With the Olympics in Paris just weeks away from commencement, ArtsHub decided it would be a bit of fun to speculate on what the Games would look like if, say, instead of sporting prowess being celebrated, we looked to championing the cerebral might of wordsmiths. To that end, we reached out to a community of bookish folk to see what events they would support if mind games were lauded over the body brawny and beautiful.
Did you know, for instance, that once upon a time medals were also awarded in five artistic categories: architecture, literature, music, painting and sculpture? All submitted artworks had to be original and sports-themed and, like their more athletic counterparts, those participating in this “Pentathlon of the Muses” were supposed to be amateurs. The categories were later divided into specific classifications such as literature in a drama, lyric or epic; orchestral and instrumental music, solo and chorus singing; drawings, graphic arts and paintings; statues, reliefs, medals, plaques and medallions.
