Perhaps, civilization in the world began with organized athletic competitions. Formal sporting events are considered to have originated with the ancient Olympics, which took place at a place called Olympia from 776 BC to AD 393. (The modern Olympic Games began in 1896 in Athens, Greece, and have continued throughout the world every four years to the present.) Before they were Greeks, they called themselves Hellenes. Ancient Greece was comprised of many city-states that were typically at war. The Hellenes agreed to a truce called Ekecheiria, which allowed free passage to and from Olympia for participants and representatives for the games. This story begins with main characters traveling the Greek isles recruiting participants for the next games at Olympia; it concludes with sporting battles for victory on the sacred grounds of Olympia.

The Merrimack Valley became home to Greeks after the great immigration to the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries. After its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832, Greece had inadequate resources for its citizens, which led to much hardship. Many of these refugees came to the Merrimack Valley in search of a better living. They settled in Haverhill, Lawrence, and Lowell, Massachusetts, or Concord, Manchester, and Nashua, New Hampshire, where they secured jobs in factories and mills. Those who were unable to gain employment in the manufacturing industries went into the service sector; others became self-sufficient, building restaurants, shoe shops, and grocery stores. Although they suffered discrimination because of their distinct language and culture, they were not deterred; instead, they remained focused, went about their activities in peace, and contributed immensely to the socioeconomic development of their newfound home.

This engaging text offers a brief, readable description of our common Western heritage. Providing a tightly focused narrative and interpretive structure, Brian A. Pavlac covers the basic historical information that all educated adults should know. His joined terms "supremacies and diversities" develop major themes of conflict and creativity throughout history. The text is also informed by five other topical themes: technological innovation, migration and conquest, political and economic decision-making, church and state, and disputes about the meaning of life. Written with flair, this easily accessible yet deeply knowledgeable text provides all the essentials for a course on Western civilization.

Vols. 1-8, 1880-87, plates published separately and numbered I-LXXXIII.

A comprehensive study of black participation in sports since slavery reveals a checkered history of prejudice and cultural bias that have plagued American sports from the beginning.

"This volume presents a collection of thirteen papers from the Fourth International Conference on the Ancient Novel (ICAN 2008), which was held in Lisbon at the Fundacao Calouste Gulbenkian from July 21 to 26, 2008. The Ancient Novel and the Frontiers of Genre reflects entirely the spirit and the general theme of the Conference, and is intended to convey the idea that both the novel as a literary form and scholarship on the ancient novel tend to mature and advance by crossing boundaries that older forms regarded as uncrossable. The papers assembled in this volume include extended prose narratives of all kinds and thereby widen and enrich the scope of the novel's canon. The essays explore a wide variety of text, crossed genres, and hybrid forms, which transgress the frontiers of the so-called ancient novel, providing an excellent insight into different kinds of narrative prose in antiquity". (from the preface)

This first academic study of the history of modern sports in Ethiopia during the imperial rule of the 20th century argues that modern sports offers new possibilities to explore the meanings of modernity in Africa. Providing an in-depth analysis of the role of sports in modern educational institutions, volunteer organizations, and urbanization processes, the author shows how agents, ideas and practices linked societal improvement and bodily improvement.