#CLST6 #RR13 Ancient Greek Athletics had a wide array of events: with running, throwing, wrestling, chariot racing, and more. Because of this, it was portrayed across many different types of media. https://twitter.com/FlintCLST6/status/1318566315859333120

Ceramic pottery was a common medium for athletic art, and most athletes on ceramic vessels are depicted mid and sometimes post-competition, possibly in order to show the honor and work involved with being an athlete.

Another medium is through marble statues. This medium allows the viewer to appreciate the dynamic and athletic positions the athlete is in through their competition. One example of this is the discobolus statue, which shows the active stance of the thrower.

Sources:



Neils, Sport and Spectacle in Greek Antiquity, 2014.

i meant to include this picture on tweet 1

Additional tangent:
As a discus thrower myself I can’t post this thread with good conscience without saying that the iconic discobolus statue has very bad throwing form (it bugs me quite literally EVERY time I see that statue)

But I did also look up if ancient throwing technique was different back from today’s, which it is. They threw from a standing position, instead of today’s technically advanced rotation method. This makes sense, since they wouldn’t own throwing shoes to spin in if they were naked

I could write 50 more tweets about discus form but I’ll end it here.
Tangent Sources:

https://healthahoy.com/ancient-fitness-tools/greek-discus/

https://www.greekboston.com/culture/ancient-history/discus/

http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TC004EN.html