David
Gilman Romano, Senior Research Scientist in the
Mediterranean Section of The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology
and Anthropology is also Adjunct Professor of Classical Studies at the University
of Pennsylvania. He received an A.B. in Art and Archaeology from Washington
University, St. Louis, an M.A. with Honors in Physical Education from the
University of Oregon and a Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology from the University
of Pennsylvania. The title of his dissertation (1981) was “The Stadia
of the Peloponnesos,” an architectural study of the ancient Greek stadium
in southern Greece. Since 1982 he has been teaching Classical Archaeology
and Classical Studies classes at the University of Pennsylvania including
‘Ancient
Athletics’. His research interests include Greek athletics and
the ancient Olympic Games, ancient Greek and Roman architecture and city
planning, and computer applications in archaeology. He has participated
in archaeological fieldwork in Greece at Athens, Corinth, Gournia, Nemea
and Mt. Lykaion. Since 1987 he has been the Director of the Corinth
Computer Project, a long-term study of the city and landscape planning
of the Roman city of Corinth. In 2004 Dr. Romano will begin a new survey
and excavation at the Sanctuary of Zeus at Mt. Lykaion in Arcadia. This
sanctuary was the site of the Pan-Arkadian Lykaion Games and includes a
stadium and the only visible hippodrome in the entire Greek world. The Sanctuary
of Zeus is located high on a mountain and is only 15 miles from the Sanctuary
of Zeus at Olympia. Learn more at the Mt.
Lykaion project website.
His books include Athletics and Mathematics in Archaic Corinth: The Origins
of the Greek Stadion, 1993; The Catalogue of the Classical Collections
of the Glencairn Museum (With Irene Bald Romano), 1999; Mapping Augustan
Rome (in collaboration with Lothar Haselberger), 2002. He is also an
athlete, a long distance runner, as well as a former physical education
teacher and track coach.
This
special website is based on "Boycotts, Bribes and Fines"
an article by Dr. David Gilman Romano (see bio on right) which appeared
in Penn Museum's Expedition Magazine in 1985 "Exploring
5000 Years of Athletics."
The Ancient Olympics: Athletes, Games and Heroes
videolecture by David Gilman Romano
Institute for Mediterranean Studies order here
Many of our present-day athletic events are modeled on those of ancient
Olympics, and many of the words used in antiquity--like stadium, discus,
and pentathlon--are still used today. Dr. Romano discusses the rituals
and rules of the Olympics and explains the various events and customs
of the five-day Olympiad. In addition, he focuses on the athletes
and heroes and the rewards, scandals and politics that surrounded
them! This multi-faceted introduction to the ancient Olympics includes
sculpture, vase paintings and contemporary scenes of athletic competition.
The video, The Ancient Olympics: Athletes, Games and Heroes is intended
for home viewing by the general public as well as for use in educational
settings. With its interdisciplinary approach it presents material
directly connected to Ancient History and Religion, as well as Classical
Archaeology; in addition, it is of great value to anyone interested
in athletics, ancient and modern.
1996 VHS; 55 minutes
distributed by the Institute for Mediterranean Studies
$21.95 order here
David
Gilman Romano, Senior Research Scientist in the
Mediterranean Section of The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology
and Anthropology is also Adjunct Professor of Classical Studies at the University
of Pennsylvania. He received an A.B. in Art and Archaeology from Washington
University, St. Louis, an M.A. with Honors in Physical Education from the
University of Oregon and a Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology from the University
of Pennsylvania. The title of his dissertation (1981) was “The Stadia
of the Peloponnesos,” an architectural study of the ancient Greek stadium
in southern Greece. Since 1982 he has been teaching Classical Archaeology
and Classical Studies classes at the University of Pennsylvania including
‘Ancient
Athletics’. His research interests include Greek athletics and
the ancient Olympic Games, ancient Greek and Roman architecture and city
planning, and computer applications in archaeology. He has participated
in archaeological fieldwork in Greece at Athens, Corinth, Gournia, Nemea
and Mt. Lykaion. Since 1987 he has been the Director of the Corinth
Computer Project, a long-term study of the city and landscape planning
of the Roman city of Corinth. In 2004 Dr. Romano will begin a new survey
and excavation at the Sanctuary of Zeus at Mt. Lykaion in Arcadia. This
sanctuary was the site of the Pan-Arkadian Lykaion Games and includes a
stadium and the only visible hippodrome in the entire Greek world. The Sanctuary
of Zeus is located high on a mountain and is only 15 miles from the Sanctuary
of Zeus at Olympia. Learn more at the Mt.
Lykaion project website.