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| Hobby Forum Index » Sport - Olympics » Plato's Sports Philosophy & Ancient Olympic Events |
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| Immortalist |
 Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 11:15 am |
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Ancient Olympic Events
* Boxing
* Equestrian events
- Chariot racing
- Riding
* Pankration
* Pentathlon
- Discus
- Javelin
- Jump
- Running
- Wrestling
* Running
* Wrestling
The ancient Olympics were rather different from the modern Games. There were
fewer events, and only free men who spoke Greek could compete, instead of
athletes from any country. Also, the games were always held at Olympia instead of
moving around to different sites every time.
Like our Olympics, though, winning athletes were heroes who put their home towns
on the map. One young Athenian nobleman defended his political reputation by
mentioning how he entered seven chariots in the Olympic chariot-race. This high
number of entries made both the aristocrat and Athens look very wealthy and
powerful.
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Boxing
Ancient boxing had fewer rules than the modern sport. Boxers fought without
rounds until one man was knocked out, or admitted he had been beaten. Unlike the
modern sport, there was no rule against hitting an opponent when he was down.
There were no weight classes within the mens' and boys' divisions; opponents for
a match were chosen randomly.
Instead of gloves, ancient boxers wrapped leather thongs (himantes) around their
hands and wrists which left their fingers free.
Plato makes fun of boxers' faces, calling them the "folk with the battered ears."
Plato, Gorgias 515e.
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Equestrian events
- Chariot racing
There were both 2-horse chariot and 4-horse chariot races, with separate races
for chariots drawn by foals. Another race was between carts drawn by a team of 2
mules. The course was 12 laps around the stadium track (9 miles).
- Riding
The course was 6 laps around the track (4.5 miles), and there were separate races
for full-grown horses and foals. Jockeys rode without stirrups.
Only wealthy people could afford to pay for the training, equipment, and feed of
both the driver (or jockey) and the horses. As a result, the owner received the
olive wreath of victory instead of the driver or jockey.
Aristophanes, the comic playwright, describes the troubles of a father whose son
has too-expensive tastes in horses: "Creditors are eating me up alive...and all
because of this horse-plague!" (Aristophanes, Clouds l.240ff.)
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Pankration
This event was a grueling combination of boxing and wrestling. Punches were
allowed, although the fighters did not wrap their hands with the boxing himantes.
Rules outlawed only biting and gouging an opponent's eyes, nose, or mouth with
fingernails. Attacks such as kicking an opponent in the belly, which are against
the rules in modern sports, were perfectly legal.
Like boxing and wrestling, among others, this event had separate divisions for
both men and boys.
The poet Xenophanes describes the pankration as "that new and terrible
contest...of all holds" (Xenophanes 2)
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Pentathlon
This was a 5-event combination of discus, javelin, jumping, running and
wrestling.
Aristotle describes a young man's ultimate physical beauty: "a body capable of
enduring all efforts, either of the racecourse or of bodily strength...This is
why the athletes in the pentathlon are most beautiful." (Aristotle, Rhetoric
1361b)
- Discus
The ancient Greeks considered the rhythm and precision of an athlete throwing the
discus as important as his strength.
The discus was made of stone, iron, bronze, or lead, and was shaped like a flying
saucer. Sizes varied, since the boys' division was not expected to throw the same
weight as the mens'.
- Javelin
The javelin was a man-high length of wood, with either a sharpened end or an
attached metal point. It had a thong for a hurler's fingers attached to its
center of gravity, which increased the precision and distance of a javelin's
flight.
- Jump
Athletes used lead or stone jump weights (halteres) shaped like telephone
receivers to increase the length of their jump. The halteres were held in front
of the athlete during his ascent, and forcibly thrust behind his back and dropped
during his descent to help propel his body further.
Jump weights also doubled as weight lifting equipment during training.
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Running
There were 4 types of races at Olympia. The stadion was the oldest event of the
Games. Runners sprinted for 1 stade (192 m.), or the length of the stadium. The
other races were a 2-stade race (384 m.), and a long-distance run which ranged
from 7 to 24 stades (1,344 m. to 4,608 m.).
And if these races weren't enough, the Greeks had one particularly grueling event
which we lack. There was also a 2 to 4-stade (384 m. to 768 m.) race by athletes
in armor. This race was especially useful in building the speed and stamina that
Greek men needed during their military service. If we remember that the standard
hoplite armor (helmet, shield, and greaves)weighed about 50-60 lbs, it is easy to
imagine what such an event must have been like.
The Phaiacian nobles entertain the hero Odysseus by competing in athletic games:
"A course was marked out for them from the turning point, and they all sped
swiftly, raising the dust of the plain, but among them noble Clytoneus was far
the best at running...he shot to the front and the others were left behind."
(Homer, Odyssey 8.121ff.)
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Wrestling
Like the modern sport, an athlete needed to throw his opponent on the ground,
landing on a hip, shoulder, or back for a fair fall. 3 throws were necessary to
win a match. Biting was not allowed, and genital holds were also illegal. Attacks
such as breaking your opponent's fingers were permitted.
In one of Aristophanes's comedies, one character recommends that another rub his
neck with lard in preparation for a heated argument with an adversary. The
debater replies, "Spoken like a finished wrestling coach." (Aristophanes, Knights
l.490ff.)
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/sports.html
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/
http://duke.usask.ca/~porterj/CourseNotes/gkgames.html |
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