USC athletes took a little field trip to the Getty Villa this past weekend to tour the beautiful gardens and learn about athletes in ancient Roman art. The Stevens Academic Center put on the expedition to provide athletes with an opportunity to experience Los Angeles outside the boundaries of campus.
After having some time to explore the Villa on their own, the Trojans were treated to an in-depth tour of the museum tailored to exhibits portraying ancient athletics. They learned that the Olympic games were originally created to keep soldiers in shape, mentally and physically, in between times of war. They also discovered that Romans believed the body of an athlete was the ideal form of beauty and perfection. Very similar to the tunnel walk into USC's Coliseum, the student-athletes learned that Roman Olympians would walk into the original Olympic games along a road lined with bronze statues of former great Olympians.
The athletes enjoyed a beautiful afternoon at the facility built by J. Paul Getty in 1974 as a replication of an archaeological site buried in the ash of Mount Vesuvius. The Stevens Academic Center hopes to continue to provide athletes with opportunities to get off campus and further expand their experience as USC student-athletes.
