Greek athletic sports and festivals (1910) (14770222235)

Identifier: greekathleticspo00gard (find matches)
Title: Greek athletic sports and festivals
Year: 1910 (1910s)
Authors: Gardiner, E. Norman (Edward Norman), 1864-1930
Subjects: Athletics Sports Olympics Fasts and feasts
Publisher: London : Macmillan and Co.
Contributing Library: Harold B. Lee Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Brigham Young University



Text Appearing Before Image:
not yet turned.The style of running shows that the post denotes the turn andnot the finish.^ The difference in style between the sprinter and the long-distance runner is clearly marked on Panathenaic vases. The ^ It is unnecessary to repeat here the arguments on which these conclusionsare based. They are stated fully in J.H.S. xxiii. p. 267. XIII THE FOOT-RACE—DIFFERENT STYLES 281 style of the latter is excellent; his arms are held close in tothe sides, yet swinging freely without any stiffness; his body isslightly inclined forward, with chest advanced and head erect;and he moves with a long sweeping stride, running on the ballof the foot, but without raising the heel unduly (Fig. 51).At the finish he, too, like the sprinter, swung his arms violentlyin making his spurt, using them as wings, says Philostratus.^This idea of the winged runner seems to have influenced theearly representation of the stade runner, which at first sightappears almost grotesque. He seems to be advancing by a
Text Appearing After Image:
Fig. 52.—Panathenaic amphora. Munich, 498 SixUi century. series of leaps and bounds with arms and fingers spreadeagled(Fig. 52). _ _ - In criticizing these drawings we must not forget that thesubjects on the Panathenaic vases are usually treated in aconventional manner. The earliest of these vases are archaicwork of the sixth century, the latest archaistic work of thefourth century, and, as is usual in objects connected withreligion, the conventions of the earlier period are preserved ^ Gym. 32 olov irrepoijfJLevoL viro rQv xftpwi^. Winged figures are very frequentin early Greek art: a very beautiful later representation of a winged runneroccurs on a r.-f. vase published in B.C.H., 1899. p. 158. 282 GREEK ATHLETIC SPORTS AND FESTIVALS chap. in the later. Now, if we make allowance for the limitations ofthe early artist, and the extreme difficulty of the subject, weshall find that the artists have succeeded in reproducing theessential points of a sprint.-~TW JTjirmera^iia well on the