms: Phersu game- - blindfolded man w/ club being attacked by a
large dog and attended by a masked figure named Phersu holding a whip

ARENA POLITICS What were the origins of ludi circenses (‘circus games’) and gladiatorial
munera? What was the religious context for these events and how were
they politicized over time?
Ludi Romani- founded by Etruscan king. First use of circus maximus for racing
Ludi Apollinares- established by senate following seer’s prophecy. Made annual after plague
Ludi Megalenses- celebrate Great Mother Goddess(Kybele)
Politicized bc individually subsidized
What kinds of steps did the Senate take to control ambitious politicians’ manipulation of
sport/spectacle? How were games organized differently under the
empire?
Lex Calpurnia (67 BCE): imposes fines, penalties on those convicted of electoral bribery
Lex Tullia(63 BCE): politicians can’t give munerawithin two years of running for office w/o proof
that it’s for a funeral
Don’t forget: Caelius and the panthers; laws about electoral bribery and
the keeping of gladiators
Caelius to Cicero- wants Greek panthers, so Cicero sent panthers
Key terms: ludi, munera, aedile, Spartacus War
Ludi- game, sport
munus (pl. munera)- duty, service, tribute

VENUES Where did Roman sporting spectacles take place? How did those
structures evolve and how did they symbolize/embody Roman military
power?
Amphitheaters
Early amphitheaters had in common: simple design; elliptical arena w/ seating around; use of
topography to support seating; no substructures; location on edge of/just
outside town
Don’t forget: the Circus Maximus, and how it can be identified in art; the
Flavian Amphitheater (a.k.a. the Colosseum); circuses and amphitheaters
as multi-purpose venues
Colo- Begun 75CE by Vespasian, dedicated 80CE by son/heir Titus after Vespasian’s death
4 stories high, on concrete foundation 12m deep, faced w/ marble
Room for 45000-55000 people; spectors protected by spiked
People segregated by class/gender
Victory monument financed w/ manubie
Hypogeum–network of passages, chambers, cages, elevators, ramps, etc. under (lost) wooden
floor –added or enlarged by Domitian
Sparsiones (perfumed water) + distributions of gifts, food, tokens (missilia) dropped on crowd
from above

Key terms: circus, Circus Maximus, amphitheater, Colosseum

CHARIOT RACING How did magistrates go about organizing chariot-racing games? What was
the social status of the people involved in the sport? What did a
charioteer stand to gain or lose by taking part?
Don’t forget: the faction system; the career of Gaius Appuleius Diocles;
Nero’s obsession with and participation in the sport
Key terms: faction, curse tablet

ANIMAL SHOWS What were the origins of hunt shows (venationes)? What was involved in
these events and what factors determined whether or not they pleased
the audience? What was hunters’ social status? How were they
equipped?

- First displays for military victory

- Sponsoring animal shows could help politicians curry favor with voters
The hunter- trained in Ludus Matutinus (morning school); sometimes wore armor, but often
leather tunic and long spear
-when there were fewer animals, lower viewer satisfaction
Spectator outrage of killing of elephants at Pompey event

Don’t forget: Caelius and his panthers (again); Pompey and the elephants;
Commodus’ decision to appear as a beast-fighter in the arena
Key terms: venatio

EXECUTIONS How were spectacular executions different from hunt shows and
gladiator fights? Who might be executed publicly and how might it be
staged?
- Primarily noncitizens
- Usually uneven fight between wild animals; or could be killed by gladiators
- Fatal charades
 Don’t forget: the legal principle that the punishment should fit the crime
Key terms: fatal charades- theatrical vignettes restaging history, myth, or
literature for death at midday

GLADIATORS Who became gladiators? Where and how did they train? How were fights
organized and carried out? What could a gladiator expect from his life
(and death)? How can we explain (a) gladiators’ willingness to fight, kill,
and die and (b) spectators’ pleasure in watching?
POW, Slaves, convicted criminals, freeborn vols, the occasional emperor.

Housed in small groups in cells. Fighters divided by skill level. Ate a lot of beans, barley, calcium
drink. Staff massaged fighters. Excellent medical care.
Don’t forget: gladiator graffiti from Pompeii and the kind of information it
conveys; the legal concept of infamia; the Pompeii amphitheater riot, and
how it wasn’t really about gladiators; Commodus and other volunteers
Pmpeii- - fight between nuceria and pompeii
Key terms: ludus, armature, missio, system justification, confrontational
tension, affective dispositions, infamia

WATER SHOWS What was involved in water shows? Who organized them, and why?
Leaders organized them for triumps, victories, and dedications. They made artificial lakes or the
colosseum.

Don’t forget: Claudius and Lake Fucinus (“Those who are about to die…”)
Key terms: naumachia- naval battle

CHRISTIANS Why did the Romans distrust Christians? When/under what

circumstances did the persecution of Christians intensify in the Empire?
What did these persecutions entail? How did Christian writers feel about
the games?
It was an irrational monotheistic faith. Worship of executed criminal.

Nero blamed Christians, they were publicly executed.

Trajan- Christians will not be sought out, can prove they are not Christian. No anonymous
accusations, they are dangerous.
3rd century- More Christians= natural disasters. Political turmoil, and military instability.
Christians threaten public order, pax romana, god’s favor.
judicial severity. Public trials with no appeals. Crowd picks punishment.
Don’t forget: Nero and the Great Fire; Trajan’s letter to Pliny the Younger;
the big, bad 3rd century CE; the martyrdom of Perpetua
Key terms: martyr(dom)- death or suffering from advocating (Christian)

GREEK SPORT How did the Romans feel about Greek athletics and how did their
attitudes change with time? How did emperors get involved with Greek
sport?
Dont get naked in public, moderate exercise
Don’t forget: Cato the Elder the anti-Greek conservative;
Avoid bathing with son in law
Nero’s victory tour Victory tour feat. 1,808 ‘victories’
; Domitian, Rome’s first stadion, and the Capitoline Games; Roman-era improvements at
Olympia; the athletes’ guild clubhouse in Rome

GEOGRAPHY Be able to ID these regions: Greece, Italy, Mesopotamia, Egypt

Be able to ID these places in Greece: Olympia, Delphi, Athens, Crete
Be able to ID these places in Italy: Rome (middle left edge), Pompeii, Ta
rquinia

Shower of small wooden balls used as prize vouchers- sparsio

Person condemned on capital charges- damnatus

Staged animal hunt- venatio
Hunting corporation in North Africa. You could hire them to produce hunt shows in your name.-
telegenii
Agustus allowed seating at amp

Nero- christain prosecutions, tour

Domitian- Built the first permanent stadion in Rome, the outline of which is still visible today
Trajan-Advised Pliny the Younger on how to deal with suspected Christians in the Roman
province of Bithynia