Combat Sports in the Ancient World

Competition, Violence, and Culture

Bibliographic Data

ID3937575
AuthorsVictor J Matthews, Michael B Poliakoff
Year1988
Volume42
Issue3
Pages270
Publication date1988-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePhoenix (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0031-8299 • E-ISSN: 1929-4883
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/1088350
OpenAlexW2039891583
LanguageEN
Citations received44

A leading authority on classical games here provides a comprehensive study of the practice of combat sports in the ancient civilizations of Greece, Rome, and the Near East. Describing and analyzing the sports of boxing, wrestling, stick-fighting, and pankration, Michael B. Poliakoff discusses such topics as the function of competition and violent games in ancient society; on the social background of the participants, showing the broad spectrum of Greek athletic personnel; on the significance of the appearance of combat sport in myth and literature; and on the alleged cultic functions of the ancient combat sports. The book is copiously illustrated with photographs of numerous objects rarely or never before published

Ancient Greece · Ancient Greek · Ancient history · Broad spectrum · Competition (biology) · Mythology · Sociology · Classics · Doping in Sports · History · Martial Arts: Techniques, Psychology, and Education