The Art of Running: Learning to Run Like a Greek
The Art of Running: Learning to Run Like a Greek
The Art of Running: Learning to Run Like a Greek
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Description
Description
The inspiring story of how one of Europe's most original and compelling classicist learned to run--and live--like a Greek
Much has changed since the day in 490 BCE when the indefatigable Athenian herald Philippides made his legendary run and delivered to the people of Athens news of their city's victory over the Persians. One thing, however, hasn't changed: it is still twenty-five punishing miles over rough terrain from Marathon to the Acropolis.
Each year, all over the world, thousands of professional athletes and millions of amateur enthusiasts replicate Philippides's enterprise, many running with such gusto that one could be forgiven for thinking the fate of Athens once more hung in the balance.
Why do we run? To what end, all the effort and pain? Wherefore this love of muscle, speed, sweat, of testing one's limits? The Greeks were the first to ask these questions and to wonder why we choose to measure ourselves in this way against others; they were the first to formulate the adage, mens sana in corpore sano; they were first to interrupt war, work, politics, the daily routine to enjoy public celebrations of athletic prowess. Indeed, the Greeks invented sport! Sport as something separate from labor or war; physical activity as an end unto itself and a form of entertainment for others. They were also the first to understand how regular physical activity, victory, and loss connected to our emotional and mental well-being.
As the pandemic entered its second year, despondent, isolated, and apprehensive about the future, the internationally renowned classics scholar and best-selling author Andrea Marcolongo discovered running. After years spent with her head and heart in the books, trying to think like a Greek, she set out to learn how to run like a Greek. In doing so, she not only deepened her understanding of the ancient civilization she has spent decades studying, but also discovered a great deal about herself.
In this spirited, generous, and engaging book, Andrea Marcolongo shares not only her erudition but her own journey to understanding that a healthy body is indeed, and in more ways than one might guess, a healthy mind.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
"Marcolongo is today's Montaigne."--André Aciman, author of Call Me by Your Name
"Marcolongo does not pontificate about the Greeks or how we should live healthier. Rather, she recounts how she conquered challenges in her own life and took hold of reins that she didn't know existed."--Cultura al femminile
Praise for Starting from Scratch
"In book after book, Andrea Marcolongo has combined an inimitable voice with flawless erudition and great sensitivity... Starting from Scratch illuminates its subject with a modern light."--Le Monde
"A deep look at our all-too-human fragility... An impassioned and enthralling book."--Bon Culture (Italy)
"Through her personal reacquaintance with [the Aeneid] at a time of great distress, Andrea Marcolongo has brought it, as it were, back into the conversation and outside the confines of academia... An excellent translation by Will Schutt brilliantly serves Andrea Marcolongo's passionate endorsement of a work of literature written two millennia ago."--Ilaria Dagnini Brey, Reading in Translation
"Andrea Marcolongo has brought us a book from the future."--La Stampa (Italy)
Praise for The Ingenious Language
"An instant classic."--Mary Norris, The New Yorker
"Andrea Marcolongo's love of Ancient Greek is infectious in this brilliant meditation on language and life."―Bookriot
"[Andrea Marcolongo] shows how languages give us new ways of seeing and understanding the world."―The Guardian
"The Ingenious Language has the potential to change your sense of reality."―Refinery29
"Anyone who values the study of language will delight in this spirited defense of the effort being worth the reward."―Publishers Weekly
"[Andrea Marcolongo's] declaration of love for Ancient Greek does more than celebrate the virtues of its grammar, it shows us modern fools how this language can help us understand ourselves better and live a better life."―Le Monde
"The Ingenious Language is not a grammar text, but a love story with a language and its ability to affect our senses... Rather than reducing the strangeness of ancient Greek to a list of rules to be memorized, Marcolongo uses it to fascinate us, transforming nine linguistic peculiarities into existential questions."―La Stampa
"The Ingenious Language is an extraordinary, absolutely original book."―Italian Association for Classic Culture
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
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