Book contents
- Hellenistic Athletes
- Hellenistic Athletes
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Chapter 2 What’s New in Hellenistic Athletics?
- Chapter 3 Athlete and Polis
- Chapter 4 Athlete and Koinon
- Chapter 5 Victorious Kings
- Chapter 6 Becoming Greek through Athletics
- Chapter 7 Conclusion
- References
- General Index
Chapter 4 - Athlete and Koinon
Agonistic Success beyond the Level of the Polis
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 March 2024
- Hellenistic Athletes
- Hellenistic Athletes
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Chapter 2 What’s New in Hellenistic Athletics?
- Chapter 3 Athlete and Polis
- Chapter 4 Athlete and Koinon
- Chapter 5 Victorious Kings
- Chapter 6 Becoming Greek through Athletics
- Chapter 7 Conclusion
- References
- General Index
Summary
By focusing on the relevance of regional identities in the self-presentation of Hellenistic victors, this chapter explores agonistic fame beyond the level of the polis. As the best documented case, the agonistic representation of Thessalian victors is of particular importance. It reveals that Hellenistic horse owners from Thessaly always emphasized their regional instead of their polis identity in order to enhance their horses’ value as objects of prestige and to create a virtual “hall of fame” of victorious horses and their owners. Although this was an exceptional case, regional identities were also expressed by Phokian and Arkadian athletes in the early Hellenistic age. Taken as a whole, the period saw the heyday of Greek federal states; and yet, the basic unit in the agonistic discourse remained the polis.
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- Hellenistic AthletesAgonistic Cultures and Self-Presentation, pp. 201 - 232Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024