Abstract
Abstract General introductions to the ancient Olympic Games often paint an idealized picture of intrinsically motivated and fair athletes, competing purely for the honour of the victory. From a scholarly point of view, this image has been adjusted in recent years: also among the ancient athletes there were certainly some who cheated. As the topic of fairness and cheating is very accessible to younger students, this theme is well-suited for classes on ancient culture: it invites them to think about idealizations of the past, and about their own ideas on fair sport. A passage on Olympic cheaters from the travel guide of Pausanias (5.21.2-18) offers a convenient entry point to the topic. As this author is not part of standard school curricula, working with a modern translation would be a logical choice. This article consists of two parts: a historical introduction to the reality of cheating at ancient Olympia, discussing the rules, types of offenses and the most common punishments, and a didactic part, which offers examples of the kind of questions that can be raised in class around this topic, and suggestions how to employ translated sources in your classes.
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