Since we’re inherently lazy, meaning we can’t be bothered to do any fact-checking, we are going to believe every word of Tony Perrottet’s essay on the Olympics and literature. He makes perfect sense to us. Especially because we can close our eyes and imagine a fiery, intense, sweaty poetry rumble. And we can imagine old school writers meeting up with the hot new stars:
By the first century A.D., a pagan superstar named Apollonius of Tyana sent an advance guard to the Games to generate some buzz. Crowds thronged his readings, but Apollonius was disgusted at having to share the limelight with novices and hacks. He gave one “literary puppy” a tongue-lashing for daring to debut inferior work—a poem on the divine power of Zeus. (“You are embarking on a subject that transcends the power of mortals,” he railed petulantly.)
If only our youthful athletic career could have been on paper rather than in right field…
- The Literary Olympics: At the 440 B.C. Olympic Games, a hot young author made the scene—Herodotus!
