Statesmen in the arena: The policy and politics of the ancient games

honors thesisCollege of HumanitiesHistoryW. Lindsay AdamsThe intent of this work is to illuminate the many ways in which policy and politics influenced the games of Ancient Greece and Rome, and to demonstrate their importance in understanding the persistence of the games beyond their religiously driven origins. Utilizing numerous ancient sources, this thesis seeks to fill an academic gapamongst the contemporary studies of the ancient sporting world. While many of such works have perceived the games through the lens of the spectator and athlete, this work will take a different approach; focusing on the games from the perspective of the statesman and administrator. The sporting contests of the ancient world were not always the elaborate and populated spectacles of which we are most familiar. Spawned from early religious practices in festivities, funeral rights, and public holidays, their origins were much more humble. Gradually nevertheless, the administrators of these early games began to utilize the popularity and power of the games for other purposes. In the construction of stadiums, the vast markets that surrounded the events, and the assemblage of citizens, the games became as much tools of public planning, economic development, and public relations as they did spectacle. Furthermore, politicians of each civilizations respective peaks were able to effectively contrive the games for personal political benefits. As such, the following thesis seeks to highlight many of the relationships and long term historical trends that tie the games of the Hellenes and the Populus Romanus to the world of politics and policy. In doing so a new perspective on the games is presented, and an explanation for their continuation outside the realm of entertainment is highlighted