Athletics and Mathematics in Archaic Corinth

Book excerpt: This work is a study of the origins of the ancient Greek stadium, especially with regard to the archaeological evidence from the Archaic & Classical sites of Corinth, Isthmia, Halieis and Olympia. The earliest remains of the Greek "stadion" come from the Peloponnesos, a region of southern Greece, although the architectural structure eventually became well known all over the Greek and Roman world. The author also includes the ancient evidence for the initial appearance of the world "stadion" in the Greek language and its early use in the 6th and 5th centuries B.C. The primary component of this work is the most recent archaeological research from Ancient Corinth concerning the Archaic "dromos" and the Early Classical starting line and its significance for the study of Greek and Roman athletics, as well as the understanding of early Greek mathematics. Illus.