Athletics and competition : a catalyst for conflict between city-states in ancient Greece

Throughout the ancient world, Greek city-states were continually described as feuding and, euphemistically speaking, unfriendly towards one another. Numerous wars and general displeasure between city-states remained a consistent characteristic. During this tumultuous time, however, there was a means for these rough edges to be smoothed over: athletic competitions. But although these competitions, including but not limited to the Olympics, have frequently been thought to provide city-states a way of competing and solving their problems without the brutality of war, these competitions did not in fact foster better relations between the city-states in the realms of politics, war, and economics. Quite to the contrary, the competitions can be shown to have harmed relations and encouraged aggression between city-states