Chapter 7 - Conclusion

Summary

The Conclusion puts the results of the study into a larger perspective. All throughout the Hellenistic period, the field of athletics played a crucial role in the cultural and political history of the Greek world. Especially the third century can be identified as a heyday of Greek athletics. Various agonistic cultures emerged or existed alongside each other, most notably in Sparta, Thessaly, and Ptolemaic Egypt. With regard to the three different levels of agonistic representation, a logic of compensation is unveiled as a key motif on the level of the polis, whereas different strategies of agonistic representation are detected for the level of the kings. Finally, the emergence of a “new society of victors” including at least twenty-six female horse owners, non-Greeks, and successful royals represents one of the most important historical developments in the history of Hellenistic athletics.