The Aeneid and Participation Trophies

Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland, The Meeting of Dido and Aeneas, 1766

Participation trophies were at one time a hot button issue for Americans, and as political discourse in the US often does, intersected with religion. For those that are not well acquainted with this topic, it was a discussion of whether children should be given trophies for participating in their respective sports. The reasoning against such depravity included the concern of instilling in children a mindset of avoiding hard work. When these impressionable children receive a trophy, it will lead them to expect rewards for tasks they never completed. These trophies also devalue competition, because when you expect a prize for just being there, apparently, you do less. It reminds of me of the entitled young person trope uttered throughout history from the likes of Hesiod, Aristotle, and Horace.

One the other side of the argument, participation trophies are a way to encourage participation in sports for children that are insecure about their abilities and empowers them to join. At that age, positive reinforcement can be instrumental in encouraging a child to give competitive sports a chance. It is also important to note that these conversations vary depending on the age range, sport, and context, but this is more or less the central idea.

I intend to frame this issue as it relates to other literature, in this case, the Aeneid. Part of the concern with the cultural war mindset is that it apprehends religious virtue and makes it its own. Thus, political issues ranging from health-care to foreign policy are laced with purported religious justification. And even more to point of this blog, mundane and uninteresting topics become flashpoints for political/religious debate. This is not to say that these issues are unimportant, but that the conflation of religious and political identification is dangerous (see, Jan 6th). We forget that history can and should shape our moral and practical sensibilities. One assumption we repeatedly believe is that our issues are unique only to us. In some sense, this is true. We have a unique context with developing technologies and particular political structures. But, this also is not true in that the problems humanity faces today have often been experienced by people in history. Participation trophies are not exempt from this fact.

The Aeneid is a Latin epic outlining the origin story of the Roman people. It traces the myth of Aeneas and his comrades after the fall of Troy and their journey west into the Italian peninsula. It gave the Roman people a source for understanding their own complex heritage and offered them an origin story explaining the greatness of Rome. Along with the interesting story and fascinating plot, participation trophies make a surprising appearance.

In book five of the Aeneid, Aeneas, and the rest of the Trojans land in what is now known as Italy. They make their way from Carthage and eventually land in Eryx (modern day Sicily). They meet Acestes, friend of Aeneas, and half Trojan ruler. It is at this time that Aeneas realizes it is the one-year anniversary of his father’s death.[1] After multiple days of rituals and offerings they hold a day of competitive games. These games include rowing, racing, boxing, javelin throwing, and bow and arrows.

Those brave enough to compete are not ordinary folks, they are a group of hardened soldiers and heroic warriors. They have fought against the Hellenes, lost Troy, and followed Aeneas across the dangerous sea to Carthage. They make it to Italy, wage war against the residents of the peninsula, and at this point in the story, compete in games that will test their strength, endurance, and aptitude. These games commemorate Anchises’ death, but it is also an opportunity for these warriors to earn prestige in the eyes of their comrades and gods. It is during these festive games where Aeneas gathers his soldiers and announces something incredible. He says,

Give your minds to what I have to say. Mark it well and be of good cheer. No man of you will leave without winning a prize from my hand. Two Cretan arrows I shall give, their steel tips burnished and gleaming, and a two-headed axe embossed with silver. These rewards will be the same for all of you, but there will be other prizes for the first three in the race and crowns woven of golden olive for their heads.[2]

In other words, even though there are prizes for those that succeed and do well in the games, everyone gets a participation trophy! The shame. The debauchery. And yes, there are still prizes for those that place in the top three in these games, nonetheless, all who attend and participate, receive some sort of gift.

Earlier in the text, after the boat race, Aeneas liberally gives out gifts. He does this to invite competition, not stifle it, "Here he offered prizes for any men who might wish to take part in a foot race, whetting their ambition with rewards, and Trojans and Sicanians flocked in from all sides."[3] Aeneas distributes gifts simply for participating in these games. He assumes that when these men get a taste of what they could win, it further motivates them to try harder. The idea that this would impede others from joining the games is actually the opposite of why Aeneas give out his participation trophies. He also gives them out to non-Trojans!

Participation trophies make a surprising appearance in the Aeneid. Not only are they given because of the festive atmosphere, but also because they will encourage competition, not stifle it. As to the notion that these types of trophies produce weak people seems spurious in the way that somehow every generation is weaker than the one before it. And It reduces all of human development to the purportedly negative moment of receiving a reward for playing a sport as a child.

History offers us a great deal of wisdom. Often, we will find that the issues flashing on our culture war radar have been reoccurring issues throughout history. Humanity has dealt with concerns such as the problem of evil, the meaning of existent, loss, tragedy, and love. As we look to history and other sources of insight such as the Bible, ancient literature, fiction, and art, it helps push back the urge to exist within our echo chambers and gain a larger perspective.

[1] Virgil, The Aeneid, 5.50–60. [2] Ibid., 5.300–15, Italics mine (David West).

[3] Ibid., 5.290–95.