Greek Athletics
At the Athenian Panathenaia, victors at the athletic games would win this prize.
What are amphorae filled with olive oil?
In Egyptian funerals, the deceased was carried in this object while being transported to their place of burial.
What is a boat?
In Assyria, hunting this animal successful was a powerful way to prove one's regal and imperial control.
What are lions?
This Roman athletic venue was completed in 80 CE and featured various event, from gladiatorial combats to public executions.
What is the Colosseum?
This Roman emperor was mocked for being overly interested in poetic and athletic spectacle and hated for supposedly forcing Roman senators to compete in the arena.
Who is Nero?
The Minoans practiced this unique sport, evidence for which has also been located in Egypt and the Hittite Empire.
What is bull leaping?
The tombs of this Italic culture gives us key evidence of likely predecessors for Roman athletic.
Who are the Etruscans?
This Roman doctor infamously held public demonstrations where he mocked his competitors and performed incredible feats of mastery over the sick or wounded body.
Who is Galen?
In 31 BCE, this Roman politician attempted to bring Cleopatra to Rome and parade her in a military triumph.
Who is Octavian?
The hero Gilgamesh entered into a wrestling match upon meeting this person (who ultimately became his best friend).
Enkidu
In this Greek city state, a notable sporting event included attempting to steal cheese from the temple of Artemis.
What is Sparta?
In Roman funerals, relatives would wear these objects as a way to "bring their dead back to life"?
What are imagines?
This Spartan princess is known as the first woman to be victorious at the Olympian Games.
Who is Kyniska?
This philosophical school believed that the only sport worth watching was gladiatorial combat, as it demonstrated control over one's body and emotions and a lack of fear at the possibility of one's death.
Who are the Stoics?
This Greco-Roman hero defeated the monstrous Antaeus in a wrestling match.
Who is Hercules/Heracles?
These two panhellenic games were held ever two years.
What are the Isthmian and Nemean Games?
In Egypt, a pharaoh performing poorly in athletic events, hunts, or battles could be a sign that this state had been set out of its proper order.
What is maat?
This label, taken on when one became a gladiator, allowed for one to face violence in public and meant that one could not vote or run for political office.
What is infamia?
In Greece and Rome, fans might attempt to control the results of an athletic competition with this magical device.
What is a katadesmos/defixio?
This form of Greek poetry, especially famous due to the work of the poet Pindar, honored athletics victories at the panhellenic games.
What is the epinicion/epinician poetry?
The Pythian Games were supposedly founded by this god after defeating this monster.
Who are Apollo and the Python?
In this form of public execution, the condemned reenacted mythic deaths.
What are "fatal charades"?
This Egyptian pharaoh advertised himself as "one who knew horses" able to row with the strength of 200 men and decorated his tomb with demonstrates of his athletic abilities.
Who is Amenhotep II?
In this ancient culture, newly married royal couples would spend their "honeymoon" in a mausoleum nurturing the statues of their gods.
What is Ebla?
This ruler of Ur produced a series of poems advertising his mastery over athletics and especially his prowess as a runner.
Who is Shulgi?