The Institutionalized Body Aesthetic or Ideology in Ancient Greek Sport

Abstract

In this article I argue that Ancient Greek sport, specifically of the Olympics was part of an ideological system of both institutional control and philosophical conceptions.In this sense one can see that the aesthetic and artistic expression of Ancient Greek culture overlaps with philosophical, political, economic and religious motifs. This suggests sport is both a cultural object of control as well as an artistic expression reflecting the much maligned concept of beauty. Since much of Western culture is based on the ancients, it behooves a similar analysis of modern sports and aesthetics