Epinician Poetry and the Politics of Athletic Competition in Greece after the Persian Wars

FAIN: FA-50201-04

Thomas K. Hubbard
University of Texas, Austin (Austin, TX 78712-0100)

This book will demonstrate that the four major pan-Hellenic contests of ancient Greece became fora for the display and contestation of political claims among rival city-states, including those sponsoring the games. In addition, athletics became a focus of ideological conflict within states during the early fifth-century, inasmuch as the institution of public gymnasia facilitated the entry of the lower classes into serious competition, whereas athletics had once been the unique preserve of aristocrats. As a medium of public relations for "problematized elites," epinician poetry, which flourished during this period, provides special insight into these political and social conflicts.