Lo sport nel mondo fenicio e punico: appunti per una ricerca

The study of material culture combined with hints in literary sources strongly suggests that the Carthaginian society of the Hellenistic period took an interest in sporting competitions and, more broadly, in the Greek model of athletic training. On the contrary, less easily identifiable is the evidence for the practice of competitive sports and gymnastics in the Phoenician region and in the most ancient phases of the colonial experience, due to different documentary sources and manifestations in the other cultures of the ancient Near East. The chief purpose of this paper is to provide a first, close examination of sports and body culture-related data in Phoenician and Punic society in connection with other research areas.