GREEK VIEW OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION.   Term Paper ID:29779 Click to get this paper

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Paper Abstract: Classic notion of value of physical development. Belief that athletics had religious, cultural and practical significance. Link to wisdom and virtue. Athletic training as an important feature of Greek culture and identity. The Olympic Games. Fitness of soldiers and sailors for war as an objective of physical education. Ideas of Plato and Aristotle. Paper Introduction: It is a commonplace of historiography that ancient Greece provided models of intellectual and political experience that are familiar to modern Western culture. But the iconography of the ancient world is not dominated by representations of philosophers or of city-state assemblies. It is entirely possible that, asked to select a single image representative of Golden Age Athens, many would settle on a piece of decorated pottery or sculpture portraying a discus thrower or chariot racer in action. Indeed, the ancient-era Olympic Games survived myriad ancient wars and "occupied such an important place in Greek life that time was measured by the interval between them--an Olympiad" (Abrahams). For the Greeks, athletics had religious and cultural as well as practical significance, which helps explain why the poetr Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. For a man would be entirely independent, provided he possessed all internal and external goods; for there are no others. Selected Lives and Essays. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. But it emerges that"common meals and gymnastic exercises have been excellently devised for thepromotion both of temperance and courage" (Plato, Laws I), which in turnare elements of the development of individual and collective virtue, thehighest virtue in Plato always being wisdom because of what its possessionimplies. Effective demonstration implies effective presentation of thepersuader's personal character, his ability to "put[] the audience into acertain frame of mind," and the content of the speech (Rhet. Trans. .Bodily excellence in athletics consists in size, strength, and swiftness of foot; for to be swift is to be strong (Rhet. The fact that gymnastic entails concepts of change and decay, inPlato's scheme of thought, means that it is not an Ideal Form, i.e., notincorruptible, but instead transitory, unequal to wisdom. Trans. Thus trained, these people murderedtheir way across Europe. London: Penguin, 1954.Plato. Herodotus makes much of thedistinction between the Greek and Persian (Western and Eastern) mind-setwhen describing the circumstances of Xerxes's attempt to conquer Greece asrevenge against the Greeks' earlier defeat of Darius at Marathon. 84-243.---. The larger point is the philosophical one: "The pleasure or painwhich accompanies actions may be regarded as a test of a person's moralstate" (Nich. Greek philosophy, which treats of metaphysics, politics, rhetoric, thenatural sciences, and art, is replete with references to physical educationand training as essential elements of education as a whole. Like Plato, Aristotle considers physical education a core component ofthe well-rounded member of the ruling class. The same is trueof music, which is regarded as a useful discipline but even at its best anartifact of habit and training rather than of virtue per se. Black, Inc., 1969. . Physical beauty is one aspect of the presentation, and it is achievednot least by habits, formed in youth, that foster fitness, prudence,temperance, and courage in body and mind. This is why the athletes in the pentathlon are most beautiful, because they are naturally adapted for bodily exertion and for swiftness of foot. 1 2-3). Cambridge, Mass.:, Harvard U P, 1926.Herodotus. What he terms "bodily excellence" is health and well-being, but he adds an aesthetic component to the definition in a way thatreveals the cultural priorities of physical presentation. Trans. 24-5). . 22). While Plato sets wisdom above all the other virtues, saying that it"contains a divine element," he also explains that virtues of the soul thatare not innate can be learned, or, more specifically, "can be implantedlater by habit and exercise," which are features of physical activity(Plato, Republic 4 3). . Ed. Beauty varies with each age. Trans. The Histories. Aubrey de Sélincourt. "We are most fullypersuaded," he says, "when we consider a thing to have been demonstrated"(Rhet. Trans. 136 ). Athletic training was considered an important feature of Greek cultureand identity throughout the classical period. Louise Ropes Loomis. For the Greeks, athletics had religious and cultural as well aspractical significance, which helps explain why the poetry and philosophyof ancient Greece includes references to sports. Louise Ropes Loomis. [and] when he learned that the prize was not money but a wreath, he could not help crying out in front of everybody, "Good heavens . Aristotle adds that both individuals and the community should "securethe existence of each of these qualities in both men and women," and hementions fitness for athletic contests as a distinguishing feature of ahappy commonwealth. 221-495.Plutarch. . But that factdoes nothing so much as shore up the tightness of Aristotle's linkage ofvirtue and physical education, not least his caution against deficiency andexcess and implicit advocacy of moderation. Aristotle On Man in the Universe. . Plutarch's biographical account of Alexander the Great refers to hisindifference "to the whole tribe of athletes" and says that Alexander, who,to be sure, was preoccupied rather with conquering the world, "never wasinterested in offering prize for boxing or wrestling" (Plutarch 5). Plato explains that gymnastic, his word for physicaleducation, "preside[s] over the growth and decay of the body, and maytherefore be regarded as having to do with generation and corruption"(4 7). Indeed,when asked whether he, a fast runner, might like to compete at the OlympicGames, he said, "If I had kings to run against" (Plutarch 4-5). Indeed,the ancient-era Olympic Games survived myriad ancient wars and "occupiedsuch an important place in Greek life that time was measured by theinterval between them--an Olympiad" (Abrahams). "Olympic Games." Britannica 2 1 Deluxe Edition CD-ROM. Aristotle goes on to cite Plato's Laws on "theimportance of having a certain training from very early days." It is difficult to overstate the logical linkages that Greekphilosophy makes between personal wisdom and virtue and the values ofphysical education. Too much or too little gymnastic exerciseis fatal to strength" (Nich. 1361). 1943; Roslyn, N.Y.: Walter J. It isentirely possible that, asked to select a single image representative ofGolden Age Athens, many would settle on a piece of decorated pottery orsculpture portraying a discus thrower or chariot racer in action. Welldon. What happensthen illustrates how deeply embedded in Greek culture was the relationshipbetween philosophy, history, and the importance of athleticism. The point is that a statement about Western culture, ethos,and identity is being made when competitive recreation can supplantmilitary alert or the experience of military defeat. . J. When he asked what the prize was for which they contended, the Arcadians mentioned the wreath of olive-leaves which it is our custom to give . Undoubtedly, physical education combined with educationin vice or evil can also be effective, just as strong rhetorical techniquecan be employed for a bad moral purpose, a point made by Aristotle (Rhet.23-4). War preparedness is of course one reason. The relevance of Aristotle's discourse on physical ability to Rhetoricmay seem elusive until one realizes that Aristotle characterizes rhetoricas a practical art and that his definition includes the idea ofintellectual faculties and other persuasive skills. The fact that participation in theOlympic Games and other athletic contests was restricted to freeborn males--women were not even admitted to the Games as spectators--further points uphow much intellectual weight was invested in physical education. Trans. James E.C. . Plato does notregard gymnastic or music proficiency as irrelevant to the emergingwarrior/philosopher but rather as aspects of strong educationalaccomplishment. Works CitedAbrahams, Harold Maurice. Laws. Louise Ropes Loomis. Black, 1971. in compulsory labor service and then in service,as conscripts, in the armed forces." For girls scarcely less than boys,this involved "systematic training not only in camping, sports and Naziideology, but in soldiering" (254). It may beinferred that one objective of physical education is the fitness requiredof soldiers and sailors, and in the Laws Plato has a Lacedaemonianexplaining why it is best for Athens to have soldiers live, eat, and traintogether. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 2 .---. Virtue that isso accounted resides in the realm of philosophy, and in the Republic theprogression moves toward the concept of the philosopher-king, who wouldembody the virtues associated with wise governance. Ed. He links such activity withphilosophical virtues by analogy, explaining that temperately balancingfood intake and physical training produces strength, just as courage can beobtained by "training ourselves to despise and face terrifying things" andjust as cowardice is a product of painfully (fearfully) facing terrifyingthings. H. . In a young man, it consists in possessing a body capable of enduring all efforts, either of the racecourse or of bodily strength, while he himself is pleasant to look upon and a sheer delight. It is a commonplace of historiography that ancient Greece providedmodels of intellectual and political experience that are familiar to modernWestern culture. Roslyn, N.Y.: Walter J. New York: Simon & Schuster, 196 . The Nazi state was led by skilled rhetorical flourishes on one handand on the other by what Shirer (248) refers to as the Third Reich's"Spartan, political and martial training in the successive youth groups andto reach its climax . Plato. Aristotle says that "deficiencyand excess are both fatal. [H]e was told in reply that the Greeks were celebrating the Olympic festival, where they were watching athletic contests and chariot- races. That the nexus of physical and intellectual education can issue indestructive as well as constructive effectiveness is obvious. what kind of men are these that you have brought us to fight against--men who compete with one another for no material reward, but only for honour!" (Herodotus 532).The Greeks' behavior is especially noteworthy for the fact that it occurredin the wake of the (costly) Persian defeat of the Greeks at the pass ofThermopylae. . Benjamin Jowett. Rhetoric. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2 .Aristotle. Freese. The evidence of ancientdiscourses on the education of the future ruling classes is that trainingin physical development was just as essential as training in rhetoric,ethics, politics, and philosophy. The Republic. 1 3). . Benjamin Jowett. Nicomachean Ethics. 1942; Roslyn, N.Y.: Walter J. Thecontrast Herodotus draws comes down to one between the absolutism of theEast and the relatively more democratic civil society of the West, but thecontext for it is that, as Xerxes is regrouping for a sea invasion afterlosing thousands of warriors, he receives intelligence from Arcadiandeserters about the status of Greek military preparedness. . In a discussion of happinessas "well-being combined with virtue," he sets forth what he describes asits component parts: noble birth, numerous friends, good friends, wealth, good children, numerous children, a good old age; further, bodily excellences, such as health, beauty, strength, stature, fitness for athletic contests, a good reputation, honor, good luck, virtue. Black, Inc., 1951.Shirer, William. Internal goods are those of mind and body; external goods are noble birth, friends, wealth, honor (Aristotle, Rhet. Accordingto Abrahams, the Romans who conquered Greece in the second century BC"looked on athletics with contempt--to strip naked and to contend in publicwas degrading in the eyes of the Roman citizen." Romans preferred fightingevents to athletics, although there does appear to have been a place forathletic games and races in Roman culture (Abrahams). Knowledge, wisdom, and virtue are essential for those who woulduse them in their highest application, which is governance. But the iconography of the ancient world is not dominatedby representations of philosophers or of city-state assemblies. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.