The Original Olympics

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-Two attractive, informative additions. Both are well organized, easy to read, with copious use of full-color maps, charts, and photographs of period artwork and ruins. Although the texts have some choppy, short sentences, the information provided will be useful for reports and will appeal to history buffs. Malam includes chapters about the major deities of the Greek pantheon, creation, early written sources about the gods, temples, ceremonies, festivals, etc. This is more a discussion about religion and the gods than a collection of myths. Ross discusses the history, ceremonies, customs, and events of the ancient games. A layout of the athletic and ceremonial structures of Olympia is included, and a chapter about the rediscovery of the ancient site in the 18th century followed by the creation of the new Olympics in the 19th century. Richard Tames's The Ancient Olympics (Heinemann Library, 1995) offers much of the same information but is not as visually appealing or as colorful.- Cynthia M. Sturgis, Ledding Library, Milwaukee, OR Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.