Onward to the Olympics

Gerald P. Schaus is a professor of archaeology and Classical studies and former chair of the department at Wilfrid Laurier University, where he also teaches ancient sports. He is publishing the results of Canadian excavations in the Athena Sanctuary Stymphalos (Greece).Stephen R. Wenn is a professor in Wilfrid Laurier University's Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education. He is co-author of Selling the Five Rings: The IOC and the Rise of Olympic Commercialism (2002).

``Schaus and Wenn have managed to put in the hands of any interested reader a collection of articles between two covers that deal with both ancient problems and modern issues. How can anyone interested in the study of ancient athletics resist at least skimming through an article with a title like: `Duke Kahanamoku--Olympic Champion and Uncle Sam's Adopted Son: The Cultural Text of a Hawaiian Conqueror' by Jim Nendel...or `Carl Diem's Inspiration of the Torch Relay? Jan Wils, Amsterdam 1928, and the Origin of the Olympic Flame' by Robert Barney and Anthony Bijkerk.... These, and many others in Part II, are important papers, especially for classicists like me who regularly teach an `Ancient Sport' course especially popular with non-classics majors.'' -- Michael Carter, Brock University -- Bryn Mawr Classical Review, January 2008, 200802

• Table of Contents for Onward to the Olympics: Historical Perspectives on the Olympic Games , edited by Gerald P. Schaus List of illustrations Preface Introduction | Gerald P. Schaus List of abbreviations Part I: The Olympics in Antiquity An Overview The Ancient Olympic Games through the Centuries | Nigel B. Crowther Origins Politics and the Bronze Age Origins of Olympic Practices | Senta C. German Pindar, Heracles the Idaean Dactyl, and the Foundation of the Olympic Games | Thomas K. Hubbard The First Olympic Games | Max Nelson The Transformation of Athletics in Sixth-Century Greece | Paul Christesen Ideals and Losers The Ancient Olympics and Their Ideals | Nigel B. Crowther Olympic Losers: Why Athletes Who Did Not Win at Olympia Are Remembered | Victor Matthews Details of the Festival Judges and Judging at the Ancient Olympic Games | David Gilman Romano Heroic and Athletic Sortition at Ancient Olympia | Aileen Ajootian Fabulous Females and Ancient Olympia | Donald G. Kyle The Halma : A Running or Standing Jump? | Hugh M. Lee Another View of Olympia Connections between Olympia and Stymphalus | Gerald P. Schaus Commemorative Cash: The Coins of the Ancient and Modern Olympics | Robert Weir Works Cited in Part I Part II: The Modern Olympics An Overview The Olympic Games in Modern Times | Robert K. Barney The Olympics Before World War II Duke KahanamokuâOlympic Champion and Uncle Samâs Adopted Son: The Cultural Text of a Hawaiian Conqueror | Jim Nendel Carl Diemâs Inspiration for the Torch Relay? Jan Wils, Amsterdam 1928, and the Origin of the Olympic Flame | Robert K. Barney and Anthony Th. Bijkerk The Great Progression: A Content Analysis of the Lake Placid News and the Los Angeles Timesâ Treatment of the 1932 Olympics | Jonathan Paul The Olympics After World War II Womanizing Olympic Athletes: Policy and Practice during the Avery Brundage Era | Kevin B. Wamsley The Bridge to Change: The 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, South African Apartheid Policy, and the Olympic Boycott Paradigm | Courtney W. Mason Splitting Hairs: The Struggle between the Canadian Federal Government and the Organizing Committee of 1976 Torontolympiad Concerning South African Participation | David A. Greig Juan Antonio Samaranchâs Score Sheet: Revenue Generation and the Olympic Movement, 1980-2001 | Stephen R. Wenn and Scott G. Martyn The Future of the Olympic Games Olympic Ideals: Pragmatic Method and the Future of the Games | Tim Elcombe âTo Construct a Better and More Peaceful Worldâ, or âWar Minus the Shootingâ?: The Olympic Movementâs Second Century | Mark Dyreson Works Cited in Part II Glossary of Terms Index