INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY 7th JOINT - IOA

A. CONCLUSIONS ON “ANCIENT OLYMPIC GAMES”
THE PROFESSORS’ PRESENTATIONS
Two different approaches to the Ancient Olympic Games were
presented.
The lectures dealt with the origins of the Games, their
development through the ages and their decline until their eventual
cessation more than 1000 years later. The development of Olympia as
a sanctuary was also raised, and here in particular the organised visit
to the archaeological site and museum at Olympia was most helpful. A
further part of the professors’ contributions came with a consideration
of the individual athlete and participation at the Games. The
organizational side of the games - the role of Elis with regards to the
Hellanodikai (judges), the Olympic truce, the training period of the
athletes and the (developing) programme of the Olympic Games –
received a significant amount of attention. Of course, both lecturers
also gave an important overview of the Olympic Games within the
Pan-Hellenic festival circuit, and with respect to other Gaming
festivals in ancient times.
A central question of the first week’s programme was the meaning
of athletics in antiquity. The supervising professors relied heavily on
literary sources and made particular use of mythological traditions
preserved in such esteemed authors as Homer. On the other hand,
tended to focus more on supplementing historical accounts with
archaeology. These two different approaches showed students the
different ways that one can approach the ancient world.
In terms of media, the lecturers preferred to either present a
written paper or to supplement their lecture by using an over-Head
projector. A movie was presented on the last day of the first week.This
critically raised the core ideas and themes that had underpinned the
first week.
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