"In ancient Greece, entire eras were measured by Olympiads. It's how history was arranged. The Olympics were that important." – Tony Perrottet

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Tony discuss how the ancient games was a religious festival, now it was never delayed, and why it was important (2:00) non-sports events that happened the the ancient Games, performance enhancing potions, and Greek competitiveness (17:00); the sporting events competed in the ancient games, and how they differed from modern sports (24:00); the training and diet that went into the games, aristocrats versus commoners who competed, and which ancient Olympians are still remembered (32:00); and what non-Greeks thought to the games, Greek skeptics of the games, and what it's like to travel to the old sites of the ancient Greek games (45:30).

Tony Perrottet (@TonyPerrottet) is the author of six books, including Pagan Holiday: On the Trail of Ancient Roman Tourists; The Sinner's Grand Tour: A Journey Through the Historical Underbelly of Europe; and The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Greek Games, upon which this interview is based.

Notable Links:

Ancient Olympic Games (sporting festival)
Olympia, Greece (location of the ancient Games)
Statue of Zeus at Olympia (ancient tourist attraction)
Herodotus (ancient Greek historian)
Pausanias (ancient Greek geographer)
Symposium (ancient Greek drinking banquet)
Monty Python (British comedy troupe)
Gilgamesh (Mesopotamian mythological hero)
Enkidu (Mesopotamian mythological hero)
Funeral games (ancient honor ritual)
Pankration (ancient fighting sport)
Ben Hur (epic historical movie)
Pierre de Coubertin (founder of the modern Olympics)
Milo of Croton (ancient Greek wrestler)
300 (2007 epic historical movie)
Battle of Thermopylae (ancient Greek battle)
Diogenes the Cynic (ancient Greek philosopher)
Karate gets its due at the Olympics, by Tony Perrottet (article)

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

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