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2 Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellence in Research
I cannot praise enough the excellence of Nigel Spivey's research and presentation involved with the ancient Olympics. The craftsmanship of his narrative is first-rate and there is a refreshing candor and lack of romanticizing regarding this event and the times surrounding it. Mr. Spivey may be remembered from his presenting of "The Queens and...
Published on August 30, 2006 by Thomas Randleman
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1 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Thank God They're Going to England, Not New York!
The anicent Greeks at Adelphia considered the original Olympics a 'civilized mode of war without the shooting.' The aim was winning at any cost (like American politics today), as the losers were called and looked down on as failures in disgrace. He dwells on boy athletes and shows a marble statue of the naked David minus one arm and a hand. Why did the...
Published on July 20, 2005 by Betty Burks
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellence in Research,
By
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This review is from: The Ancient Olympics: A History (Paperback)
I cannot praise enough the excellence of Nigel Spivey's research and presentation involved with the ancient Olympics.
The craftsmanship of his narrative is first-rate and there is a refreshing candor and lack of romanticizing regarding this event and the times surrounding it. Mr. Spivey may be remembered from his presenting of "The Queens and Kings Of England" on the Biography Channel. He is a charming host on this particular documentary and one can see his sincere interest in putting forth well done research in a way to include the viewer outside the convention of a professor ponticificating to his classroom. A perfectly wonderful book by a perfectly wonderful writer! Thomas Lee
1 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Thank God They're Going to England, Not New York!,
By Betty Burks "Betty Burks" (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Ancient Olympics: A History (Hardcover)
The anicent Greeks at Adelphia considered the original Olympics a 'civilized mode of war without the shooting.' The aim was winning at any cost (like American politics today), as the losers were called and looked down on as failures in disgrace. He dwells on boy athletes and shows a marble statue of the naked David minus one arm and a hand.
Why did the early Greek athletes compete naked? Did it have something to do with sex or did they have perfect bodies? Why did the Romans change the games in Olympia and make it more civilized? There the Greeks raised their sporting prowess to heroic status. The historian, Bettany Hughes, wrote that this book shows "a number of hand-picked historical characters (which) bring us face to face with ... the ruthless business of winning the games." Nigel Spivey includes a photo of the naked wrestlers in marble. This is an erotic book. The poster for the 1912 Stockholm Olympics shows a naked combatant. There is a drawing of the Olympic Zeus in the original Parthenon, a huge six-story-tall fixture similar to the modern Athena statuary in the Nashville, Tennessee, Parthenon. He has written many books among which are PANORAMA OF THE CLASSICAL WORLD and UNDERSTANDING GREEK SCULPTURE. |
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The Ancient Olympics: A History by Nigel Jonathan Spivey (Paperback - June 8, 2006)
$19.99
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