Trailing the Olympic Epic: Black Modernity and the Athenian Arena, 2004

Simpson, Michael. 2011. Trailing the Olympic Epic: Black Modernity and the Athenian Arena, 2004. In: Michael Simpson and Barbara Goff, eds. Thinking the Olympics: the Classical Tradition and the Modern Games. Bristol Classical Press. ISBN 978-0715639306 [Book Section]

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Abstract or Description

This is the first book to address the convergences and divergences between the ancient and modern Games from the perspective of the classical tradition, examining the ways in which connections between ancient Greece and the revived Olympics may be constructed, interrogated, lauded, or deplored. The Athens Games in 2004 were a climax of convergence, as the Games effectively returned to their ancient origins. Yet the Beijing Games in 2008 celebrated another, even more ancient civilisation. Thinking the Olympics brings together contributions from various disciplines, ranging around two opposing themes. On the one hand, the Games are presented as an ideal enactment of pure, intrinsic Olympic values, such as peace through sport; on the other, the Games appear as a messy performance of extrinsic investments by diverse groups with their own interests, commercial as well as political.

Item Type:

Book Section

Departments, Centres and Research Units:

English and Comparative Literature

Dates:

DateEvent
2011Published

Item ID:

13466

Date Deposited:

15 Sep 2015 15:35

Last Modified:

26 Jun 2017 10:37

URI:

https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/13466

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