Classical Studies : Sports & Recreation :
a guide to Library Resources

Contents:
Starting points | Finding books |Finding journal articles etc. | Primary sources | Web resources

STARTING POINTS

Dictionaries and encyclopedias provide starting points for definitions, background information and, often, further references on ancient sport & recreation topics. Or consult an introductory text such as Sport and society in ancient Greece (1998)

FINDING BOOKS USING THE LIBRARY CATALOGUE

Books can be found by searching the library catalogue. The following are terms which can be browsed using the Subject Heading option:

Games Social aspects Rome

Olympic Games (Ancient)

Sports History
Sports Greece
Sports Rome

Or construct your own keyword searches. Here are some examples:

Games and Rome and (violence or cruelty)
skey "Olympic games (Ancient)" and athens

Click here if you need help with constructing searches using techniques such as truncation and Boolean operators

FINDING JOURNAL ARTICLES ETC. USING DATABASES & BIBLIOGRAPHIES

For most topics the databases listed in the Databases for Classics guide should be sufficient, but those researchers needing to undertake a more comprehensive literature search should note the following additional sources:

L'Annee philologique [print]
[The premier index for Classics - if it's unfamiliar, read this description before attempting to use it]

Diotima Bibliographies[web-based]
[Scroll down for the bibliography for Sport & Athletics]

Sport in Greek antiquity: a brief bibliography[web-based]

Greek and Roman athletics : a bibliography [print]
[Covers material published up to c.1984]

PRIMARY SOURCES

Check this link into the library catalogue for primary sources in translation on ancient sport & recreation. Click on the following catalogue links for more general primary source material for Greece and Rome

WEB RESOURCES

Ancient Olympic Games Virtual Museum
[Requires individual registration although no charges are involved]

Ancient Olympics
[A special exhibit of the Perseus Project created in 1996 as a tribute to the centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta]

Roman Gladiatorial Games
[An examination of gladiatorial combat and associated spectacles]

This page is maintained by Jennifer Osborn

Last update: 12 July 2007