CLCIV371

Athletic Synods

Also known as guilds, these were professional unions similar to modern professional sports leagues. Synods were supported by political leaders including Sulla and Antony. Members of synods often received benefits such as exemption from military and tax.

Marathon (race)

An ancient messenger, Phidippides, who had been delivering news of war ran from the city Marathon to Sparta, which is slightly more than 26 miles, and when he arrived in Sparta he collapsed and died. The story behind the creation of the marathon is used as a way to spread the sport such as Doubleday was used to spread baseball, and Pelops and Hercules for the Olympics.

Augustus

Augustus ended the Roman civil war and became the Roman emperor in 31BC. He was committed to making games less violent by doing things such as eliminating the minus sine missione, which was a one on one battle until one of the competitors was incapacitated. Similarly, modern sports are being changed to become safer such as football and hockey which both have had recent rule changes to reduce injuries.

Sepp Blatter

Blatter became president of FIFA after Havelange in 1998. Blatter remained president until 2015 when he was forced to step down for being involved in bribes. Blatter is relevant when discussing the connection between money and politics and athletics. There is ancient evidence of bribes in athletics.

Avery Brundage

Brundage is an Illinois graduate who supported the US attending the 1936 Nati Games. Brundage also supported "Jewish Quotas" in Ivy League schools. This is relevant to participation in sports and history of discrimination in sports such as Jews being discriminated during the Nazi games, and non Greek citizens being excluded from the ancient Olympics.

Baron de Coubertin

Coubertin is credited with assembling the first modern Olympics. He was inspired by the British and Germans and believed that an increase in athletics in France would benefit the French people. This parallels with the ancient Spartan belief that having athletics would better the community.

Doreius of Rhodes

Doreius, a three time Olympic pankration victor, is one of the sons of Diagora of Rhodes. Doreius was a successful athlete and came from a family full of successful athletes. Doreius was captured in war agains the Athenians and when the Persians found out who he was, they released him. This shows that athletic success was a symbol of power and social status.

Abner Doubleday

Doubleday was credited by Spalding as the creator of baseball despite this not being true. Doubleday's image was used as a story of origin to spread the game of baseball similar to the stories of Pelops and of Hercules and the creation of the Olympic Games.

Galen

Galen was an ancient doctor who treated athletes. He wrote about treating injuries and about what he believed an athletes diet should be. Parallels with modern athletics because competitions alwasy have docors and trainers and nutritionists.

Alexander the Great

He was the King of Macedonia and greatly expanded the Greek empire through imperialism. He used athletic competitions to celebrate war victories. Men learned athletics as part of their training in the gymnasium.

Athletic Nudity

Homeric athletes did not compete naked. The myth behind Greek nudity is the Orsippus lost his robe while running in the stadion at the Olympics in 720BC and won the race. Because of nudity, women were not allowed to attend ancient athletic competitions.

FIFA (Development of)

In 1904 FIFA consisted of 8 nations. Joao Havelange was president from 1974-1998 and expanded FIFA with the use of select international sponsors and tv broadcasting deals. This shows how media spreads sports and how they become global competitions that connect all types of people.

Kenesaw Mountain Landis

Landis was the commissioner of baseball during the 1919 Black Socks scandal. He set the precedent that athletes could be punished by leagues despite being not being criminally charged. This relates to the course because there have always been scandals in athletics due to money and glory, and there has always been the need to combat these scandals. Ancient examples of scandals include contracts to throw matches.

Theodore Lewald

Lewald was in charge of Berlins bid to host the 1936 Olympic games. He said that Jews would not be discriminated against if the games were held in Berlin. Lewald was later removed from his position because he had Jewish ancestors. The Nazi games show the connection between religion and sports and also issues of eligibility in sports. Similar to the Nazi games, and the exclusion of Jewish people, in ancient Greek athletics, only Greek citizens could participate.

Milo of Croton

Milo of Croton was a great ancient athlete who won wrestling in 6 olympics and 6 pythian games. He was mythologized as an athlete. Similarly, modern athletes are often mythologized and seen as super people. Another parallel of modern athletes and of Milo of Croton is that both compare themselves to previous great athletes. Milo of Croton wore a lion skin and carried a club like Hercules did before him, and modern athletes often compare their skills to former athletes.

Mohammed Ali

Olympic champion and professional boxer. Ali became mythologized for his success similarly to ancient athletes such as Milo of Croton, Diagoras of Rhodes, and Theogenes of Thasos. Ali also used his his athletic success as a pedestal to spread his beliefs.

Title IX

Passed in 1932, states that any institution receiving government funding cannot discriminate based on gender. Reason the many universities have women sports programs. Relevant to this course because it deals with participation in sports, in ancient athletics, women were mostly not included.

Pat Summitt

Pat Summitt was the coach of the UT women basketball team and has the most wins in NCAA history. Philostratus describes the ancient relevance of coaches and trainers in Gymnasticus and how they are crucial to an athletes success. Also Philostratus describes that ancient coaches were each unique and had to recruit which parallels with modern coaches.

Philostratus

Philostratus is the author of Gymnasticus. He describes ancient coaching. Modern and Ancient coaching both rely on recruiting based on physical characteristic and preparing athletes with training programs and specific diets.

Branch Rickey

Rickey is a UM graduate who broke the color-barrier in baseball by signing and playing Jackie Robinson. Rickey is also credited with creating the first minor league system. Rickey relates to this course because eligibility in sports has always been relevant, for example, the ancient Greeks only allowed Greek citizens to participate in the Olympics.

Hellenistic World (sports in)

Romans spread their cultural aspects including their views on athletics. Antony, who was very powerful adn married to Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII, supported athletic guilds and expanded their rights. Puts athletes above common people.

Lucius Cornelius Sulla

Sulla was a Roman politician and general. He supported guilds which were the first athlete player organizations. Sulla believed that the athletes should be above common people and gave members of guilds economic and social benefits. The player unions are similar to modern sport leagues such as FIFA, MLB, NFL, NBA. Also, modern athletes are commonly viewed as being above the average person.

Amateurism (Olympic definition)

The modern Olympics included a requirement of amateurism based on a false interpretation of ancient documents. It was eliminated in the 1970s. Amateurism has been used as a way to determine who is and who isn't eligible to compete.

Cynisca

The sister of the Spartan King, first woman to be an Olympic victor. She won the chariot race because she owned the chariot and the horses. The Spartans were unique in ancient Greek empire because they allowed woman to own property. Also, they believed women should be athletic in order to give birth to healthier children.

Agon vs. Themis

Themis were smaller athletic competitions in which the winner received an immediate small prize. Agons were larger, more prestigious competitions, such as the Olympics and Pythian games. Often, there was not a large prize for Agons, but victories gave victors glory.

Theogenes of Thasos

Theogenes of Thasos is an ancient athlete who is especially know for his defeat of Euthymus in boxing. He is an example of how ancient athletes and competitions are mythologized which parallels with modern athletics.

Herea

These are the first women athletic competitions which were held in Olympia. This shows that women have always had interest in sports and is similar to Title IX because both provide more opportunities for women to participate in sports.

Jim Thorpe

Thorpe was a Native American athlete who played baseball, football, basketball. He also won the pentathlon and decathlon in the 1912 Olympics but his medals were taken away because he was deemed ineligible since he had played semi-pro baseball before competing. Thorpe is an example of amateurism vs. professionalism which has always been relevant in athletic competition.

Jesse Owens

USA African-American Olympian who won 4 gold medals in the 1936 "Nazi" Olympic Games in Berlin. He used the Olympics as a pedestal to support the civil rights movement. He is relevant to this course when discussing eligibility in athletics and who can compete, also the use of athletics as a stage for social change.

Bill Walton

Walton was a star basketball player at UCLA and was coached by John Wooden. Walton received special treatment from Wooden because he was a star athlete. Other coaches, such as Bo Schembechler believed that all players on a team should be treated as equals. This relates to what Philostratus described in Gymnasticus that different coaches had their own unique coaching techniques.