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Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World, 2nd Edition (Ancient Cultures) 2nd Edition

by Donald Kyle (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 45 ratings
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The second edition of Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World updates Donald G. Kyle’s award-winning introduction to this topic, covering the Ancient Near East up to the late Roman Empire.

• Challenges traditional scholarship on sport and spectacle in the Ancient World and debunks claims that there were no sports before the ancient Greeks

• Explores the cultural exchange of Greek sport and Roman spectacle and how each culture responded to the other’s entertainment

• Features a new chapter on sport and spectacle during the Late Roman Empire, including Christian opposition to pagan games and the Roman response

• Covers topics including violence, professionalism in sport, class, gender and eroticism, and the relationship of spectacle to political structures

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  1. ISBN-10
    9781118613566
  2. ISBN-13
    978-1118613566
  3. Edition
    2nd
  4. Publisher
    Wiley-Blackwell
  5. Publication date
    December 31, 2014
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    7.5 x 0.85 x 9.75 inches
  8. Print length
    376 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“This is without a doubt the single best overview of ancient sport. Donald Kyle delivers a clear, lively, and detailed account that reflects his unmatched erudition and insight.”- Paul Christesen, Department of Classics, Dartmouth College

"Kyle furnishes a sophisticated and lucid account of sport and spectacle as important cultural phenomena in antiquity. Especially insightful is his treatment of both Greek and Roman sport as spectacle. Most welcome too are the relevant parallels and significant differences he observes between ancient and modern athletics." - Hugh Lee, Emeritus Professor of Classics, University of Maryland, College Park

“An excellent, wide-ranging survey of ancient sport. No other introductory volume combines the study of Greek and Roman sport and spectacle so effectively. This second edition adds a wealth of new material to the original version.” - Jason König, School of Classics, University of St Andrews

From the Inside Flap

The second edition of Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World provides an updated introduction to over 2,000 years of ancient history on this topic. Author Donald G. Kyle takes readers from the early civilizations of the Ancient Near East, through Greek and Hellenistic times, and up to the waning days of the Roman Empire. Kyle continues to challenge traditional scholarship in the field, supporting his claims with new research and new interpretation of ancient sources. Featuring more illustrations and a larger, more accessible format, the second edition is updated with the most recent scholarship and features an all-new chapter highlighting sport and spectacle during the Late Roman period. This edition also provides summaries of new discoveries such as bull-jumping mosaics in the Nile Delta, and insights into Greek athletic festivals from letters by the Roman emperor Hadrian. Clear and engaging, Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World, Second Edition is an invaluable resource for students and readers of all levels.  

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1118613562
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wiley-Blackwell; 2nd edition (December 31, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 376 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781118613566
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1118613566
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.3 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 0.85 x 9.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 45 ratings

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Donald G. Kyle

Donald G. Kyle

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
45 global ratings

Top review from the United States

A. Stover
5.0 out of 5 stars good read especially if your into sports
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2017
Verified Purchase
needed for classical studies class. good read especially if your into sports.
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Top reviews from other countries

A keen reader
5.0 out of 5 stars An scholarly and fascinating book as described by its title
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 1, 2021
Verified Purchase
I found the detail with full references to every sourcwe, the illustrations and the enourmous scope of its contents not just about sport and spectacle but so much about the social and historical context .
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Torben Retboll
4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 6, 2015
Verified Purchase
Donald G. Kyle is professor of history at the University of Texas at Arlington, USA. The first edition of his book  Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World  was published in 2007. The second edition appeared in 2014. The second edition is, in many respects, better than the first (but not in all respects: the quality of the index has not been improved; see below).

In the second edition, the text has been revised and updated, and so has the bibliography; a new chapter about late antiquity - "Romans, Christians, and Byzantines" - has been added. Overall, the second edition is a slimmer version of the first, as you can see from the following chart:

** First edition - 2007 - 15 chapters - 424 pages
** Second edition - 2014 - 16 chapters - 359 pages

Even though the second edition has one extra chapter, it is still shorter than the first. From this fact we can understand that the text was not only revised but also shortened a good deal during the process of revision.

The book begins with an introduction and ends with a conclusion, as is proper for a work of non-fiction. Between the introduction and the conclusion there are sixteen chapters. Here is the table of contents:

# 01. Origins and Essences: Early Sport and Spectacle
# 02. Late Bronze Age Minoans, Hittites, Mycenaeans
# 03. Sport in Homer: Contests, Prizes, and Honor
# 04. Archaic Greece: Athletics in an Age of Change

# 05. In Search of the Ancient Olympics
# 06. Ancient Olympia and its Games
# 07. Panhellenic Sacred Crown Games and More
# 08. Athens: City of Contents and Prizes

# 09. Spartan Sport and Physical Education
# 10. Athletes in Greek Society: Heroes, Motives, Access
# 11. Females and Greek Sport
# 12. Macedon and Hellenistic Sport and Spectacle

# 13. The Roman Republic: Festivals, Celebrations, and Games
# 14. Late Republic and Augustus: Spectacles, Popular Politics, and Empire
# 15. Spectacle, Sport, and the Roman Empire
# 16. Later Sport and Spectacles: Romans, Christians, and Byzantines

Most chapters follow a chronological line from Gilgamesh, king of Uruk around 2700 BC, to Justinian, who ruled the Byzantine Empire AD 527-565. But there are exceptions. Sometimes we have a geographical approach:

** Olympia - chapter 6
** Athens - chapter 8
** Sparta - chapter 9

Sometimes we have a thematic or topical approach:

** Sport in Homer - chapter 3
** Athletes in Greek Society - chapter 10
** Females and Greek Sport - chapter 11

Compared with the first edition, the structure has been slightly re-arranged: each chapter is now an independent unit with text, notes and bibliography in one block. In each chapter, the text is divided into several shorter sections by subheadings, which is very reader-friendly.

References to ancient sources and modern scholarship are given in two ways.

# 1: with numbers and notes placed at the end of each chapter. This method is fine. I have no objections.

# 2: in brackets in the middle of the text. This method is common but nevertheless unfortunate, because sometimes there are many references and sometimes they are quite long. The more I read, the more annoyed I am, because the reading is interrupted over and over by frequent references.

THE INDEX
As stated above, the index has not been improved. Compared with the first edition, it has been shortened from 15 to 12 pages and this was not a good decision. The index of the first edition is annotated and comprehensive, because it covers ancient authors as well as modern scholars. The index of the second edition has no annotations and it is incomplete, because most ancient authors and all modern scholars have been eliminated. Here are a few examples:

Herodotus is in the index, but Hesiod is not; Pindar is in the index, but Plutarch is not; Euripides is mentioned in the text, but not listed in the index. Three famous charioteers are mentioned on page 296: Diocles, Polynices, and Scorpus. Can you find them in the index? No. The famous charioteer Porphyrius is mentioned on page 338. Can you find him in the index? No. I could offer more examples, but I think you get the point by now.

It is a shame the index has suffered in this way. I do not understand why anyone would wish to cause so much damage in order to save just three pages in a book that has almost four hundred pages.

THE VISUAL ASPECT
There are 50 illustrations in this book: 44 pictures, four maps and two tables. Fortunately, they are not placed in one block, as some publishers like to do; they are placed where they are relevant, i.e. next to or near the place where they are mentioned in the text, which is very reader-friendly.

While the illustrations are well chosen, they are all in black-and-white and the general quality is not high. In some cases, the quality is very low, for instance figure 1.3 on page 33 and figure 1.4 on page 86. It is almost impossible to see what is what, because they are almost black-on-black!

Figure 15.2 on page 294 shows a chariot race in Circus Maximus. There are many details here, but it is almost impossible to see them, because the illustration is so small. It measures only 5 x 12 cm. This motive deserves a full page.

Figure 15.6 on page 310 is the famous Magerius mosaic from North Africa. The size of the original mosaic is ca. 2 x 3 meters. In the book it is reduced to 9 x 12 cm. This motive deserves a full page in colour. A colour version appears in  The Victor's Crown  by David Potter (2011). While Potter's version is in colour, it is even smaller than Kyle's: it measures only 7.5 x 11.5 cm.

On the front cover of the second edition there is a picture of the boxer at rest. The caption on the back cover reads: "Bronze statue of boxer from the Thermae of Constantine, 3rd-2nd centuries BC. Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome, Italy." This picture is in colour, and it is much better than the black-and-white pictures inside the book. All illustrations should have been in colour. With colour illustrations, the quality of this book would have been much higher.

When I see a picture on the front cover of a book, I assume the motive is discussed in the book. This is not the case here. The boxer is not even mentioned! Therefore I will add a few words about him here:

The famous statue was discovered during construction work on the Quirinal Hill in Rome in 1885. In June and July 2013, he was on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (colloquially known as the Met), just as this book was being prepared for publication. Perhaps this is why the publisher decided to place this picture on the front cover of the book. If you google "The boxer at rest" or "The boxer from Quirinal," you will find several websites with information about him (text and pictures).

As you can see, the visual aspect is not exactly the strong side of this book. The illustrations are well chosen, but their quality is not high, because the publisher did not want to go for colour illustrations. In a book about sport, the visual aspect is very important. It is a shame the publisher does not understand this obvious point.

SPORTING EVENTS
What kind of sport was practiced in ancient Greece? A table of sporting events at Olympia is found on page 116. The table includes the following events: boxing, running (short, medium and long distance), wrestling, chariot racing, and horseback racing.

What kind of sport was practiced in ancient Rome? Several types are mentioned on page 262: boxing, discus, javelin, jumping, running, swimming, and wrestling. To these we can add gladiator games and the hunting of wild animals in the amphitheatre and chariot racing in the circus.

As you can see, all types are individual activities. Neither ancient Greece nor ancient Rome had any team sports.

NOT FOR THE BEGINNER
The text is well written and well organised. The author is an expert who knows his topic very well, and he knows how to convey this knowledge in a reader-friendly way. Therefore this book is recommended, but not for the beginner. The author assumes the reader has a basic knowledge about the history of the ancient world. If on the other hand you are already familiar with the history of the ancient world, and if you wish to learn more, this book may just be the right one for you.

Many places, periods, and problems are covered in this book. In this review I cannot mention all of them. I can offer a few examples in order to show you what Kyle does and how he does it.

EXAMPLE 1
The introduction is important because it lays the foundation for all that follows. Here the author defines his topic; he explains what is included and what is excluded, so the reader can know what to expect from this book.

The focus is not so much on the sporting activities. Instead the author wants to place the sporting activities in a social, economic, political, cultural, religious, and military context. Perhaps I can put it like this: he does not ask: what do they do? He will ask: why do they do it?

Kyle tells us not only what the ancients did and said (if this is possible), but also how we know this. The evidence (ancient sources and archaeological remains) is often discussed, and so is modern scholarship: how was this case interpreted by older scholars? And how is it interpreted by more recent scholars? There is a good presentation of modern scholarship in chapter 10.

EXAMPLE 2
The ancient and the modern Olympic Games are compared in chapter 5. It is an interesting exercise. According to tradition, the ancient Olympic Games began in 776 BC. But is it true? Kyle discusses what we know about this question (not much). In fact, even the ancient Greeks did not know much about it, because nobody sat down to write the details when it all began. Page 103:

"For the Greeks, something as magnificent as the Olympic Games had to be connected with the glorious past when gods and heroes walked the earth, so they sought and found, or fashioned, explanations linking the present and the distant past."

As Kyle says, there is no need to be ashamed if the Olympic Games had a small beginning: "Indeed, great oaks do come from humble acorns."

EXAMPLE 3
The ancient Olympic Games were not always as modern observers would like them to be, as Kyle explains in chapter 6. Page 119:

"The violence of Greek combat sport may shock moderns, but, like Rome, Greece was a warrior society, and soldiers had to be tough."

Many people in the modern world have an unrealistic view of the ancient Olympic Games. Page 124:

"The modern world, weary of warfare, has wanted to believe that the Greeks declared a common peace, suspended their wars, and gathered together harmoniously at Olympia for the love of sport, but the ancient reality was less than perfect."

Further down, on the same page, Kyle says: "The truce did not stop wars among the Greeks, but neither did wars stop their games... Ancient Olympia was neither an island of calm nor a haven for pacifism."

Corruption was also found at ancient Olympia. Page 126:

"The corruption best known at Olympia was the calculated bribery and fraud attested by the Zanes, bronze statues of Zeus paid for by fines imposed on athletes who ... broke the rules."

EXAMPLE 4
The Panathenaic Games are covered in chapter 8. On page 159 Kyle summarizes the significance of this event:

"As ritual, celebration, and spectacle, the Panathenaic Games glorified the city and its goddess, attracted visitors, and satisfied the agonistic inclinations of the Athenians, directed by (individual or group) competition and vicariously by spectatorship. Whether athletes, officials, vase painters, or spectators, Athenians appreciated the thriving athletic life of their city."

EXAMPLE 5
Many modern observers believe that Greek sport was clean and pure, while Roman games were brutal and bloody. As Kyle shows, the evidence does not always support this point of view. The Romans are often blamed for their treatment of wild animals. On this issue, Kyle makes the following observation (page 253):

"First, we should recognize our ideological baggage or urban illusions about animals, and not impose our sensitivities upon the Romans. In these days of animal rights, of the SPCA and PETA, Rome's beast spectacles seem alien and inhumane, but anachronistic moral indignation is unenlightening. In fact, modern humanitarian sentiments seem hypocritical against a long history of brutality to beasts and insensitivity to the harm we have done to nature."

RECOMMENDED
This book comes highly recommended. On the back cover of the book there are statements from three classical scholars:

** Paul Christensen, Department of Classics, Dartmouth College:

"This is without a doubt the single best overview of ancient sport. Donald Kyle delivers a clear, lively, and detailed account that reflects his unmatched erudition and insight."

** Hugh Lee, Emeritus Professor of Classics, University of Maryland, College Park:

"Kyle furnishes a sophisticated and lucid account of sport and spectacle as important cultural phenomena in antiquity. Especially insightful is his treatment of both Greek and Roman sport as spectacle. Most welcome too are the relevant parallels and significant differences he observes between ancient and modern athletics."

** Jason König, School of Classics, University of St Andrews:

"An excellent, wide-ranging survey of ancient sport. No other introductory volume combines the study of Greek and Roman sport and spectacle so effectively. This second edition adds a wealth of new material to the original version."

I understand the positive statements, but I cannot agree completely with them. I think they go overboard, because they praise the book without any reservations whatsoever. And a few reservations are in order, as I will demonstrate below.

[Separate sidebar with full disclosure: Kyle and Christensen know each other. How do I know this? Well, it is no secret. I can offer two facts. (1) In the preface to the second edition of his book (page xi) Kyle states: "I earnestly thank P. Christensen for reading and improving all of my chapters in this second edition." (2) Kyle and Christensen are co-editors of  A Companion to Sport and Spectacle in Greek and Roman Antiquity  published by Blackwell in 2014.]

A REVIEW
Mark Golden (University of Winnipeg, Canada) reviewed the first edition of the book in the online magazine "Bryn Mawr Classical Review" (2007.04.06). His review is very positive. He says, for instance: "No-one is better qualified to write an English-language synthesis on sport and spectacle in the ancient world. This book does not disappoint." Later he says: "Whatever place and time Kyle examines, fresh and persuasive insights abound."

However, not all his words are positive. He also mentions some minor flaws. I guess he wants to demonstrate how careful and thorough he was while reading the book. I checked them against the second edition and this is what I found: five flaws have been corrected.

In the first edition we have:

** Jessie Owens - the famous athlete
** Oinanda - an ancient town
** "Journal of Roman Studies" vol. 130 (1990) - a reference
** Kyrielis - the name of a modern scholar
** "A Struggle for Survival" - the subtitle of a book

In the second edition we have:

** Jesse Owens - page 1
** Oinoanda - pp. 319, 325, and 327
** "Journal of Roman Studies" vol. 80 (1990) - page 313
** Kyrieleis - pp. 131 and 146
** "A Struggle for Revival" - page 106

But two flaws are still there, because they have not been corrected:

** Note 5, page 88: "The Shield of Hector."

The correct title of this ancient text (which is sometimes attributed to Hesiod) is "The Shield of Heracles."

** Page 234: "Famous victors included Leonidas of Rhodes [...], winner in all three footraces as well as the hoplite race in three successive Olympiads (164-152 BCE)."

Leonidas was the winner in all three footraces (but not the hoplite race) in four (not three) successive Olympiads. In a strange twist, Kyle offers the correct dates (164-152 BC), but he is wrong when he talks about three successive Olympiads.

FURTHER FLAWS
On top of these examples mentioned by Mark Golden I can add the following cases. I mention them in order to demonstrate how careful and thorough I was while reading the book:

(1) On page 19 the title of a study by T. Freeth is given as "The Antikythera Mechanism: Decoding and Ancient Greek Mystery" (2008). The title is inaccurate. Instead of the word "and" read "an."

(2) "The Great Palace Age" is defined as "c. 1650-1450" on page 38. On page 44 "the New Palace Age" is defined as "c. 1650-1459." The author is inconsistent with regard to the name of the period as well as the dates.

(3) On page 38 Kyle says: "Minoan boxing is also depicted in a fresco of c. 1625 from Akrotiri on Thera." The fresco is figure 2.1 on the next page. The caption says: "Minoan boy boxers, Akrotiri (Thera) c. 1550 BCE." The author is inconsistent again: according to the text the date is ca. 1625, but according to the caption the date is ca. 1550. Which one is true? The first or the last? The difference is 75 years.

(4) On page 140 we have "the latter" fourth century instead of "the later" fourth century. To make matters worse, the same misprint appears on page 143.

(5) A cross-reference on page 160 says: "... the sixth-century inscriptions (noted on p. 3 earlier) referring to a racecourse (dromos) may apply to that Archaic Agora." But this cross-reference it wrong. I think the correct reference is to page 148 where we have the following passage: "Inscriptions of c. 560 from the Acropolis mentioning a dromos (a racecourse or a race) and an agon (a contest) ... probably refer to Panathenaic Games." A cross-reference on page 309 says: "see page 31 later." This is also wrong. I think the correct reference is to page 311.

(6) On page 206 (note 22) Kyle quotes Hugh Lee: "The is no more contentious issue in the study of Greek sport." The first word should be "There."

(7) On page 232 we are told: "Pliny says that the king of Albania pleased Alexander with the gift of large hunting dog." The article is missing here. It should be "a large hunting dog." This passage appears in the first edition (page 242) where it is correct. Why try to fix something which is not broken?

(8) On page 235 Kyle says: "The gymnasiarch also could find anyone who insulted or attacked him." The correct word is "fine" - not "find."

(9) On page 245 a sentence begins: "In Etruscan art athletes sometimes athletes are nude..." We do not need the word "athletes" two times. This passage appears in the first edition (page 254) where it reads: "Etruscan art sometimes depicts athletes in the nude..." The passage was fine. It seems Kyle wished to revise it, although it was not necessary, but the revision was never completed.

(10) When was the Second Punic war? On page 249 we have 218-202. But a few pages further down (256) we have 218-201. The last battle of the war took place in 202, but the official end of the war was in 201. Whether you prefer the former or the latter option does not matter here. The point is that Kyle is inconsistent.

(11) On page 272 Kyle says: "In the Late Republic various types of gladiators fought against opponents of the same type." This unfortunate statement is modified on page 285 where he says "matching opponents of different types" and on page 299 where he says: "the Murmillo ... was often set against the Thrax." But later on this page he repeats the unfortunate statement when he says: "The Provocator ... often fought another of his type."

This unfortunate statement is modified again when he says: "The Secutor was a specialized opponent routinely set against the Retiarius (see Figure 15.3)" and when he says: "The combatants often were paired by contrasting and therefore complementary styles." Figure 15.3 on page 300 shows a Secutor and a Retiarius fighting against each other.

One type of gladiator was always paired with another type of gladiator. Sometimes Kyle is aware of this point, sometimes he is not, although it is stated clearly in the modern literature that he cites (Marcus Junkelmann). One type of gladiator had one advantage, while another type of gladiator had another advantage. How were they going to use it? Having two different types fight against each other created more suspense and made the game more interesting, because the result was more unpredictable.

If we know who is going to win, the spectacle is not so interesting. As Kyle says on page 46: "the predictable outcome of some combats before the king suggests reassuring rituals or re-enactments rather than unpredictable athletic contests." In true sport the result is unpredictable, as Kyle states on page 175.

(12) On page 279 Kyle writes: "It is noteworthy that the Roman colony at Mérida (Augusta Emerita) in Spain built a theater and amphitheater dedicated to Augustus in 8 BCE (see Figure 14.2)." This statement is true and false at the same time. An amphitheatre dedicated to Augustus was completed in 8 BC. Kyle's information about the amphitheatre is true. But the theatre was completed in 16 or 15 BC, seven or eight years before the amphitheatre. Kyle's information about the theatre is not true.

Figure 14.2 on page 280 shows the amphitheatre at Mérida. This picture is taken by Kyle himself (the only illustration provided by the author). In other words: Kyle has been to Mérida. Knowing this, I must say that the wrong information about the theatre is all the more remarkable. While in Mérida, Kyle must have seen not only the amphitheatre but also all the other Roman monuments, including the theatre. During his visit to the theatre, he must have seen the Latin inscription (placed above the entrance) which reads:

M AGRIPPA L F COS III TRIB POT III

In English (and without abbreviations): "Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, consul three times, [completed this theatre] when he held tribunician power for the third time."

In 18 BC Agrippa was given tribunician power for five years. The third time he held this power was in (the end of) 16 or (the beginning of) 15 BC.

[Unlike the consulship, tribunician power did not always follow the calendar year. It could run from July of one year to June of the following year.]

Mérida is the largest Roman town in Spain. The Roman theatre in this town has been partially reconstructed. As it stands today, it is one of the best preserved and most famous theatres in the Roman Empire. How could Kyle visit this town and get the facts about this famous monument wrong?

(13) The famous charioteer Calpurnianus won over 1,100 times, "probably in the first half of the second century 90 CE" (pp. 295-296). The figure "90" is odd. In the first edition (page 309) Kyle says his career was "probably in the first century AD." What is true? Mark Golden says the "late second century CE," but he adds a question mark ( Sport in the Ancient World from A to Z , 2004, page 32). We do not know when Calpurnianus lived. But the figure "90" does not belong here. Perhaps this is an example of sloppy editing?

(14) The gladiator school discovered at Carnuntum in Austria is mentioned on pp. 298-299. Kyle's reference on page 328 to an article about this discovery is inaccurate. He says: "Antiquity 18 (2014) 173-190." The correct reference is: Antiquity, vol. 88, issue # 339, March 2014, pp. 173-190. Perhaps this is another example of sloppy editing?

(15) The discovery of 80 ancient skeletons in York, England, is presented as evidence of a gladiator cemetery (page 303). This interpretation is doubtful. The skeletons were discovered more than ten years ago. According to the first interpretation (ca. 2005) they were the result of a massacre or a purge after the death of Emperor Septimius Severus in AD 211. The suggestion that the skeletons were evidence of a gladiator cemetery was discussed and rejected.

Now (ca. 2010) it seems this suggestion has been resurrected and accepted, while the first interpretation has been discarded. If you ask me, the first interpretation is more credible than the second. Even if Kyle prefers the second interpretation, he should mention the first interpretation as well. It is called full disclosure. A true scholar must offer the reader all relevant information, not just the parts that he likes.

Here are my references: "Cemetery of Secrets," an article by Richard Girling in the Sunday Times of 26 March 2006, and "Timewatch: The Mystery of the Headless Romans," a documentary film first aired on BBC 2 in April 2006.

CONCLUSION
There are many books about sport and spectacle in the ancient world. Some authors focus on ancient Greece, others on ancient Rome. Kyle's book covers both civilizations, with eight chapters about Greece and four chapters about Rome. In addition, there is a chapter about the ancient Near East and ancient Egypt.

As you can see from this review, there are many positive elements in his book. However, there are some negative elements as well:

** While the text is well written and well organised, there are several flaws. And two factual mistakes, which Mark Golden pointed out in his review back in 2007, have not been corrected.

** While the illustrations are well chosen, they are all in black-and-white and the general quality is not high. The picture on the front cover shows a famous statue which is not even mentioned in the book.

** The index suffered considerably during the process of revision. A second edition is supposed to be better than the first, but something went wrong with the index: in the first edition it is annotated and comprehensive. In the second edition the index has no annotations and it is incomplete. How can anyone decide to lower the quality of an index?

Taken one by one, the flaws mentioned here may seem trivial; taken together, they become a serious problem, especially since we are talking about the second edition of the book. The second edition should be flawless, not flawed.

In this review I have to consider all factors. When I weigh the positive against the negative, I want to recommend this book but I cannot give it five stars, because I have some reservations. Therefore I think four stars is the right conclusion.

PS # 1. The following book was published by Yale University Press in 1999:  The Art of Ancient Spectacle  edited by Bettina Bergmann & Christine Kondoleon (with 140 illustrations in black-and-white and 130 in colour).

PS # 2. The following book was published by the Getty Museum Press in 2004:  Games and Sanctuaries in Ancient Greece: Olympia, Delphi, Isthmia, Nemea, Athens  by Panos Valavanis (with 40 illustrations in black-and-white and 609 in colour).

PS # 3. The following book is written by Mark Golden, who reviewed the first edition of Kyle's book back in 2007:  Sport and Society in Ancient Greece  (Cambridge University Press, 1998).

PS # 4. The following book edited by Thomas Scanlon was published in two volumes by Oxford University Press in 2014: "Sport in the Greek and Roman Worlds." Volume 1:  Early Greece, The Olympics, and Contests , 352 pages. Volume 2:  Greek Athletic Identities and Roman Sports and Spectacle , 416 pages.

PS # 5. The following book (published by Routledge in 2009) is available online:  Sport in the Cultures of the Ancient World: New Perspectives  edited by Zinon Papakonstantinou.

PS # 6. The following article about Kyniska - the famous princess of Sparta who is mentioned in chapter 9 - is available online: Donald Kyle, "The Only Woman in All Greece," Journal of Sport History, vol. 30, 2003, pp. 183-203.
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