People perceived the Greek athletes as god-like creatures due to their abilities to win

competitions. The Greek athletic beauty represented youthful and masculine body and embodied

the image of god. The Greek athletes were people admired gods and therefore the Greek artists

sculptured and transformed these athletes into gods. “Athletic beauty symbolizes the triumph of

our divine, spiritual nature over our animalistic, physical nature.” (p. 285). The Greek athletes’

capabilities to win competition were linked to maintain faith in their abilities and training. Faith

is an element of religion. Fans were fascinated by the Greek athletes and their loves towards

these athletes was driven by having faith in them. However, fans build up faith in athletes based

on the athlete’s dedication to win or previous wins. Having faith in athletes demonstrated that the

Greek fans had faith in gods. “…athletic beauty also reflected the noble effort to ‘become like a

god’, another of Plato’s metaphors for arête” (pg. 287). Sport connects people with similar

characteristics together, ultimately creating a connection just like in religion. People from

different ethnic background, religion and believes but with similar interest in sport are able to

connect and enjoy sports. Sport brings a universal connection across the world something that

religion attempt to achieve. The athletic beauty helps to gather fans together and gives it a

religious resemblance. The Greek artists perceived sports as religious worship. This highlight

why everything connected with sport was attributed a divine light and athletes were treated as

gods. The Greek athletes who attained most victories stood out from the rest and were treated

like gods and their legacy was preserved in form of sculptures. People thought that these athletes

have souls similar to those of the gods and had divine sense which was cherished. Although

Greek sport differs from the modern support, today fans still worship athletes because of their

athletic power, elect athlete statues in their hometown and strive to maintain toned and

physically fit body.