Gaius Octavius Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 ??Some Roman cities carried on the Olympic games into the 6th century even after their being banned by Theodosius? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldrail Posted February 25, 2007 Report Share Posted February 25, 2007 Olympic games are a modern phenomenon and bear a passing resemblance to the contests held in antiquity. The are of course greek in origin, and for that reason were usually scorned by romans, particularly since contestants were supposed to compete naked (another example of roman ambivalence). Nero bucked the trend by staging such contests, but were they ever really popular? Only amongst cities with greek tendencies or perhaps those that had been banned from staging spectacles, such as Pompeii after the riot with Nucerians. The fact that cities staged events after a ban is of no suprise to me at all. It was public entertainment and any such diversion in otherwise hum-drum lives was welcome. Gladitorial fights continued into the 6th century in places despite christian objections and rulings to that effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.