{"id":25,"date":"2021-04-26T10:09:48","date_gmt":"2021-04-26T14:09:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/classics-2238-spring-2021-amacy\/?page_id=25"},"modified":"2021-05-19T11:15:56","modified_gmt":"2021-05-19T15:15:56","slug":"your-choice","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/classics-2238-spring-2021-amacy\/your-choice\/","title":{"rendered":"Memorialization Through Restoration and Preservation: Ancient Greek and Roman Athletic Stadiums"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/h1>\n

While studying ancient stadiums, the question arises regarding how to delineate a site as a ruin versus a structure that should be renovated and reused. Both sites\u2014ruins and renovations\u2014serve as a form of memorialization. Ruins are often preserved in their current state, and our society has placed value on these places, attracting tourists from around the world who wish to experience the devastating beauty of the space\u2019s decay. Renovated sites serve a more functional purpose, allowing people to appreciate a structure\u2019s past by living and experiencing it for its intended purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n

Athletic venues pose a unique space to study ruins and renovations due to their grandiose size and natural tendency to attract people worldwide. In this section, I will investigate the Ancient Greek site of Olympia as well as the Panathenaic stadium in Athens.<\/span><\/p>\n

Olympia<\/h1>\n

The Ancient Greek Olympics\u2019 meaning extended further than just playing sports, they were also seen as a religious festival. While there was a sanctuary for Zeus on the site, the Greeks were also polytheistic: there were more than 70 altar options for sacrifice. The first Olympics were held in 776 BCE in honor of Zeus. The games were certainly affiliated with religion, and many men participated in them, particularly soldiers.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Krypte and entrance to the stadium. Courtesy Worldhistory.com<\/p><\/div>\n

While the site of Olympia is vast and contains many ruins, the stadium was an especially holy place for the ancient Greeks, as it was the space in which the sporting events were dedicated to Zeus. The official entrance to the stadium was the Krypte, a stone vaulted passageway that connected the area to the other part of the sanctuary. The stadium itself had mud seats that could sit 40,000 spectators, and a special area was designated for the officials\u2019 seating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The stadium that was built to host the Olympic Games in 776 BC is the oldest known stadium. Thousands of citizens flocked to Greece to watch the stadion, a 200-yard foot race. The stadium was made of packed clay and had a starting line made of flat stones that remain there to this day.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The 200-yard long Ancient Stadium of Olympia. Courtesy worldhistory.org.<\/p><\/div>\n

The site today attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year. By preserving the space in its state of ruin, Olympia and its stadium show the original rudimentary nature of the Olympic Games. Of course, the site and ruins are astounding, but had it been renovated, the authenticity of the area would have been lost. In this manner, the preserved ruins serve as a memorial to the Ancient Greek Olympics, capturing the beginning of an era of athletic history.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t