Classics 2300

April 2nd, 2014

Lecture 43 Modern Olympics
1. Two Models of Hellenism
Philostratus, ch 11
Establishing the utility of athletics for war
Uses two examples; Sparta and Athens
Battle of Marathon and battle of Thermopylae
Practice of athletics is going back in time to recreate Greek past
2. Why choose Marathon and Thermopylae?
Pericles
A model of control vs a model of freedom
Discipline vs freedom
This is important in athletic training
Military state being discipline versus play on the other hand
3. Not just Philhellenism, Laconophilia
Laconophilia = the love of Spartan culture
The idea of absolute discipline
There were Athenians who loved Sparta
4. Sparta as a model for Nazi Germany
Adolf Hitler
Talks about Sparta as the first Racial state
State based purely on race and ethnic cleansing
Hitler uses Spartan models of exposure to justify his own practices
5. Susan Sontag: Fascinating Fascism
Disciplining the body and how it reflects the political ideaology
Mobilization of large amounts of people
6. 1948 Olympics
London Olympics
Big Ben still standing after WWII
An idea of democracy continuing
The idea of the discobolus idealogical conflict through Greek art
Discobolus transformed to German athlete
London poster is taking back the Greek tradition
Body fasciscm vs freedom and democracy
7. 1952 Helsinki Olympics
Part of the working class society
When they entered the Olympics they almost completely dominated them
Huge part of study of athletic performance because they impose systematic training during

youth (modelled from the Spartans)

Another way that Spartan politics inspired Russian forms of training
Russia + East Germany were very in part of female athletics, dominant early on, has a parallel
to Sparta because women competed for Arete in Spartan society

8. Communist Sport
Relationship of labour and sports being equivalence
9. Video Spartakiad
Shows the idea of Susan Sontag's idea of Fascist aesthetics (body synchronization)
10. Not to compete, but to win
Superiority of communism as a political system as a level of control over every human aspect
such as athleticism
Original Olympic Crede
Pierre De Cobertin
The most important thing was to participate in Olympics
Russian quote
The whole point of participating in the Olympics was just to win
11. South Africa and the Olympic Race
IOC's decisions causes some political changes
12. Munich Olympics
Sport being a symbol of war without the 'shooting'
13. Cold War Games: Russia vs US
Russia was able to demonstrate control
Was a boycott by a lot of the US members
Immediately after the next Olympics were hosted in the US
IOC likes to pair antagonistic countries
Russia vs US
Germany vs UK
Rejuvenation of the Olympics was to create an idea of global peace
14. 1984 LA olympics
Russian red star and Rubel piece with the Discobolus
1948 London Greek freedom
Berlin body faciscm
Russia Harmonious controlled politics
US red white and blue stars
Own coinage of discobolus
Now have a view of democracy
15. Price of Victory

16. Athens 2004 Olympics

Symbolic of Greece being a part of Europe (coin)
17. Pierre de Coubertin
Criticizes the overspending of stadiums
Suggesting that the works that are being built is being morivated by profit and corruption and a
fault of athletes as the victims
Pic: venue at Athens not being used
18. Redesigned Gold medal of 2004
Picture of Nike on the front
Back: quote of victory and how the Gods cause victory
19. From Beijing 2008 London 2012
20. Sui Jianguo: Drapery Folds
Deposit Memory
Marble from Greece in a cage
Cage memory of Greece
Manifestation in the ways in which the body becomes uniform
21. Mao Zedong quote
Everything comes down to the body itself
Educating the body first and the mind second
22. Modern Olympics Diskobolus
First case as a Nazi idealogoy
London as democracy
Russia
LA
Euro zone Greece
Mao Zedong sculpture
23. Pierre de Coubertin and Olympism