Medieval History
The Games of the XXX Olympiad are under way in London, with China and the United States taking the early lead in the medal count. Last week, Slate visualized Olympic competitions between 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-century athletes. How would the ancient Greeks, who invented the Olympic Games, compete against today?s athletes?
Probably not well. Ancient athletes could have held their own in the first modern Olympic Games of 1896. Phayllos of Croton, for example, hurled the discus 95 feet in the Pythian games around 500 B.C. Although that distance is approximate?Greeks measured distance in actual human feet?it would have put him in the running for a medal at the 1896 Olympic competition. Phayllos probably would have bested American Robert Garrett?s 95.6-foot throw if he had used modern tools and techniques. Ancient hurlers likely used a heavier discus and took only a three-quarter turn before releasing it, rather than the two-and-a-quarter turns that modern athletes use. Variations aside, Phayllos wouldn?t have stood a chance against 21st-century athletes: The current world record is more than 243 feet.
Historians have puzzled over records from ancient long-jump competitions. Athletes posted distances of well over 50 feet?nearly double the current world long-jump record. Many classicists assume that the event was actually a triple jump, although that still puts the ancients surprisingly close to the modern record. The ancient competition was quite different from the modern version, however. The Greeks probably started from a standstill and swung handheld weights, known as halteres, to provide momentum on takeoff and allow them to extend their feet farther forward on landing.
Click here to read the rest of this article from Slate Magazine
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Medieval History
Were the Ancient Greek Athletes Tougher Than Today's Olympians?
Probably not well. Ancient athletes could have held their own in the first modern Olympic Games of 1896. Phayllos of Croton, for example, hurled the discus 95 feet in the Pythian games around 500 B.C. Although that distance is approximate?Greeks measured distance in actual human feet?it would have put him in the running for a medal at the 1896 Olympic competition. Phayllos probably would have bested American Robert Garrett?s 95.6-foot throw if he had used modern tools and techniques. Ancient hurlers likely used a heavier discus and took only a three-quarter turn before releasing it, rather than the two-and-a-quarter turns that modern athletes use. Variations aside, Phayllos wouldn?t have stood a chance against 21st-century athletes: The current world record is more than 243 feet.
Historians have puzzled over records from ancient long-jump competitions. Athletes posted distances of well over 50 feet?nearly double the current world long-jump record. Many classicists assume that the event was actually a triple jump, although that still puts the ancients surprisingly close to the modern record. The ancient competition was quite different from the modern version, however. The Greeks probably started from a standstill and swung handheld weights, known as halteres, to provide momentum on takeoff and allow them to extend their feet farther forward on landing.
Click here to read the rest of this article from Slate Magazine
- Ancient Roman Giant Found?oldest Complete Skeleton With Gigantism
It's no tall tale?the first complete ancient skeleton of a person with gigantism has been discovered near Rome, a new study says. At 6 feet, 8 inches (202 centimeters) tall, the man would have been a giant in third-century A.D. Rome, where men averaged...
- New Dictionary On Ancient Egyptian Language Completes 37-year Project
A dictionary of thousands of words chronicling the everyday lives of people in ancient Egypt ? including what taxes they paid, what they expected in a marriage and how much work they had to do for the government ? has been completed by scholars at the...
- Two Roman Shipwrecks Found In Deep Waters Around Greece
Two Roman-era shipwrecks have been found in deep water off a western Greek island, challenging the conventional theory that ancient shipmasters stuck to coastal routes rather than risking the open sea, an official said Tuesday. Greece's culture...
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It seems that being about a week behind is my reality this semester. In any case, here's last week's news: Ancient Norse Settlements Hit Cold Spell Saxon pottery at Wisbech playground site Life of Vikings seen through soil Trove of shipwrecks...
- Those Old Grey Stones Aren't What They Used To Be
On a promontory of land outside of the Swedish fishing town of Kaseberga, stand two rows of standing stones. A boat shaped burial monument, 220 feet (67m) long and composed of 59 megaliths that stand like sentinels guarding the cliffs and the pounding...