From Plato to St. Paul: ancient sport as performative public discourse

ABSTRACT

Just as sports scholars have long been frustrated by the relative paucity of philosophical writing about sports in the classical tradition, biblical scholars have been surprised by the persistent use of sports and athletic competition to frame arguments and justify action in early Christian writings, particularly those of St. Paul. Biblical scholars have had difficulty explaining the constant sports references in Paul. At the same time, they have recognized the reliance of Paul and other early Christian authors on the Aristotelian understanding of rhetoric and persuasion. As Aristotle’s most famous reference to sports is in his Art of Rhetoric, a reference that places sports within a particular type of public discourse, it would seem worthwhile to explore classical notions of sport and public discourse as found in Plato, Aristotle, and Paul.

KEYWORDS:

• Aristotle’s Rhetoric
• Plato’s Laws
• St. Paul
• Ignatius of Antioch

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. The significance of funeral celebrations has been debated. Though, they remain important in the literary and historical tradition. See Kyle (2008) on Homer’s Iliad. See also, Spivey (2012) 227–228, Miller (2004) 102–103.

2. See, for instance, Hans Dieter Betz’s (1979) classic commentary on Galatians purports to be a rhetorical analysis. However, its sole use of classical rhetoric is to demonstrate the structure of Paul’s epistle. See, also, Cosby (1988), Fiorenza (1987), Hall (1987), Hester (1984), Kurz (1980), Mack (1990) and Patrick and Scult (1990), and Wilder (1971).

3. I use Galatians here largely because it offers a very simple illustration. Other works, such as I Corinthians, offer far more complex examples and would be worthy of further study.

4. Ignatius repeats these points in nearly every letter, making them an almost formal part of the letter structure itself. See Staniforth (1987).