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1、Unit 7 There Has Always Been Olympic MischiefErich SegalEvery four years, when the Olympics roll around again, journalists seem automatically to recycle those misty-eyed notions about “Good Old Days.” They eulogize the original Greek Games as being pure and uncommercial. If we believe what we read,
2、every ancient competitor was an amateur, and all worshipped fair play.This is, of course, sheer nonsense. As Lord Byron quipped: “All times when old are good.” In fact, the mythology of a perfect Olympics is the modern invention of snobs and self-styled purists, perpetuated by sports writers and tel
3、evision commentators at a loss to fill air time. Here is the not-so-rosy truth. From as far back as Homers Iliad which portrays games of the 12th century B.C. Greek athletes cheated as a matter of course. Their entire ethic was based on winning by fair means or foul. Olympic boxers hit where they we
4、rent supposed to, and took bribes to take dives.Runners jumped the gun (to be precise, the Greeks used a trumpet), and they elbowed one another viciously on the curves.The chariot racers were even more brutal, especially in the Games held under the Roman Empire. We have recorded cases of drivers sta
5、bbing rivals as their vehicles drove neck to neck. Perhaps most amazing of all, if it were later proved that, say, a boxer or a wrestler had dishonestly won through bribery he still didnt lose his title.Perhaps you are asking where the judges were. Oh, the Greeks had the usual referees, umpires, and
6、 so forth. But these arbiters were often susceptible to financial enticements and treats. And even if an honest judge was stationed at the turning post that the runners had to circle, he still had great difficulty in determining whose elbow was smashing into whose ribs, because the athletes didnt we
7、ar numbers. For that matter, they didnt wear uniforms either. Indeed, one real difference between the ancient and modern games was the fact that all the Greek athletes were obliged to compete in the nude.You might think that this bareness would have made it impossible to commercialize the ancient Ga
8、mes. After all, the stars couldnt be paid to wear anybodys track shoes or sweat shirts. That much is true, but we would be naive to think that the athletes were therefore “amateurs.” Then, as now, the Olympics meant big bucks (sorry, drachmas) for the champions. According to a recent book by Profess
9、or David Young of the University of California at Santa Barbara, the winner of the sprint could, in fact, expect to earn the ancient equivalent of several hundred thousand dollars!To begin with, there was the actual prize money. From at least the sixth century B.C. the Greeks openly gave cash awards
10、 for first place in the Olympics. After that there were huge fees that these newly crowned champions could demand for “personal appearances.” No, I am not being anachronistic. Promoters of minor track meets which were often held to advertise local products (!) would fork over plenty to have the hott
11、est runners of the day merely show up. Whats more, the athletes were generally absolved by their home town from paying taxes and were given free meals for life.Thus, even in classical times, the Olympics were a highly commercial affair. And they were also highly political. There were ferocious rival
12、ries among the various city-states, both from the mainland and the various Greek colonies, to have one of their own win a big title.I am not afraid to name names. The greatest sprinter in antiquity was a certain Astylos, who hailed from Crotona, a tiny Greek village in Italy. At the Games of 488 B.C
13、. he dazzled all by winning both sprint events. Afterwards, Astylos was approached by some boys from Syracuse, then a rich and growing city in Sicily, who made him an offer he couldnt refuse. They suggested that he change citizenship so he could run for their citys team in the next Olympics. The pri
14、ce was right. And the deal paid off. In the Games of both 484 and 480, he repeated his amazing double. But he entered the record books as Astylos of Syracuse. Which proves that money can buy anything, including Olympic champions.Lest I besmirch the name of a great athlete, let me hasten to say that
15、I do not imply that Astylos really cheated. He simply accepted a lot of cash to move to a bigger base of operations. It happens all the time today with corporate executives.Let us conclude this iconoclastic survey of ancient misbehavior with two rather bizarre anecdotes. According to the authority o
16、f the great historian Plutarch, King Mithridates of Pontus (first century B.C.) poisoned the rival charioteer who dared to beat him in a race. And finally there was the multitalented emperor Nero. In A.D. 67, he had the officials hold a special Games at Olympia in his honor. He lasted about twenty yards and fell off his chariot. But he was nonetheless declared the winner. In this instance, the judges were not bribed. They were simply scared.
