Greece Hotels Travel - Combat Sports in the Ancient World: Competition, Violence, and Culture (Sports and History Series)
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List Price: $22.00
greece-hotels-travel.com Price: $19.80
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Manufacturer: Yale University Press
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 796
EAN: 9780300063127
ISBN: 0300063121
Label: Yale University Press
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 220
Publication Date: 1995-04-26
Publisher: Yale University Press
Studio: Yale University Press
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Editorial Reviews:
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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.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Book!!!!!!
Comment: Well to start off im 18 and HATE READING (as does everyone in my generation) and from the way that this book was layed out I thought it was the average encyclopidia style book that is boring as hell and that only Stephen FRICKEN Hawking could only understand. I did order it seeing from the last 4 reviews and found out that this book is actually very informative and very well written to keep your attention regardless if you hate reading or not. Filled with greek storys and in formation on pankration, boxing and wrestling. And little things about them that will make you sound smart LOL. I even used this book as my main source for my essay in college and got a A to be honest this was my only source really the other 5 books were the encyclopidia style that looked like they were written in greek rather than be on the damn topic. Anyways really good book definitly would say buy it though there is only like 3 pages on stick fighting so if your looking for that you might be a little disapointed but none the less this book is to good to not get.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: An Excellent Survey of Classical Martial Arts
Comment: Poliakoff gives a thorough overview of the three combat sports of the ancient Olympics (wrestling, boxing, & pankration), their rules, the training involved, and the attitudes of the Ancients towards those sports. He speaks briefly of Egyptian stick fighting, but the dearth of ancient literature on the subject means he can treat it only superficially.
In addition to describing the sports, Poliakoff gives biographies of some of the more famous practitioners and voices some opinions about the usefulness of combat sports to the body politic, especially in the field of athletics.
In his exposition, Poliakoff sometimes dismisses as fantastical legend some feats which are achievable by well trained athletes. For example, he expresses grave doubts about the tradition that the wrestler Milo of Kroton could lift and carry a bull. In the mid-20th century there was a carnival performer, H.E. Mann, who lifted and carried a bull as a part of his act. Mann's act was inspired by Milo. Poliakoff neglects to mention that Milo is credited as the father of "progressive resistance" weight training. Milo began with a calf and lifted it daily until it became full grown. H.E. Mann trained for his carnival act exactly as Milo did, beginning with a calf and lifting it daily until it became full grown. One of the USA's earliests vendors of weight training equipment was the Milo Barbell Company.
Poliakoff takes a dim view of the savagery involved in ancient combat sports and sees no correlation between the combat sports and actual military service. Although Poliakoff seeks to show that excellent combat athletes make poor soldiers, he does cite numerous counter examples to his position. It seems ancient Greek history is full of individuals who distinguished themselves both in the games and on the battlefield.
Notwithstanding Poliakoff's anti-combat-sports agenda, the book is an informative and enjoyable reading experience.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Nothing New Under the Sun
Comment: Fans of modern day Pankration, as in the UFC, Pride and other such events, will be fascinated to read of the close parallels between the ancient and modern versions in terms of technique, match style as well as audience reception. Many of the same issues facing the sport today were dealt with by the ancients.
More important perhaps is what is revealed regarding the importance and effectiveness of combat sports outside the competitive arena. Poliakoff quotes Homer, Alexander and others to make the point that boxing, wrestling and pankration may not be so effective in producing an effective warrior. Alexander, for instance, didn't approve of boxing and wrestling but did favor stick fighting. Champion athletes in the Iliad are cowardly in battle. The Romans blame the Greek love of "games" on their decline.
Scholarly, readable, relevant.
Customer Rating:
Summary: "...victory...gained in blood..."
Comment: This book effectively shows that ancient sports were
also about the rough and tumble and agony, as well
as the skill, courage, and cleverness. The book
is a complete survey including information about
ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, but primarily focuses
on Greek and Roman sports and venues.
As the author, Michael Poliakoff, says in Chapter
I, "General Aspects of the Ancient Combat Sports,"
"Boxing, wrestling, and pankration, a sport that
allowed a variety of unarmed fighting tactics, were
the three important forms of combat sport in the
ancient world. *** The element of fighting makes
combat sports easy to mark off as a group; more
difficult is settling on a definition of sport in
general. I define sport and athletics in this book
as activity in which a person physically competes
against another in a contest with established
regulations and procedures, with the immediate
object of succeeding in that contest under criteria
for determining victory that are different from those
that mark success in everyday life."
The chapters of the book are: General Aspects of
the Ancient Combat Sports/ Wrestling/ Pankration/
Stick Fighting/ Boxing/ The Nature and Purpose of
Combat Sport/ The Participants in Greek Combat
Sport/ Metaphor, Myth, and Reality/ as well as
an Appendix titled "Combat Sport, Funeral Cult,
and Human Sacrifice."
The book is very well illustrated throughout
the text with photographs from vases, drinking
cups, statues, Egyptian wall paintings and
sculptures, a photo of a Greek wrestling
manuscript, and a modern photo of Nuba wrestlers
in the Sudan.
Each of the chapters is also divided into
interesting sub-sections. In Chapter VI, for
instance, the sub-sections are: The Problem of
Athletic Violence/ The Nature of Ancient Criticism/
Military Consideratons/ Military Critics/ An
Agonistic Society/ Sport in Other Cultures: The
Contrast with Greece/ and, Greek Agon and Social
Need.
Each chapter starts with a highly interesting
and engrossing introductory paragraph. From the
"Wrestling" chapter comes this: "Wrestling appealed
deeply to the ancients. Though far from being a
gentle sport, it is substantially less violent and
injurious than the other two combat sports: it pits
one man against another in a close struggle that
maximizes the role of skill and science. In a
manner that encourges wide participation, it tests
an array of martial virtues: cunning, boldness,
courage, self-reliance, and perseverance."
-- Robert Kilgore.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very good historical review of "Combat Sports." back then.
Comment: I give this book an 8 because it had a vlaue to me beyond what normally would be sought. I am a fan of today's comabt sports, the UFC, Pancrase, Vale Tudo, etc... This was the beginning and it was facinating to me. I had read about Pancration, Boxing and Wrestling in ancient times in another book (which this list doesn't have access to I notice...) called "Living in teh Combat Zone" by Rick Renner - published by Pillar Books of Tulsa OK. It's A Christian book, but has tremendous historical value as well.
Joe
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