Performances of Greekness in international sport events: body, nation, and politics in motion

Abstract

This article explores the negotiation of national identity in international sporting events. The study focuses on specific performances of Greekness along Zorba’s cinematic dance in national sporting victories, Olympics, World or European championships and sporting encounters. Focus shifts to broader processes of nation-building by highlighting sociopolitical relations where sport is involved. An anthropological approach is employed, and the research was conducted in the wider area of the Western suburbs of Athens (Attica) centered on the municipality of Kleisthenis, between September 2020 and September 2022. The research study was based on Visual Anthropology methods, and the participants are actors, diversely involved in sport. Through cherished habits, athletes, sportswomen, coaches, physical education teachers and spectators engage in different embodied performances on and off court, illustrating how complex, fluid, and political sport might be.