Sports Literature Fall 2018

There are very few articles documenting interviews with great boxers like George Foreman and Joe Frazier. They were outshined by the most victorious man of their decades: Muhammad Ali, the longtime heavyweight champion. No matter how much of a fight “Smokin’ Joe” can give Ali, years from then, the victory is all we see. Foreman was at one point a formidable opponent, but losing “demoralised” him to the point where he doesn’t accept fights, probably in fear of taking another beating to his body and ego ( From the Vault: Hugh McIlvany Meets Muhammad Ali, Hours After The Rumble In The Jungle by Hugh McIlvaney). Pindar started the trend of writing about great athletic victors, so that their names will be remembered for years to come. We do not know who Hieron defeated in his chariot race, or who came second to Telesikrates in his victorious armored run. But these two victors, and many more whom Pindar compared to demigods and heroes, will live on forever in history ( And The Winner I...

I found the article, "And the Winner Is...Pindar!" particularly interesting because I did not know quite how influential and difficult the works of Pindar were. For example, parts from his poems were used in modern day Olympics. It is incredible to think that while Pindar's poems were from the ancient Olympic Games, and his work still has a presence at the Olympics over two millennia later.  A point he made that I had never realized was that poetry about different sports often has different implied poetic subjects. For example, "American football means pain and injury", and  "baseball means nostalgia". This relates to this class too because the readings we have done so far about different sports, whether it was the Ancient Greek sports or modern sports like the Muhammad Ali boxing match.  Since Pindar was regarded so highly, and this article helped me realize that poets today do not truly have the same impact as they did back in Ancient Greece, ...

For this week's blog post, I want to focus on the relationship between Pindar and the Odes that he wrote. In the article titled  And the Winner is... Pindar!  by Stephanie Burt, I thought that it was interesting that families of victors would pay Pindar to compose a poem about them and their victorious moments. In the article, it says that "the family of a winning boxer paid Pindar to compose verse about the event, which was then performed, with music and dancing" (Burt 1). As you can see, Pindar is seen as a glorious writer because so many families of winning athletes are paying him to compose poems about them. Because Pindar was such a popular writer at the time, many of his stories connect to the modern Olympics and there are so many similarities that I didn't even realize. For example, the article states that "The 1984 Los Angeles and 2004 Athens Olympics included classical scholars reciting Pindar, or reading their own commissioned "Pindaric odes" ...

In this week's blog post, I have decided to write about our reading's in Hugh McIlvanney meets Muhammad Ali. In this reading, there are many similarities with our reading's in the Odyssey. Much like Odysseus, Muhammad was faced with younger competition who many believed would defeat him with ease. In this fight Foreman was the favorite to win, " found ourselves fearfully predicting that Foreman would be too young and too strong to fall before him" (McIlvanney). Odysseus was faced with the same scenario like Muhammad. Odysseus competed against a much younger opponent who was the favorite to win the athletic event. The two legends didn't go down without a fight. Both Muhammad and Odysseus proved their dominance and made a statement letting all of the spectators know that they are still on top of both of their individual athletic events.

With the reading for this week being based off of sports poetry and articles, I found the tribute to Pindar the most intriguing. Partly because because it boosts my confidence, saying that Pindar is one of the toughest poets to understand, but also because it really makes him seem unique in that his style is yet to be replicated. It mentions that Pindar poems have everything to do with majesty, history, and tradition, but little to do with the athletic event. This is something I really notice when I read Pindar, but the athlete is forever immortalized. Pindar cherishes more than just how good the athlete is, but rather who the athlete is and what he embodies. The theme in modern poetry has now shifted to amplify losing teams are amateurs. I feel this has now become so popular is because everyone loves an underdog, especially if they have a background full of hardships. Often times even when the underdog isn't victorious we praise him for the effort that he gave, and this differs gr...

In this weeks blog post, I would like to write about Writing Analytically 5 because I found this chapter to be particularly interesting.  First, I want to address the "Fortune Cookie School of Interpretation," which I found helpful.  The fortune cookie approach aims to extract a "hidden message" in the text.  However, this can hinder your work because it may interfere with your ability to be open minded.  I find this helpful because I do this very often, and in many cases, it does not allow me to think freely because I am mainly just looking for evidence that supports this message.  After reading this, I will make sure to be conscious of making assumptions so that I can interpret the passage.  Another interesting piece from the chapter were the common logistical fallacies at the end of the chapter.  These few pages will be useful throughout the entirety of this course and for my writing in general.  From learning about these mistakes such as a...

In this week's readings on Muhammed Ali, I found the power of athletics to be very evident. During the 1960's and 1970's, Ali was a very controversial figure. While many people supported him, many others criticized him for his actions outside of the ring. However, in both "Requiem for the Heavyweights" and "Hugh...and Muhammed Ali", Ali is praised, and defended from his critics. Before the Rumble in the Jungle, Ali was at a low. Previously unable to reattain the title, he had entered the fight against Foreman as a significant underdog. By defeating Foreman, Ali vaulted himself back into the public's favor, proving his worth in the ring. The ability that athletics have to change our views on a specific person is one that has been evident for centuries, as demonstrated in Pindar's odes. Similar to Ali's victory, Hieron's victory in the chariot race vaults him into fame, proving how long-lasting our society's focus on athletic heroes t...

All -- I've attached a message from a colleague of mine below; a more tragic end to this piece than to the Ali pieces. SS Here's another piece of boxing belles-lettres I've never forgotten: Norman Mailer -- who also wrote about the Rumble in the Jungle and features in that documentary, When We Were Kings  -- on the death of Benny Paret: Paret was a Cuban, a proud club fighter who had become welterweight champion because of his unusual ability to take a punch. His style of fighting was to take three punches to the head in order to give back two. At the end of ten rounds, he would still be bouncing, his opponent would have a headache. But in the last two years, over the fifteen-round fights, he had started to take some bad maulings. This fight had its turns. Griffith won most of the early rounds, but Paret knocked Griffith down in the sixth. Griffith had trouble getting up, but made it, came alive and was dominating Paret again before the round ...

This week we read Pindar's Olympian and Pythian Odes. I was interesting in Olympian Ode 1 decided to great Hieron of Syracuse who won the single horse race in the olympic games. Pindar tells the story of Pelops and his father Tantalos. I thought it was interesting that there are many tellings of this story. In the old version, Tantalos feeds his dismembered son in a stew to the gods at a banquet. Pindar states, "one of the envious neighbors immediately said in secret/that into water boiling rapidly on the fire/they cut up your limbs with a knife,/and for the final course distributed your flesh/around the table and ate it" (Olympian 1, lines 47-51). The gods realize what has happened and they bring Pelops back to life with his ivory shoulder. They then sentence Tantalos to a life with Hades in the Underworld. I thought that this was an odd way for the story begin. It seemed pretty dark that Tantalos would feed his son to the gods just to introduce Pelops' ivory shoulde...

Dean Noll In this weeks reading of The Pindar,   I asked myself the question of why Hieron's victory is a good sign for the future of the city's success. On page 217, the book states," The poet asks for Zues' favor and tells of Hierton's victory in the Pythian Chariot race, which he considers a promising sign of the city's future success". Hieron won a chariot race at the Pythian games earlier in the chapter and is also the ruler of Syracuse which shows that he is athletic. Since Hieron won the chariot race, it proves that Hieron is still athletic and noble. Since Hieron is still athletic, I believe that this is symbol for showing that there is still hope and it is a promising sign for the city's future success. Another question that I asked myself is why doesnt Cryne like typical girl activities? In Pythian ode 9 the book says,"the daughter of Hypseus, king of the Lapithae, disliked the typical activities of girls". I found the answer to...

In “Requiem for the heavyweights” McIlvanney writes on the fight between Frazier and Ali. This fight is important because it marks the end of the rivalry between two of the greatest heavyweight fighters. Ali has beaten Frazier, leaving him as the champion. Frazier at the time is about to retire from all the wear and tear to his body. Ali only has so long before he must retire too. McIlvanney speculates that this would be Ali’s last great fight because Ali has exhausted his opponents after beating Frazier and Foreman. The next time Ali could get a chance to prove himself again will be when he is too old. McIvanney makes a joke that Ali might retire and make more money funding an export business. This gets at the heart of what an athlete is. The goal of the athlete is to prove himself through _athlon_ and _ergon_. Athlon refers to the contest and ergon refers to the mutual struggle. As explained in “Requiem for the heavyweights” the Thrilla in Manila was more than competing for a title ...

My post this week will focus on Pindar's Olympian I: For Hieron of Syracuse . The first thing that caught my eye about this poem was the title; we live just over an hour away from another city named Syracuse. Upon investigation, I found that Syracuse, New York's name dates back to an Italian salt-making city from 700 B.C.  It is likely that the name of Syracuse, New York and the "Hieron of Syracuse" have common origins. In the first stanza of the poem, Pindar likens the Olympics as the greatest sports competition, analogous to water and gold in their respective uses. This suggestst that even thousands of years ago, the Olympics were as or even more important than they are today. In this poem, the Olympics are used for more than just a sports competition; they are used to grant political power and to determine the leaders of society. A "scepter" is used to describe political power in this poem when it is usually used to describe a battle tool used in the Oly...

As we read in the Odes, those who are victorious in the Olympiad receive fame and fortune in their communities. "And far shines that fame of the Olympic festivals gained in the racecourses of Pelops, where competition is held for swiftness of feet and boldly laboring feats of strength. And for the rest of his life the victor enjoys a honey-sweet calm, so much as games can provide it. But the good that comes each day is greatest for every mortal." (93-99) This quote suggests that elite athletes deserve a special place in society and a peaceful existence ("a honey sweet calm") and the greatest life possible as a reward for their hard work in athletics. We continue to do this today with our elite athletes. Humans have a collective understanding that they are entitled to the best life possible because they provide us with happiness. Humans enjoy being entertained. They enjoy being "wowed". Those who can impress the public by being the best at what ...

After reading the Iliad, especially Books 1-2 and 22-24, I have noticed that the Gods play a huge role in the relationship between the main characters, war, and athletics. From the war, I have noticed that the Gods often take sides on the war and can help or hurt certain people in the situations that they are faced with. For example, in Book one when Chryses's daughter was taken by Agamemnon, Apollo helps Chryses out by putting a plague on the Achaeans to hurt their forces in the war. The seer Kalchas says, "Therefore the archer sent griefs against us and will send them still, nor sooner thrust back the shameful plague from the Danaans until we give the glancing-eyed girl back to her father..." (Book 1, lines 96-98). As you can see, Apollo wants to help out the Trojans by hurting the Achaeans with a plague so that Chryses can get his daughter back. To stop this plague, Chryses's daughter must be returned and as a result, Agamemnon doesn't want to go empty handed ...

One message that I think that The Iliad portrays is the symbolism of sports. After Patroklos's funeral, Achilleus holds a series of game to honor his friend, "But Achilleus held the people there, and made them sit down in a wide assembly, and brought out prizes for games orut of his ships, cauldrons and tripods, and horses and mules and the powerful high heads of cattle and fair-girdled women and gray iron" (Book 23, Lines 257-261). Much like today, before sporting events significant men/women who had tragically past on would be honored before the start of an event. These people are sometimes the men and women who have fought for their country, celebrities who have brought joy to many individuals, and many other people who have had a large impact on the world. During this time, fans and athletes would show their upmost respect for these people who have left a mark on the world. This practice leaves a question for society. Were the ancient Greeks the first to honor cer...

The presence of divine intervention and the role of fate are themes that really struck me as we read the selected passages of the Iliad. Examples of divine intervention appear in the very beginning of book one when Chryse prays to Apollo to plague the Achaeans. Apollo answers his prayer and the Achaeans start to die of the disease. The presence of the Gods in the Iliad plays a major role in the plot progression. Athena also appears by Achilles size in book one and prevents him from killing Agamemnon. If the mortals were left to their own devices and the Gods didn't intervene with the plot then this piece of literature may have turned out much differently. The dream that Zeus sends to Agamemnon in book 2 is interpreted as a sign of fate, yet it is just a trick to harm the Achaeans. The interests of the Gods in the lives of the mortals are what drive the narrative forward. If Hera had not sent Athena to stop the Achaeans from sailing away, then there would most likely not be a story ...

One observation I made in the most recent reading that was particularly interesting was how influential fate was on the ancient Greeks' lives. If a person had a particular fate, there was no way for them to change it and it even influenced their mindsets. In most instances, fate was accurate too. For example, Thetis tells her son Achilles, "to a bad destiny I bore you in my chambers" (I. 418), while questioning his birth. This line was particularly shocking to me because it implies that even before Achilles was born, his life was planned out for him a way. In present day, I cannot imagine having a fate since birth, but because the gods had such a strong role in their everyday lives, it makes more sense. While I often believe everything happens for a reason, I believe people can often choose how to live their lives based on their own decisions and actions. In Book 22, when Hector is standing outside of the gates of Troy, this fate is shown, saying "his deadly fat...

In The Iliad , heroes with immense power determine the fates of the common people.  The epic begins with Agamemnon, King of the Achaians, holding a woman named Chryseis captive. Her father Chryses offers a ransom. Chryses is a priest of Apollo, so angering him is unwise. "All the... Achaians cried out in favor that the priest be respected," but greedy Agamemnon rejects the ransom offer, knowing full well that Apollo's will "make the Danaäns pay"( The Iliad , Book One, Line 42). Agamemnon and the Achaians set off to take Troy, but he tests his army's dedication by pretending to change his mind, saying "let us run away with our ships" and return "to the beloved land of our fathers"(Book Two, Lines 139-140). Unfortunately, his trial works too well, the Achaians "cleaned out" their ships and "made for home"(Book Two, Lines 153-154). The war seems like a lost cause, until Odysseus, inspired by Athena, goes through ...

On theme in the Odyssey that I wanted to address was the concept of forgiveness.  Throughout the story, we see time and time again how the characters rarely show remorse for their actions.  For example, in the beginning of the epic, Achilleus refuses to fight for the Achaians and prays to the Gods that they are defeated.  After many of them are killed, including his best friend Patroklos, Achilleus shows no compassion for the men that he left for dead, but instead becomes full of hatred and vengeance.  This makes sense because in the opening line of the poem, the narrator states, "Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus' son Achilleus and its devastation." Clearly, Achilleus is known for his temper, which is repeatedly shown throughout the epic. This lack of empathy is again displayed by Achilleus towards the end of the poem, when he goes to troy to attack Hektor.  When he finally chases Hektor down to a point where Hektor surrenders and begs him to spare his b...

In my readings of the Iliad, I found it most interesting and conversation worthy when a character's athleticism is put on display. I believe the question of what comprises athleticism is a theme of the epic and also a theme of this class. We read of historic warriors because they depict what we believe embodies athleticism. Not only are they strong and fast, but they have innate characteristics that are essential for leading and competing at such high levels. I enjoyed reading of the athletic competition put on by Achilles after Patroclus' burial, because not only did it display athletic competition but also divine intervention. On a personal level, this competition was very familiar and meaningful to me being that it was a multi-event competition, because I compete in the decathlon. I'm a firm believer that for someone to be considered athletic they must possess multiple facets of athleticism, and a competition of a boxing match, wrestling match, archery, a foot race, a ...

One topic about the Iliad that I found extremely intriguing is the continuation of its message, even hundreds of years after it was written. One instance of this is Achilles's struggle with Agamemnon. When Agamemnon orders Achilles to give him Briseis, a women he had rightfully won, Achilles is outraged, and refuses to fight for the Greeks so that they will realize how much they need him. In professional sports today, disputes over compensation occur between players and their teams often, usually in a way that mirrors the dispute between Agamemnon and Achilles. During "holdouts" in the National Football League, players will sit out practices, and sometimes games, when they feel they are not being properly compensated for their services. For these players, it is a matter of pride, and they are willing to go against the well-being of the entire team in order to get what they deserve. When Achilles is asked by Agamemnon to return Briseis, he is outraged, as he feels that h...

Discussions earlier in the week with my group pondered what Odysseus’ killing of each and every suitor living on his property says about his sophrosyne. Restraint is something I would categorize under being a part of one’s sophrosyne. From a modern perspective, the massacre of dozens of his people seems to show a lack of restraint on Odysseus’ part, and by consequence a bad sophrosyne. The suitors weren’t all identical in how offensive they were to the man; a lowly priest, pleading for his life finds “his praying head tumbling in the dust” (Book 22, Line 345), banished to the same gruesome fate of the others. However, in the context of the Odyssey, all of this killing is seen as righteous and completely natural. After killing all of the suitors, he is depicted as “some lion that’s devoured some ox of the field and lopes home, covered with blood, his chest streaked, both jaws glistening, dripping red” (Book 22, Lines 428-429). Likening Odysseus’ slaughtering to that of a majestic anima...

Ben Schwartz: Blog Post #2 This week when my group was going over The Odyssey we were discussing why Odysseus made the decision to hide his identity when he returned home. Odysseus disguises himself as a beggar when he returns to Ithaca after twenty years following the Trojan war and his long journey home. At first, it seems odd that Odysseus does this because he hasn't seen his family in such a long time. However, it becomes apparent that Odysseus disguises himself so that he can personally identify who his enemies and allies are in his house. His motives for his disguise are initially revealed when Euryclea, the housekeeper, is washing his feet. She notices a scar that Odysseus received when he was younger and realizes that the beggar is really Odysseus. Odysseus quickly quiets her down with threats because he doesn't want to be revealed to Penelope, his wife. He states, "For this I tell you, and will make it true,/That of the women some I mean to slay./When by my ha...

Brandon Nathasingh Blog Post 2 FWS This week in class we read books 18-24 of The Odyssey and expanded on the book’s definition of an athlete, discussed the social responsibilities of being an athlete, and experience the fear of some of the characters. In book 18, Odysseus further express his superiority over those who challenge him, but he does it in an interesting way: “ Leave blows alone, do not press me too hard, or you may make me angry so that, old as I am, I may give you a bloody chest and mouth. Then I could have peace, and still more of it tomorrow, for I do not think you will make your way back here a second time to the house of Odysseus, son of Laertes” He is disguised as a beggar which makes his actions surprising. If you denied a homeless person a donation and they lashed out at you, that would not pass over well with you and Odysseus received the same reaction. This shows both the superiority human instinct as well as the superiority instinct of the athlete. B...

In this weeks reading of T he Odyssey  I learned what Odysseus accomplishes out of shooting the arrow through the axeheads. All the other suitors did not even come close to shooting the arrow through the twelve axeheads and Odysseus did it on his first try with ease. Since athleticism and nobility go hand in hand in this book, it proves that Odysseus is more noble and athletic than the rest of the suitors. This also proves that Odysseus is superior to the suitors since he is the only one who could do this nearly impossible task.  The suitors were shooting for nobility even though they were not living a noble life. The book turned from an athletic contest to violence real quick because the suitors were not sophrosynic like Odysseus. The suitors were finally faced with an athletic competition and failed. Odysseus did not have any mercy for any of the suitors because none of the suitors were whole minded and athletes.

In Italo Calvino’s article on what is a classic, he writes several suggestions on what defines a classic. One of them is “A classic is something that tends to relegate the concerns of the moment to the status of background noise, but at the same time this background noise is something we cannot do without.” In  the Iliad , there is a strong interplay between what the concern of the moment is on a micro and macroscopic level. When the  the Iliad  begins, we are thrown into the middle of the Trojan War. This is the macroscopic conflict. The Trojan war has been going on for several years and the soldiers are “praying to flee death and the grind of war” (Il. 2.476). On the microscopic level, though, the conflict is between Achilles and Agamemnon. The two have gotten into a fight, and Agamemnon chooses to take Achilles’s prize, Briseis (Il 1.228). Achilles is left with bitter anger because he has been cheated by Agamemnon. The entirety of  the Iliad  seems to ...

From New York Review of Books: Why Read the Classics? Italo Calvino October 9, 1986 Issue Let us begin with a few suggested definitions. 1) The classics are the books of which we usually hear people say: “I am rereading…” and never “I am reading….” This at least happens among those who consider themselves “very well read.” It does not hold good for young people at the age when they first encounter the world, and the classics as a part of that world. The reiterative prefix before the verb “read” may be a small hypocrisy on the part of people ashamed to admit they have not read a famous book. To reassure them, we need only observe that, however vast any person’s basic reading may be, there still remain an enormous number of fundamental works that he has not read. Hands up, anyone who has read the whole of Herodotus and the whole of Thucydides! And Saint-Simon? And Cardinal de Retz? But even the great ninetee...