Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Development of Leisure Prehistoric Societies • People in prehistoric societies were primarily concerned with survival, hunting and gatherings were the primarily activities and provided resources to maintain life. • There was little “free time” • Work, survival, and rest melded to become one life-sustaining activity. • Once prehistoric people could create tools and were able to store information in a larger brain, more time became available. • This free time was used for ritualization, or ceremonial acts. • These acts often focused on celebrations of successful hunts, offerings for bountiful harvests, and beseeching the gods for their favor. • It is believed that playlike activities were also critical to the needs of emerging tribes. These activities depicted historical events, transportation practices, war games, and the use of farm tools. • Play prepared children for their responsibilities as youth and adults and became a way of achieving solidarity and morality. • It also became a healing experience and a means of communication and provided pleasure and entertainment. • As societies emerged, playlike activities were also a means to relax, recover, and replenish strength after working. • These emerging societies also developed structures that allowed people an opportunity to focus on specific work roles. • One could focus on being a hunter, while another could be a builder. • With these roles established, greater cooperation provided people with the resources for activities that did not relate to sustaining life. • Thus, for the first time, greater opportunities for leisure were experienced. • This is no different from today when people “specialize” in a particular vocation needed by the society, while relying on the specialties of others for their own wellbeing. Ancient Greece • Ancient Greece (1200-500 B.C.) is an excellent example of how societal structure influenced the development of leisure. • Greek citizens, who could not vote and participate in state affairs, sought to become the well-rounded ideal of that era. • They embraced what was known as the “Athenian ideal” which was a combination of soldier, athlete, artist, statesman, and philosopher. • Rather than focusing on one area of expertise as is valued today, developing all areas was valued. This was only possible because of the tasks of everyday living were provided by laborers or slaves who ounumbered the citizens approximately three to one. • Those who were freed from everyday activities had the opportunity to pursue the range of activities necessary to become the Athenian ideal. • Leisure was very important in Greek society. • The Greek philosopher Plato and his student, Aristotle, supported this in their belief that virtuous and constructive leisure activities were the route to happiness and fulfillment. • Contemplation, which involved the pursuit of truth and understanding, was though to be the highest form of leisure. • Athenian philosophers strongly believe in the unity of mind and body and valued each. • Play was perceived to be essential to the healthy growth of children from both a physical and social perspective. • Citizens regarded leisure as an opportunity for intellectual cultivation, music , theater and poetry as well as political and philosophical discussions. • The concept “schole” meant to cease and have quiet and peace. It meant having time for oneself and being occupied in something for its own sake, such as music, poetry, the company of friends or the exercise of speculative faculties. • Schole embraced the experience and not the outcome. How different this is from today where the pursuit of an activity is often valued only if something tangible like a victory, mastery of a skill, or a specific expectation is gained. • An important part of ancient Greek culture, and perhaps at odds with the notion of schole was its passion for games. • Athletic games were held to celebrate religious rites and heroes for entertainment and for pleasure. • Only men played sport and women were often excluded from public life. • Four Panhellenic games were very popular among the spectators and athletes. These included the Olympic Games, the Pythian Games, the Nemian Games, and the Isthmian Games and are thought to be held in honor of the gods, although others suggest that they commemorated the death of mythical mortals and monsters. • When athletic games were held, wars often ceased so that participants could compete. • The early Olympic Games, honoring Zeus included chariot races, combat events, boxing, wrestling, footraces, and the pentathlon – a five sport event embracing the Athenian ideal. • Athletes also competed individually, not on teams and represented their home villages. This is similar to the modern Olympic Games in which participants represent their countries. • The early Olympics were an extremely serious even as well. It was not uncommon for participants in aggressive sports such as pankration (a combination of boxing and wrestling) to be encouraged to fight to the death. • This fate was seen as especially noble because it would immortalize the competitor in story for generations to come as having sacrificed his life in the pursuit of victory. • So important were the Olympics that Athenians would place an olive wreath on their door when a boy was born, thus signaling the hope that he would become an Olympian . • This seriousness of purpose and the use of leisure time to develop sport-specific skills are still found today. We “work” at getting better so we can “play” a sport well. • Like the ancient Greeks, we claim to value well-rounded people, yet parents increasingly encourage their children to specialize in one particular sport, often played year-round, so that they have the greatest opportunity to become better than their peers. • It should be of no surprise then that at the time when success in sports rivals that of the adulation shown to the earliest Olympic victors, the world finds itself facing an epidemic of cases in which competitors turn to illegal performance-enhancing drugs to assure victory. Ancient Rome • The emergence of Rome as a dominant society influenced how leisure was perceived at that time. • Rome conquered the majority of Europe and Asia after about 265 B.C. and emerged as a dominant power in the Mediterranean. • The Roman Empire influenced the judicial systems and societies it conquered by attempting to overwrite with its own culture what had become before. • The Roman government was based on distinct classifications of citizens. These included: – Senators, who were the richest and owned most of the land and power; – Curiales, who owned 25 or more acres (10 hectares) of land and were office holders or tax collectors; – Plebes, or free common-men, who owned small properties or were tradesmen or artisans – Coloni, who were lower-class tenants on lands, and finally; – Indentured slaves. • Early Roman slaves were captured in war and served as agricultural laborers. Much later, large numbers of captives from Asia, Greece and central Europe became slaves and were exploited by their owners • Like in societies that came before it, the opportunity to participate in leisure during the Roman era was limited to those who had the appropriate resources. • The greater one’s standing at this time, the greater the opportunity for freedom from the daily requirements necessary to live a comfortable life. • Senators enjoyed almost unlimited leisure, while coloni struggled to make a comfortable life. This is not unlike the present day where distinct economic classes enjoy varying degrees and types of leisure. • Unlike the ancient Greeks, who saw leisure as an opportunity for well-rounded development, Romans perceived leisure to be primarily rest from work. • Considering that the Romans were on an almost constant crusade to dominate foreign cultures, this viewpoint was necessary and allowed recuperation before the next crusade. • Play then served utilitarian rather than aesthetic or spiritual purposes. • As the Roman Empire grew and the increasing availability of slaves decreased the amount of daily work people were required to do, leisure time increased and was increasingly used as a way to control the masses. • During Emperor Claudius’ reign (41-54 A.D.) Rome had 59 public holidays and 95 game days, and by 354 A.D., there were more than 200 public holidays and 175 game days. • The reason for this was simple. As Romans became less occupied with work, they became increasingly bored and critical of the government. The government then attempted to pacify unrest by providing pleasurable experiences through spectacle and celebrations of holidays. • “Bread and circuses,” free food and entertainment, provided the framework for Roman society. • To hold people’s attention, leisure activities became increasingly hedonistic and shocking. • When battles between gladiators became less interesting, animals from foreign lands were brought in to become part of the savagery seen in the great coliseums. • When the scales of those battles became ordinary, artificial lakes were created by slaves who where then used to re-create bloody sea battles depicting a successful conquest. • This focus on the entertainment of the masses, instead of their participation, has lead some historians to argue that one of the reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire was its inability to deal with mass leisure. • This concern is often heard today in reference to current leisure habits. Increasingly, it appears that people are more content to be spectators than participants. • Some sporting events such as football and boxing also take on the appearance of a spectacle similar to that seen in ancient Rome. In fact, it isn’t uncommon to hear the participants in these events referred to as “gladiators” Middle Ages • When the Roman Empire eventually collapsed, the Catholic Church became the dominant structure in Europe. • The Catholic Church rejected the activities that the Roman Empire had accepted, including its hedonistic ways. • One example of this was the fact that people involved in theater could not be baptized. • The concept that “idleness is the great enemy of the soul” emerged, and doing nothing was thought to be evil. • The church wielded great influence during this time over the social order, consisting of nobility and peasants. • The clergy dictated societal values, whose adoption would lead to saving souls, the highest goal at the time. • Although the Catholic Church influenced what were acceptable and unacceptable leisure activities, so strict were many rules during the end of this period the church went through a period of renaissance where individuals within the church developed different perspectives. • This renaissance saw a renewed appreciation for a variety of leisure activities. Renaissance • Spreading fro the 14th century in Italy to the 16th century in northern Europe, this era saw power shift from the church to the nobility. • Previously ostracized by the church,. Artists were now supported and encouraged by the nobility to express their art. • Play was perceived to be an important part of education. • During the 16th century, Francois Rabelais (1490-1553) emphasized the need for physical exercise and games. • Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533-159) supported the concept of unity of mind, body and spirit, opposing the medieval ideal of separation or dualism of the mind and body. • John Locke (1632-1704) was so concerned with play as a medium of learning that he made the distinction between play and recreation. • Recreation was not being idle, it provided a specific benefit by easing and helping to recover the people wearied by their work. • Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) advocated for the full freedom of physical activity rather than constraint. • It was during the renaissance that an increased interest in play, both as a form of popular entertainment and as a medium of education, developed. • Three types of parks emerged during the late Renaissance under the nobility: – Royal hunting preserves providing wild-game hunting. – Formal garden parks where participants viewed their surroundings much as you would experience a museum, and – English garden parks with greater emphasis on interacting with the environment through activities such as picnics and other restful pursuits. • These parks, developed by the nobility for their own use, were often seen as symbol of status.