Sports and Games in the Ancient Near East

Collected essays from specialists in the fields of archaeology, iconography, and textual studies highlight ways in which sports and games were present within the cultic and mythological aspects of life in the ancient Near East. As importantly, they also call attention to the role that sports and games played in ancient societies.

The essays in this collection highlight several ways in which sports and games were present within the cultic and mythological aspects of life in the ancient Near East. As importantly, they also call attention to the role that sports and games played in ancient societies. The volume transcends the disciplinary boundaries dividing the various subfields of ancient Near East studies, highlighting the areas of similarity persisting across geographic and temporal divides, with contributions from specialists in the fields of archaeology, iconography, and textual studies.

List of Figures

Abbreviations

Introduction – Shane M. Thompson and Raleigh Heth

Part One – Sports

Racing Through the Streets: The Old Babylonian lismu and Athletic Competition – Raleigh Heth

Bearing the Good News: The Neo-Assyrian lismu as Cultic Run – T. E. Kelley

Sport and Speed on Horse and Chariot in Ancient Egypt – Heidi Köpp-Junk

The Role of Sports Medicine in the Social Construction of the Competitive Athlete Body: An Examination in Antiquity and The Modern Era – Kaitlin Pericak

Beyond the Marathon: Long-distance Running in the Ancient World – R. Jesse Pruett

Reinvestigating the Evidence for a Mesopotamian Ballgame – Shane M. Thompson

Part Two - Games

Common Ludic Ground in Bronze Age West Asia and Northeast Africa – Walter Crist

Graffiti Board Games in Archaeology: Scratching New Histories – Alex de Voogt

Board Games in the Iconography of Ancient Western Asia – Anne Dunn-Vaturi

Board Games, Gamers, and Gaming Networks in Middle Bronze Age Anatolia and Nubia – Carl Walsh

• By (author) Shane M. Thompson
• By (author) Raleigh Heth