Teleconference Lecture Tomorrow : "War and Sports"

"War and Sports"

Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Speaker: THOMAS SCANLON
2:00 PM ET/ 11:00 AM PT (90 minute lecture and Q&A) 

Both sport and battle were "contests" for the Greeks, agones, in their terms.  We will here look at the fascinating and puzzling legend(s) of Pheidippides (or whatever his name was), ancient long-distance messenger runners ("day runners" hemerodromoi) as a class, ancient footraces in the stadium, perhaps a bit about the Olympic truce (on the theme of sport and war), the Marathon Race in the modern Olympics, and modern long-distance running.  The common thread is the Greek and our own contest culture.

Department Chair of Comparative Literature, and Director of Comparative Ancient Civilizations at the University of California, Riverside, Tom Scanlon's research is on Greek and Roman sport, and Greek and Roman historical writing; his  teaching interests encompass most areas of Greek and Roman literature, language, and culture, including courses on ancient sports, religion, gender, and mythology.

Location: Teleconference from anywhere in the world
Free registration: http://marathon2500-6.eventbrite.com