The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Ancient Games

by Tony Perrottet

What was it like to attend the ancient Olympic Games?

With the summer Olympics’ return to Athens, Tony Perrottet delves into the ancient world and lets the Greek Games begin again. The acclaimed author of Pagan Holiday brings attitude, erudition, and humor to the fascinating story of the original Olympic festival, tracking the event day by day to re-create the experience in all its compelling spectacle.

Using firsthand reports and little-known sources—including an actual Handbook for a Sports Coach used by the Greeks— The Naked Olympics creates a vivid picture of an extravaganza performed before as many as forty thousand people, featuring contests as timeless as the javelin throw and as exotic as the chariot race.

Peeling away the layers of myth, Perrottet lays bare the ancient sporting experience—including the round-the-clock bacchanal inside the tents of the Olympic Village, the all-male nude workouts under the statue of Eros, and history’s first corruption scandals involving athletes. Featuring sometimes scandalous cameos by sports enthusiasts Plato, Socrates, and Herodotus, The Naked Olympics offers essential insight into today’s Games and an unforgettable guide to the world’s first and most influential athletic festival.

"Just in time for the modern Olympic games to return to Greece this summer for the first time in more than a century, Tony Perrottet offers up a diverting primer on the Olympics of the ancient kind….Well researched; his sources are as solid as sources come. It's also well writen….Perhaps no book of the season will show us so briefly and entertainingly just how complete is our inheritance from the Greeks, vulgarity and all."
--The Washington Post

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Sports, Ancient History, Greece, Historical, Adult

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 8, 2004

Reviews

[Caleb Succo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bring back naked Olympics.

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my third read by the author and the first one where historical aspect dominates the book. Usually it's a balance between history and a travelogue. So this one is somewhat less humorous, but nevertheless interesting, well written and informative. Olympic games back in the day certainly were not what we're used to now, a wholly different (and very naked) kind of spectacle is presented here. Once again the author makes history come alive with his wit, erudition and attention to detail. This has got to be the only book I've ever read from the sports section of the library. Slender yet very informative and entertaining volume. Quick fun read. Recommended.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

some cool fun facts, for example that aristotle just like went to the olympics a couple times and hung out and watched games and got drunk with total normies. what a homie

[Kristi Clemow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was surprisingly interesting - I read this book as part of a challenge and expected it to be boring - but the flow of the book and the way the author presents the information was great. Recommend for anyone looking to know anything about the Olympics. Actually explains a lot about Western culture too - with such.....interesting.....roots.

[Frank Lodato · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this, one can easily understand that the concerns over swimming in the Seine in the Paris Olympics are vastly overshadowed by the conditions endured by athletes and fans alike at the ancient Olympics!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, fascinating history of the ancient Olympics. I learned a lot. Recommend.

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another informative and engrossing read by Tony Perrottet - as informative as his book about following in the footsteps of ancient Roman tourists Route 66 Ad , and written without academic jargon.

Perrottet guides us through how the judges, the priests, the athletes, the spectators, and the refreshment and souvenir sellers may have experienced the five days of the ancient Olympic games: training, getting to Olympia, finding food and drink, sacrificing to Zeus and other deities, poets and philosophers touting their works, participating in the sports, and, of course, the victory banquets. A few myths are corrected. (One is the "amateur" nature of the Games. The athletes were chosen young to compete in various prize games, and trained full time for at least ten months for the Olympics. They competed to win - no "second place is good enough". The victors were set for life: money, personal appearance tours, free food, free seats at the auditorium, a career in politics if desired.) A few theories are put forth with whatever facts can be deduced from the pottery and archaeological sites. The Games were a tourist attraction, and spectators came from all over the northern half of the Med - and from Egypt and Carthage too.

[Chrystyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Naked Olympics by Tony Perrottet - Good

Despite the slightly racy title, this is a non-fiction book about the Ancient Olympic Games held in Olympia and as I'll be visiting the archeological site later this year I thought it would be good background reading - and it certainly was.

Lots of detail about the creation of the site, its layout, the contests and some of the actual games and the victors but all written in an accessible way.

I think I should keep in mind the wise advise of Eubulus, about some of the celebrations, during my trip:

He advised guests to stop drinking after three cups because "the fourth belongs to hubris, the fifth to shouting, the sixth to revel, the seventh to black eyes, the eighth to legal actions, the ninth to bile and the tenth to madness."

As this is a bookcrossing book, I'm planning to take it with me and will try and release it at Olympia.

#review

[Michael Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't believe how silly the ancient Olympics were – the athletes being completely naked and covered in olive oil; false starts in a race punishable by whipping; a total ban on the use of magic; the absolute carnage of the MMA-style pankration – and this brought it to life wonderfully. Telling history in an interesting way is a difficult art, and Perrottet nails it with a very entertaining light read. One day I hope we'll recreate the Olympics in a more authentic way, if only for the fun of it.

[Ryan Silve · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eminently readable assortment of ancient anecdotes framed within a history of Hellenic sport. “Naked Olympics” is delightful.

Perotte offers a robust primer on the events of the ancient games and also highlights their often calamitous surroundings. Perotte shows that Massachusettsans tailgating for the Patriots and Arakadians riotously clamoring at the Pankration are cut from the same bolt of cloth.

We’d do well to surpass the heights of Olympic peace reached in 476 B.C.

[MH · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slim and lively popular history of the ancient Greek Olympic games. Perrottet is an engaging writer, and even if some seemingly legendary stories are presented as fact (he isn't always careful with the "according to ..." prefaces for some of the more outlandish stories) it's an enjoyable, vigorous historical synthesis.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and informative book, although I didn’t like that quotes lacked source (like he says “as Homer tells” and don’t address the work and lines]. It’s very frustrating nit knowing where to look in the original sources.
And it was a bit messy sometimes, but the appendixes are very useful.

[James Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bright and easy to read overview of the ancient Olympics, with a keen eye for the absurd and the profane. Very atmospheric and the author does well in capturing the flavours, sights and sounds of the event.

[Kat C · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, quick read about the ancient Olympics. Not too dense, didn't linger too long, and was sprinkled with lots of interesting facts and stories. I would have liked a longer version, but I enjoyed this overall.

[John Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Background on Original Olympic Games

Provides insight to environment in Olympia, including spectators, athletes, trainers, officials etc. Good descriptions of "trash talking", derision toward losers, and lifetime opportunities for winners.

[A'Llyn Ettien · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lively account of what it must have been like to attend and/or compete in the ancient Olympic games, with lots of entertaining asides and historical detail.

[Julie Richert-Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, fast read. Endlessly interesting with quickly covered snapshots of regional culture, politics and religion that put the Olympics in a fascinating context. Also. Just. Gross.

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting material but kept getting bored and putting the book aside.

This is a good account for anyone interested in knowing the origins of the Olympics.

[Husnina Asri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny insights towards the ancient olympic games

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is fine. A good choice for a traveler to Olympia. Not academic and not very precise, but fun and fast.

[Emma Whaley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rare good nonfiction book. Written in a way that's captivating and fun, though it does contain some inaccuracies and sensationalism

[Mirko · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written and interesting read.

[Marlayna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Am I a history person? Or am I just a nerd? (shut up you don’t have to tell me I am, Ik I am but anyways) why did I enjoy this?

[Tyler Rugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[John Scrimgeour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome plane read. Cool factoids about the og Olympics

[Jerry Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable, easy read. Certainly not for you if you are looking for serious scholarly information, but that isn't the intent of this book. It sets out to explain what the ancient games were really like, especially for those attending. TP also covers the competitors, the nature of the competitions themselves, the judges and the whole structure of the 5 day festival that was the Olympic games.

I have been to Olympia, and it remains one of the most atmospheric places I have ever visited. Much of the splendour that was the ancient olympic site has been lost to us, but nonetheless, it has the power to capture the imagination. TP goes a good job of expanding that out into a description of how the games functioned, and he sets it into its context pretty well also.

As I am fascinated by ancient civilizations as well as the Olympics both ancient and modern, this book was right up my street. I like books like this that don't take themselves too seriously, but also have facts that add to my knowledge. I definitely learned some things and the author does a good job of bringing the games to life.

It's a short read - a relatively small book and written with a light touch so even if you are not passionate about the subject, you will find it easy enough to get through. The overall quality of the editing and writing is not top notch in my opinion. There are numerous examples of repetition - basically the same story told to illustrate different (and sometimes the same) points. This often LOOKS as though it is unintentional, since it leaves the reader thinking: "I've heard this before" and the text doesn't generally acknowledge that we have heard the particular anecdote previously.

As I say, not a deep book that could be considered a reference book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Nigel McFarlane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tony Perrottet has a great talent for bringing the ancient world to life. Some of his other books feature the extra entertainment and jeopardy of his family being dragged along in pursuit of his quests, but here the ancient Greeks are so amazing that nothing more is needed.

The ancient olympics was an astonishing achievement: they ran that festival without a break for 1200 years, and did it extremely well, mostly. They crammed 40,000 spectators into a remote area with no water, blazing heat and only dry river beds to crap in - the smoke from the cooking fires and the stink must have been choking - and yet they put on this spectacle that was a sporting event, a pilgrimage, a literary festival, and a drunken rave all rolled into one.

Tony Perrotet's books always bring out this sense of wonder and affection in me: that these people, doing the conga round the olympic park and emerging from their tents the next morning with hangovers, did everything we do; amidst all the glory and the gore and the pederasty, they were so much like us, you feel as if you should be able to reach out and touch them.

[Jay Daze · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of interesting factoids about the ancient olympic games using the five days of the games as a way of structuring the book. While there was lots of interesting stuff about how the games have always been profession, corrupt and basically gross, I found there wasn't much of a narrative through line (I'm mostly a fiction reader), so I found the book a little too easy to put down and pick up. More bathroom reading than urgent reading. That said, the writing was clear, the facts were interesting. The fuck tents remind me of how prositutes usually stream into modern cities hosting the games to keep up with demand. Either a depressing thought or a reassuring note on the constancy of human existance - probably depressing.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

To quote Gertrude Stein, there's no there there. The writing is fine, but the book could have easily been cut down to a long piece in the New Yorker. It feels padded. There are plenty pf passages in which Perrottet invokes what have to be legends to make his narrative seem like a recounting of fact:

In one famous tiebreaker at Nemea, a certain Demoxenos of Syracuse jabbed out with his outstretched fingers, pierced the skin covering his opponent's rib cage, and pulled out his intestines. The judge denied Demoxenos victory, not for killing the other boxer but on the obscure technicality that he had actually struck four blows--one for each of his finger.

Really? And who cares? The book is filled with anecdotes like this: they don't ring true and aren't that interesting.

[Vicki Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a reconstruction of what the Greek games at Olympia must have been like. Perrottet describes events in chronological order, starting with the arrival of the athletes at the nearby town of Elis, through the day-by-day athletic events, with asides about training, evening debauchery, and cheating, among others. I was amazed at the large amount of detail available from ancient sources. Also included are many illustrations of various events found inside Greek drinking cups. The only lack was a map of Greece showing where the different cities mentioned were at.