Tyrrell (classics, Michigan State U.) deploys references from the popular media of the day to piece together a picture of Greek athletics and the changes it underwent through the Archaic and Classical periods, the eighth to the fourth century BCE. He finds that 19th- and 20th-century advocacy of Olympic amateurism, supported by erroneous attribution of amateurism to the ancient Greeks and rooted in the radical classicism of the Victorian age, continues to distort our view of Greek athletics and the ancient Olympic Games. His survey sets out to set things right. The companion CD provides access to ancient sources in translation. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR