William Blake Tyrrell, PhD
William Blake Tyrell is Distinguished Professor of Classics at Michigan State University. He received a PhD from the University of Washington. Tyrrell is the author of Amazons: A Study in Athenian Mythmaking (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1984) and The Smell of Sweat: Greek Athletics, Olympics, and Culture (Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 2004), coauthor with Frieda S. Brown of Athenian Myths and Institutions (Oxford University Press, 1991), and author of numerous scholarly articles and reviews.
Books by William Blake Tyrrell, PhD
The Smell of Sweat: Greek Athletics, Olympics, and Culture
- 553X
- 978-0-86516-553-3
A survey of Greek athletics from Homeric times through the fourth century C.E. From the games of the Iliad, to the foundation of the Olympic games, to the poetry of Pindar and the Olympic Festival, this book covers all aspects of Greek athletics: the events themselves—from the running events held at the first competitions to the later 'heavy' events of wrestling, boxing, and the pankration, to the pentathlon, jump, discuss, and javelin, held only at festival; the religious and athletic centers; the festivals in which the games took place; the voices of the games' celebrators (like the poet Pindar), critics, and the athletes themselves; the gyymnasion and its culture; and the evidence—literary, artistic, archeological, and historical. The introduction examines the nineteenth-century bias that created the myth of Greek amateurism. An extensive bibliography aids the reader in pursuing further study. CD containing all the references in English, makes this work also a unique reference.
