Baca Mini-Blocka 2004 - Colorado College

by Jen Kulier
CC Publications Director

Ancient Greek athletes kicked butt … literally.

One sport, bibasis, required athletes to leap into the air and kick the heels to the buttocks; both women and men did this in competition, sometimes jumping as many as 1,000 times. Aristophanes writes, "Naked I dance, and beat with my heels the buttocks."

Then there was the pankration . The rules of this combat contest were simple and few: no biting or eye gouging. The referees enforced the rules with a large stick. Victory was gained by causing one's opponent to surrender or pass out.

Bloody, dramatic, odd, and, well, naked, ancient Greek sports make for fascinating study. As the opening ceremonies of the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens drew near, 16 Colorado College alumni, spouses, and staff gathered at the Baca campus to learn more about the beginnings of these celebrated games.

The 2004 Baca Mini-Blocka — "Chariots of Fire: Olympic Myths and Hollywood Endings" — was held July 30 through August 2, 2004, at the Baca in the San Luis Valley near Crestone, Colo. The Mini-Blocka offers alumni a chance to study, discuss, explore, and socialize in a beautiful, retreat-like setting.

Alumni ranging in years from the class of '48 to the class of '95 participated. They toured the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs; watched the Olympic-themed movies "Miracle," "Chariots of Fire," and "Olympia"; read and discussed Homer, Pindar, and Ovid; wrote and performed odes immortalizing modern athletes; and participated in an Olympic Games that would have made Milo of Kroton cringe. These competitors tossed pool noodles for javelins, hurled a Frisbee for the discus, and hula-hooped their way to victory not to honor Zeus, but simply for the fun of it.