The Naked Olympics : The True Story of the Ancient Games

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Summary: Restoring Fun (and Nakedness) to the Olympics
Review: Author Perrottet wears his learning lightly in this his latest classical romp, yanking the coverlets off today's sanctimonious consumeristic snooze to get at the pagan mosh pit that was the original Olympic article. Naked Classicism indeed!

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Summary: the greeks had all the fun
Review: How come the ancient Greeks had all the fun? Sports? Obviously they were there at the Olympics. But so much else too! Great banquets with sexy flute girls, philosophers like Plato pontificating in one corner, writers like Herodotus reading in the other. Wine, rich food, fire eaters and astrologers. They knew how to party in ancient Greece. Don't worry about watching the games this year in Athens, read this book instead.

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Summary: ecellent i loved this
Review: I loved this novel abourt the olympcs, its one of the best I have read. We had to read one about this subject for school and this was the most. Thanks for a great book Mr. Parrot

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Summary: the glories of competing in the buff
Review: I was surprised to learn that women could not compete at all in the ancient Olympics and that married women couldn't even attend as spectators. For some reason, unmarried girls were allowed in to the Stadium, to admire the bods of naked young men! There are lots of other fun facts in this book -- I wish there had been a bit more about the women's competitons in Sparta, but overall a great book for anyone into either sports or history this summer (and personally I think I'll be watching the Olympics on TV rather than braving Athens!) It's a fast, fun read.

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Summary: companion for the sports enthusiast
Review: I was surprised to learn that women could not compete at all in the ancient Olympics and that married women couldn't even attend as spectators. For some reason, unmarried girls were allowed in to the Stadium, to admire the bods of naked young men! There are lots of other fun facts in this book -- I wish there had been a bit more about the women's competitons in Sparta, but overall a great book for anyone into either sports or history this summer (and personally I think I'll be watching the Olympics on TV rather than braving Athens!) It's a fast, fun read.

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Summary: A book that actually makes the Olymics interesting
Review: If you're like me you find the modern Olympics stultifyingly uninteresting, so all the more kudos to Tony Perrottet for writing a book that is brief, witty, and deceptively learned beneath its breezy exterior. Whether you have any interest in sports, ancient or modern, this book brings the past to life in a way that makes it seem at once as contemporary as our own lives and shockingly strange as well- a trick only the best popular history books manage to pull off. If you like this book, take a look at Perrottet's other book on ancient life, Pagan Holiday, which carries off the same succesful appproach with the ancient Romans.

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Summary: fun, fast, informative
Review: More than just the Olympics, also a fast tour of Hellenic society. Perrottet is good not just on the details of the games but also on the role of the games in the Hellenic world.

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Summary: Appropriate release time
Review: Now that the summer Olympics are upon us, this book, which tells the reader about the original Greek Olympoics in Olympia, is particularly welcome. It goes through a typical Olympics, showing the religious aspects of the games, and also the various events that were held.It doesn't stint on the darker side of the games, but the approach to the book is rather light-hearted, and even with that a lot of new information is imparted to the reader. It's well worth reading, and I highly recommend it.

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Summary: wonderful illustrations add to a unique book
Review: People may not realize how visually appealing this book is. There are over thirty fascinating illustrations done from ancient Greek vase paintings. These show brilliant scenes from the festival, both sports and the fun parts, victory parties, drinking and carnal antics off the field. It's a really attractive extra element to a very entertaining book. The drawings are much more exciting than the black and white photos of ruins and statues you get in most ancient history volumes! They really add a unique element to this book. The great research and detail of the writing are complemented by the art (and check out the recreation of Olympia itself, and the statue of Zeus, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient World...)

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Summary: time travel for the layman
Review: This was a great way to learn about the ancient world; a very witty, engaging read, you hardly realize you're finding out so much! There was an extract of the first chapeter in the Smithsonian Magazine recently, which I saw and enjoyed, and was inspired to read the rest of the book. (I think you can read it online, since this site doesn't have the 'look inside' feature of the first chapter - a pity, as the first part is a great overview of the festival, which certainly upsets the romantic view being peddled in Athens these days! As the author says, the Greeks Olympics were far more interesting than the idea we often presented of buffed young men in tunics strumming the lyre in a green field!) I learned a lot more than fun material about sports. The whole festival was one big fiesta, lots of wine and budget prostitutes, palm readers and astrologers, and I'd love to have gone to the original event! Especially the year Herodotus read his work to the crowds. But since I don't have a time machine, the Naked Olympics will really have to do.