> >I'm no scholar of ancient history, and I don't have a reference source to
> >back up this contention, but I'm pretty sure that the "stopping the wars"
> >thing, like "amateurism," is revisionist history foisted on us by
> >deCoubertin and his cronies.
>
>
> I am an amateur student of ancient history (scholar is too strong a word
in
> my case), and from what I've read there really was an Olympic Truce in
> ancient days, but it was not what it is now commonly described. It was
not
> that all wars stopped for the duration of the games; it was that all
> athletes and spectators traveling to and from Olympia for the games were
> guaranteed safe passage even if they had to pass through enemy territory
to
> get there. And Olympia itself would not be attacked. The overall
conflict
> was not suspended.
Kurt's understanding is what I have heard as well. And since many of the
finest soldiers competed in the games, the battles often were paused during
this time.
- Ed Parrot
