Olympic scholars meet in Poland to explore traditions of ancient sport

Scholars from Poland, Germany, the United States and Ukraine gathered this week in the eastern Polish city of Lublin for a two-day international conference on the history and traditions of ancient sport.

The Lambros Cup on display at the Museum of the History of the Ancient Olympic Games in Olympia, Greece. The ancient vessel, dated to about 540–520 BC, was presented by antiquities dealer Ioannis Lambros to Spyros Louis, winner of the first modern Olympic marathon in 1896, according to historical accounts.

Photo: Marie-Lan Nguyen, CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The event, titled Olympia, Agōnes, Spectacula: Sport in Antiquity — History and Traditions, examined Greek and Roman athletic culture and its influence in later eras—from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance fascination with antiquity to modern times.

Image: Materiały prasowe/Press kit

"We created a forum for discussion on ancient sport in its broadest sense and its later traditions," said Dariusz Słapek, a professor at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin and one of the conference's organisers.

Panel discussions explored subjects including "Greek ideals, athletic contests through the lens of archaeology, epigraphy and numismatics, sport's role in religion, politics and power, the Olympic idea, and gladiatorial games," he said.

Researchers from academic centres across Poland took part alongside international colleagues.

The conference also featured two accompanying exhibitions: one on women's athletic competition and physical activity in ancient Greece, and another on Jewish sport, Poland’s PAP news agency reported.

Halina Konopacka (pictured) won Poland's first Olympic gold medal in the women’s discus at the 1928 Amsterdam Games, marking a historic milestone in the nation’s sporting history. Photo: NAC, Public domain

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Source: PAP, dzieje.pl, umcs.pl