Existing comment:
Ancient Sport:
"When anyone is victorious by aid of toil, then it is that honey-voiced odes are a foundation for future fame, even a faithful witness to noble exploits."
-- Pindar, Olympian Odes
In the cities of both Greece and Rome, athletic practice was encouraged as a means of maintaining military fitness as well as an end in itself. Whether competing in the great pan-Hellenic games of the Greek world such as the Olympics or in the annual games at Rome such as the Ludi Romani and Ludi Apollinares (Games of Apollo), athletes strove to win glory for themselves and their city and to provide entertainment for the general population.
The most prestigious and strenuous competition was the pentathlon, which consisted of three field events (the long jump, javelin throw, and discus throw), a short foot race, and wrestling. There were also combat events such as boxing as well as equestrian events, including horse races (in The Cloud, Aristophanes satirizes a son's addiction to the sport), two- and four-horse chariot races, and, depending on the fashion of the time, mule-cart races.
In Greece, athlete practiced in the gymnasia, social spaces where they exercised naked, pursued their loved ones, and passed their time in conversation. The most famous gymnasia were the Academy and the Lyceum, which gave their names to the schools founded by the philosophers Plato and Aristotle. |