Historians of popular culture have recently been addressing the role of myth, and now it is time that social historians of sport also examined it. The contributors to this collection of essays explore the symbolic meanings that have been attached to sport in Europe by considering some of the mythic heroes who have dominated the sporting landscapes of their own countries. The ambition is to understand what these icons stood for in the eyes of those who watched or read about these vessels into which poured all manner of gender, class and patriotic expectations.

Features text and accompanying photographs of artifacts recovered from the bronze age in Europe, including figurines, jewelry, weapons, and armor

Historians of popular culture have recently been addressing the role of myth, and now it is time that social historians of sport also examined it. The contributors to this collection of essays explore the symbolic meanings that have been attached to sport in Europe by considering some of the mythic heroes who have dominated the sporting landscapes of their own countries. The ambition is to understand what these icons stood for in the eyes of those who watched or read about these vessels into which poured all manner of gender, class and patriotic expectations.

IF an Italian country boy had been taken to visit Rome fifteen hundred years ago, he would have found much to see. There were temples and theatres and baths. There were aqueducts, sometimes with arches one hundred feet high, stretching far out into the country to bring pure water to the city. There was an open space known as the Forum, where the people came together for public meetings, and in this space were beautiful pillars and arches and statues of famous Romans. Around the Fo'rum were palaces and temples and the Senate House; and directly in front of the Senate House was a platform on which speakers stood when they wished to address the people. The platform was called the rostrum, from the Latin word rostrum, meaning the beak of a warship, because it was adorned with the beaks of ships which the Romans had captured. Another open space was the great race-course, the Cir'cus Max'i-mus, where 250,000 people could sit and watch leaping, wrestling, boxing, foot-races, and especially the famous four-horse chariot races. There was the Col-i-se'um, too, where gladiators, generally captives or slaves, fought with one another or with wild beasts. The Roman streets were narrow, and they seemed still narrower because many houses were built with their upper stories projecting over the lower; but in those narrow streets there was always something of interest. Sometimes it was a wedding procession with torches and songs and the music of the flute. Sometimes it was a funeral train with not only the friends of the dead man, but also trumpeters and pipers. In the long line walked hired actors wearing waxen masks made to imitate the faces of the dead person's ancestors. Early in the morning, one could see crowds of clients, each one hastening to the home of his patron, some wealthy man who was expected to give him either food or money.

This original book examines 1930s football in England in its social, economic and political context by focusing on 10 of the top players of the era. It sheds light on the decade that saw players taking on a public persona as 'terrace heroes, '

The book is a historical novel of some of the most prominent persons in European History. They range from Dante the Poet, Lorenzo the Magnificent, Martin Luther the Reformer, Napoleon and Peter the Great. Each chapter covers such an individual, offering a brief history of their life and notable achievements.

Excerpt from The Heroes of Europe: A Biographical Outline of European History, From A. D. 700 to A. D. 1700 This work has been intended as a companion to Mr. J. G. Edgar's Heroes of England. The intention must serve as the Author's apology for his otherwise inexcusable omission of Englishmen. The plan and scope of the two volumes, however, are materially different, - Mr. Edgar confining himself to the biographies of "those heroes who, against the enemies of their country, have fought the battles of England at sea and on the land;" while the Author of the present work has given a wider meaning to the word "Hero," and endeavored to furnish a biographical outline of European history from the eighth to the eighteenth century. With this aim, he has been influenced in his selection of heroes less by a consideration of their personal eminence, than of their representative value. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.