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A Visitor's Guide to the Ancient Olympics Paperback – Illustrated, May 1, 2012
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An essential book for the 21st-century citizen who seeks a lively guided tour of the ancient Greek Olympics
What was it like to attend the Olympics in 388 B.C.? Would the experience resemble Olympic festivals as we celebrate them today? This remarkable book transports us back to the heyday of the city-state and classical Greek civilization. It invites us to enter this distant, alien, but still familiar culture and discover what the Greeks did and didn't do during five thrilling days in August 2,400 years ago.
In the Olympic Stadium there were no stands, no shade—and no women allowed. Visitors sat on a grassy bank in the searing heat of midsummer to watch naked athletes compete in footraces, the pentathlon, horse and chariot races, and three combat sports—wrestling, boxing, and pankration, everyone's favorite competition, with virtually no rules and considerable blood and pain. This colorfully illustrated volume offers a complete tour of the Olympic site exactly as athletes and spectators found it. The book evokes the sights, sounds, and smells of the crowded encampment; introduces the various attendees (from champions and charlatans to aristocrats and prostitutes); and explains the numerous exotic religious rituals. Uniquely detailed and precise, this guide offers readers an unparalleled opportunity to travel in time, back to the excitement of ancient Olympia.
- Print length272 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherYale University Press
- Publication dateMay 1, 2012
- Dimensions4.96 x 0.79 x 8.44 inches
- ISBN-100300159072
- ISBN-13978-0300159073
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“…the book has a true pagan tang and is completely fascinating.”—Duncan Fallowell, Daily Express -- Duncan Fallowell ― Daily Express Published On: 2012-03-30
“…an entertaining and informative read.”—Hertfordshire Life ― Hertfordshire Life Published On: 2012-04-01
“Forget London 2012. Want to know what it was like to attend the Olympics 2,400 years ago? Then pick up a copy of Neil Faulkner’s A Visitor’s Guide to the Ancient Olympics. Written in the style of a travel guide, the book tells you everything you would want to know—including how to get there, where to stay, and what to eat—about attending the Olympics in 388 B.C.” —Jason Zasky, Failure Magazine -- Jason Zasky ― Failure Magazine
“A Visitor's Guide to the Ancient Olympics should appeal to a broad set of readers.”—N.S. Gill, About.com -- N.S. Gill ― About.com
“[Faulkner writes] with great vim and panache.”
“Into and around his descriptions of the Olympic events Faulkner contrives to weave very skilfully indeed a rich texture of social, economic, political – in a word, cultural – history. Yale University Press have produced an attractively illustrated volume in a handy, pocketable format: just the thing to take with you to the beach volleyball in Horse Guards Parade this July, perhaps.”—Paul Cartledge, BBC History Magazine
-- Paul Cartledge ― BBC History Magazine Published On: 2012-06-01“A neat idea, stylishly executed.”—Independent i ― Independent i Published On: 2012-05-25
“Walk for days and miles along treacherous roads in the heat of the summer. Fight crowds of thousands for a place to camp. Search for water. And, by all means, try to steer clear of the fetid trash and waste that breed disease all around you. (Read: no trash cans and no toilets.). These are the conditions described in archaeologist Neil Faulkner’s new book A Visitor’s Guide to the Ancient Olympics, a manual for any would-be Games-goer in ancient Greece . . . Ultimately the ancient Olympics were more of an epic frat party full of booze and sex than a prestigious sporting competition, and Faulkner paints that picture well.”—Moira E. McLaughlin, The Washington Post -- Moira E. McLaughlin ― The Washington Post
"Written in the style of a chatty tourist guide, it offers a beguiling glimpse into a largely alien world, vibrant but chaotic."—Good Book Guide ― Good Book Guide Published On: 2012-07-01
“A Visitor’s Guide to the Ancient Olympics is a lively, thoroughly researched account of a spectacle perhaps best appreciated from a distance.”—Bill Littefield, WBUR
-- Bill Littefield ― WBUR’s “It’s Only a Game” Published On: 2002-07-28“A Visitor's Guide to the Ancient Olympics (Yale University Press)[offers], a funny, fascinating way of learning about ancient Greece, its religious and social attitudes, the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat. It is jauntily written as a true guidebook, with hints on how to get the most out of your visit, so this is history written in an amusing and accessible form. “—Rob Hardy, The Columbus Dispatch
-- Rob Hardy ― The Columbus Dispatch Published On: 2002-06-16“The author takes us 2,400 years back to the heyday of the city-state of Olympia. . . A time-travel guide at its best, this book reconstructs the sights, sounds and smells of the events as it conveys the excitement of the games.”—Svetlana Grobman, The Columbia Daily Journal
-- Svetlana Grobman ― The Columbia Daily Journal Published On: 2020-07-08About the Author
Neil Faulkner is research fellow at the University of Bristol, fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and codirector of several field projects. A freelance archaeologist and historian, his previous books include Apocalypse: The Great Jewish Revolt against Rome and Rome: Empire of the Eagles. He lives in Herts, UK.
Product details
- Publisher : Yale University Press; Illustrated edition (May 1, 2012)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 272 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0300159072
- ISBN-13 : 978-0300159073
- Item Weight : 14 ounces
- Dimensions : 4.96 x 0.79 x 8.44 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,617,256 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #648 in Olympic Games
- #2,715 in Ancient Greek History (Books)
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So it was with great curiosity I started reading "A Visitors Guide to the Ancient Olympics" by Neil Faulkner. The conceit is to imagine a an interested barbarian who wished to go to the Olympic Games in 388 B.C. He assures you that you, the traveler, will be fairly safe as this is a pilgrimage and protected by all the Greeks. (By the way, you are a male, females, other than slaves and whores are not allowed.)Then he disabuses you on how easy it would be to get there. The trip, whether by land or by sea, is arduous, expensive and uncomfortable. And when you get there, here is what you find: The tiny valley is full of 100,000 Greeks, the temperature is in the 100s and there is little shade. There are no accommodations, so you sleep where you can find a spot on the ground, this is where the author tells us what few other describers of the past will tell you: There is no place to take a crap. There are no latrines, there is scarcely enough water to drink and none to wash in. There will be parties all night during your 5 day visit, so forget about sleep, just lie down anyplace you can for a few hours. With luck you may meet a gregarious plutocrat who will invite you to a symposium in his tent, If so, enjoy. (How to comport yourself is described.) So here you are with the stench of 100,000 unwashed humans with no sanitary facilities in the middle of the fly filled summer.
Meanwhile the book describes in great detail the buildings you will see, the statuary and its meaning and the myths surrounding the Olympics, which by this time is already over 300 years old. You learn about language, culture, mores, measurement, currency, what entertainment you might find. (It's O.K. to drink, not O.K. to not hold your liquor. Women and boys, if either is your taste, are available.) You will also learn about the athletes their training and events which take place and from where best to watch them. You learn what you can eat, the crank diets of the day, the medical practice (pray you do not become ill), and how to comport yourself in a manner which will allow you to absorb as much as possible and not get into trouble.
The pedophile culture which was part of the Greek culture and are an accepted part of being an athlete was impossible for me to put my mind into. The Penn State Jerry Sandusky pedophile scandal was unfolding as I read this book, and I simply felt lucky the I enjoyed my student athlete days without having to suffer abuse.
Another point the book made I was unaware of, or at least had not considered, was that Sparta had practiced eugenics on a scale not attempted again until Hitler. Yet even though it lasted generations, the Spartans did not take over the world while Athenian thought did and became the basis of all Western Civilization.
This is a remarkable book. Who would have thought you could travel in your mind so successfully anywhere, especially to an event which took place 2,400 years ago. If you have an interest in this time period, or in the Olympics I highly recommend this book, you will come away enlightened.
You can count on buying fast food cooked by the vendors in the Olympic Village. Self-catering is difficult, but might be best done in a group. Expect to haggle over prices. The best bet is to try to get yourself invited to someone else's feast; as a stranger, you are under divine protection, and the Greeks are hospitable, and there are plenty of oxen sacrificed to Zeus but eaten by the crowd. Forget staying at an inn; there are none. Even the rich will have to share in the general discomfort. There is stagnant heat in the summer, there is not enough water to drink let alone bathe in, there are flies and malarial mosquitoes, there are no toilets. No one sleeps properly, because there are parties all night long, and drunks wandering around. The stadium is built for 40,000 spectators, but more than twice that will be trying to crowd in, and with everyone suffering from exhaustion, expect there to be quarrelling. Women do not compete at the games, nor do they attend; wives do not accompany their husbands, and if a woman is found trying to sneak a view of the competition, she is to be thrown off the cliffs of nearby Mount Typhaion. There are women around the Olympic village, ready to sell sex, from the concubine to the street prostitute (who may be a slave). The section "Gay Scene" will inform you about the casual Greek enthusiasm for homosexual pursuits, especially toward young men. It is important to realize that although there are no money prizes at Olympia (which is nonetheless the supreme contest in a sports-crazy Greece), the top-level athletes competing there were full-time professionals from the aristocracy. Farmers and businessmen had no time for sports at this level. There were chariot races and the pentathlon (a combination of discus, long jump, javelin, short sprint, and wrestling). The events were interrupted for scheduled parades, devotions, and sacrifices; as much time was spent doing religious rites as athletic ones. The most popular events were held last, the brutal boxing and wrestling, and finally the top spectator sport in Greece, the _pankration_ ("all-power event"), a bloody battle that was almost literally no-holds-barred. The fighters were not to bite or gouge eyes, but anything else was permitted, including making targets of the genitals.
Faulkner the guide has helpfully included retellings of the legends of heroes that inspired the Olympic competitors. He has a section on the "Must-See Monuments" you will not want to miss while you are there. He describes the Pelops Heritage Trail ("If you have a day to spare, why not spend it paying tribute to one of the mythological forefathers of the Games?"). He is full of practical advice for those who may be new to the confusing blend of religion and sports. "The best advice, therefore, is always to do as other do. Matters can become very rowdy at times, but then a solemn calm can suddenly descend. Do not get caught out." You can take this guide with you when you travel back to Olympia 2,400 years ago, and it will be invaluable, but it is one of those few guidebooks that is worth reading page by page.
Top reviews from other countries
The book is written in the style of a travel guidebook dated from the year 388 BC. In the beginning, this is quite funny - like the sections on accomodation (there is none, except finding some space to put up a tent), toilet facilities (there are none) or food and drink (try to get yourself invited to a rich man's symposion). However, this analogy does not carry too far. Soon, the book adopts the sober style of a history textbook, complete with footnotes. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but the style gets rather dry compared to the extremely humorous book "Ancient Athens on Five Drachmas a Day" which served as a kind of inspiring example for this book.
Really annoying is, however, the redundancy of the Guide to the Ancient Olympics. I have not counted, but that only rich aristocrats could afford participating in the Olympic Games is repeated at least 30, probably more like 50 times. Same is true for mentioning the stench (no toilets), that things can get rowdy, that women are not allowed on the grounds etc. The endless repeating is so unnerving that I gave 4 stars only for this otherwise excellent book.