The spirit of sports before modern times: a historical materialism perspective
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11510%2F25%3A10496266" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11510/25:10496266 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
<a href="https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=qN0yiqZxFu" target="_blank" >https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=qN0yiqZxFu</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17511321.2025.2464578" target="_blank" >10.1080/17511321.2025.2464578</a>
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
The spirit of sports before modern times: a historical materialism perspective
Original language description
This article examines the evolution of the spirit of sports before the modern era through the lens of historical materialism, focusing on ancient Greek civilization and the Middle Ages. Building on previous research, it applies Marxist stage theory and Althusser's concept of the Ideological State Apparatus to analyze how the spirit of sports emerged under different material and social conditions. The article argues that ancient Greek sports embodied a form of spirituality, not rooted in ethical ideals but as a mechanism to mediate political tensions. Greek mythology, especially in the Olympic Games, reinforced social hierarchies and class divisions, with the spirit of sports serving as an ideological tool linked to state power. Sports were institutionalized and used to assert dominance rather than embodying universal virtues. In contrast, during the Middle Ages, no unified 'spirit of sports' ideology emerged. Unlike the structured sports of ancient Greece, medieval sports were informal, sporadic, and lacked institutionalization. The dominant influence of the Catholic Church, which viewed bodily activities as sinful, further hindered the development of a cohesive sports ideology during this period. The article argues that the spirit of sports is not a timeless or metaphysical concept but a product of specific historical and material conditions. By treating the spirit of sports as an ideology shaped by these conditions, the article challenges modern idealizations, particularly those promoted by the International Olympic Committee. The conclusion suggests that future research should explore how the spirit of sports has evolved in the modern era, shaped by changing political, economic, and social dynamics. This would deepen our understanding of sports as a social construct and its ethical implications. Keywords: historical materialism, spirit of sports, ideology, Althusser, ancient Greece, Middle Ages
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
J<sub>imp</sub> - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
30306 - Sport and fitness sciences
Result continuities
Project
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Continuities
I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace
Others
Publication year
2025
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Name of the periodical
Sport, Ethics and Philosophy
ISSN
1751-1321
e-ISSN
1751-133X
Volume of the periodical
19
Issue of the periodical within the volume
2
Country of publishing house
GB - UNITED KINGDOM
Number of pages
15
Pages from-to
156-170
UT code for WoS article
001432576500001
EID of the result in the Scopus database
2-s2.0-105002650711