Olympic musings

Right I am going to jump on the bandwagon here as the Olympic opening ceremony is upon us. As I was taking my morning swim; terrifying the old ladies in the pool with my enthusisatic front-crawl, like a killer whale unleashed in a duck pond,I was wondering what the Ancient Greeks would have made of all the razzamataz surrounding the event.
The Ancient Olympics differed massively from the modern in that it was predominantly a religious festival so would they, I wondered, feel that the modern version with all its corporate sponsorship, had somehow tarnished their creation.
As I mowed down another blue rinser who had crossed my path, I concluded that opinion would probably be divided. I suspected that by and large the cosmopolitan Athenians would enjoy all the theatre and spectacle. The Spartans perhaps would be more critical of the cult of personalities and the endless commercialisation of the event.
As I flopped in the hot tub I thought about one great Athenian who would be right at home in the modern games. Alcibiades, himself an Olympic victor, would have lapped up all the attention. He was a man who basked in the limelight of public adulation. He was certainly a man who liked to think big as his countrymen learned to their cost following the ruinous invasion of Sicily that he talked them into. He was also not averse to cocking a snook at the religious niceties of the day. His mocking of the sacred Elusian mysteries is well attested. So if anyone would be able to forgive the abandonment of the Gods of Olympus in favour of an event where sport itself(or some cynics might say money) is the god, I think it would be him. Enjoy the show. SBJ
btw Today's quiz is of course on the Ancient Olympics. Check it out on the quiz page!