The Social Dimension of Western Civilization. 1982, 58-66 In the article, “ Organized Greek Games”, the author, William J. Baker’s goal was to educate on the difference between Olympic Games as they are today, compared to Olympic Games as they used to be In ancient Greece. In this article, William Baker also described to us, the relationship between the ancient Olympic Games, and Greek religion, what some of the Greek philosophers thought of the Olympic Games, and the role of athletics in general, in ancient Greek Society.
William Baker’s article, Organized Greek Games”, went along very well with his thesis statement; which was, “ Virtually everyone knows that the modern Olympics are patterned on the Olympic Games of ancient Greece, yet few people have more than a hazy understanding of the original Olympics. ” (up. 58) William J. Baker organized this article in chronological order. An example, showing this article being In chronological order, Is that when he Is describing what Is going on during the days devoted to the ancient Greek Olympic Games, he discusses and describes everything in order by the days that they will happen.
In this article, William J. Baker covers a lot of history from the year 776 B. C. , when the Olympic Games were started, to 350 B. C. , where Baker states that “ Not until about 350 B. C. , was housing provided for the athletes, and even then It was too Spartan for comfort. ” William J. Baker got his information from primary sources; such as, Socrates, Ancient philosophers, Mill of Cretan, the Republic, and Plato. (Article, up. 61 , 65, 66) There was in fact no bibliography written for the article, “ Organized Greek Games”.
There were also no footnotes used in this article to further explain what was being discussed. However, footnotes were not necessarily needed In this article because William J. Baker made this article very simple to read and comprehend. The words that he used in his article were not too much advanced that the reader would not be able to understand It, but very simple and easy to follow. In this article, William J. Baker does not show any evidence of prejudice or bias.
He does not show this because he is just simply explaining to the Olympic Games, and different traditional religions practiced, during this elaborate event. He does not have any room to show being prejudice or bias because he was Just stating some Important facts of history. William Baker also did not use propaganda In his article. The facts that were presented in the article were similar to the facts presented in the textbook, “ Western Civilizations”, Volume 1, by Judith Coffin, Robert Stacey, Joshua Cole, and Carol Seems.
An excellent example of some of the facts being presented in the textbook that also related to those which were presented In the article would be when Coffin stated that many people came from all over the Greek world and beyond to either participate in, or watch, the Olympic Games. Baker also wrote, “ Spectators came from all directions. The textbook also states that while “ at the Olympic Games, Greeks honored the King of Gods, Zeus, near the giant temple dedicated to him at Olympia”, while In the article, William J. Baker states that “ official delegations from Greek city states arrived with gifts for Zeus”.
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Both sources are showing that Zeus was 1 OFF Games honored and cared for “ the King of Gods”, Zeus. This was another example showing that the textbook and the article agree with each other, and have the same reliable information. (Textbook, up. 80) (Article, up. 61) William J. Baker did in fact accomplish his initial goal which was set in the beginning. His thesis statement was: the original Olympics. ” By having something like this as his thesis statement, it shows that his goal was to educate people on the Olympic Games in ancient Greece compared to the Olympic Games being conducted in our world today. Article up. 58) This article relates to the subject matter of this western civilization history course because in this course we have discussed the roles that women have played in history, and in this article, William J. Baker educates us on the ancient Greek Olympic Games and how they were played; however, women were not allowed to participate in any of the games. This relates because earlier on in history, women barely had any rights at all. Often, there were many things that women were not allowed to participate in.
Baker’s article could possibly refute public errors and misconceptions because some people may not know so much about the Olympic Games. Many people may not even know or realize where the Olympic Games were even started. Some people may also not know that the ancient Olympic Games were very much modified compared to the Olympic Games being held in our world today. Some may think that swimming, kayaking, and archery were games played in ancient Greece; forever, they were in fact, not played at all as Olympic sports in ancient Greece.
In this article, Baker’s writing style was very simple for the reader to comprehend. Since this article was mainly about the Olympic Games, and Greek religious traditions, more people may in fact be interested in reading this article; therefore, this article contributes to the overall education of the reader. William J. Baker is a professor at The University of Maine. He earned his B. A. While attending Farman University, earned his B. D. While attending Southeastern Seminary, and his Ph. D. At Cambridge University. While at the University of Maine, Professor William J.
Baker occupies his time educating students in Modern British History, Sports History, and also, European History. Along with publishing the article,