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The Violent Sport of Wrestling
The fourth day began with a bang: the important men's footraces. There were three regular races, a sprint, a middle distance, and a long distance race of twenty four stades. In addition, there was a race in armor. These runners are competing in the one stade race.
27. It looks to me as though the front runner is losing ground to the challenger.
28. Don't ever look over your shoulder, no matter how far ahead you believe you may be. This ancient athlete is obviously disregarding his trainer's advice.
29. Long distance running requires that energy be conserved. These distance runners are about to round the turning post.
30. They are just about to begin the final kicking stride. It's anyone's race at this point. It was possible to enter and win all three races, although few athletes won the triple crown. The Spartan runner, Leonidas, managed to win twelve victories in four Olympics. His record still stands.
31. The race in armor conjured up the mystique of battle.
32. The competitors did not race in a complete suit of armor. Rather they wore shin guards, a helmet, and carried a large shield.
33. This small bronze figure portrays an athlete posed to begin the race in armor. His shin guards, shield, and helmet plume have been lost. We mustn't forget the fact that at Olympia the women raced also. The maiden's footrace was conducted in honor of Hera and in memory of the marriage of the local hero, Pelops. The women competitors did not race naked. They wore a short dress cut away on one side. Since the Temple of Hera was 1/6th smaller than the Temple of Zeus, the distance of the maiden's footrace was smaller by an equal proportion.
34. This depicts the maiden's footrace. The dresses seem a bit long and the left breast has been concealed by the artist, who may have been rather prudish.
35. This small bronze figure presents a more accurate portrayal. Women were excluded from viewing men's competition, with one noteable exception. If a woman owned a chariot team, she could watch that contest. There is a story that a mother dressed as a trainer in order to supervise her son. Her disguise was penetrated at a publicly embarrassing moment; and from that time on, trainers as well as athletes were not permitted to wear clothing.
The Violent Sport of Wrestling In the afternoon of the fourth day, the wrestling and boxing events were held. There was no ring. The wrestlers and boxers used the jumping pit. Also, there were no weight categories. A small man would have to take his chances in the pit against a larger opponent.
36. I am not familiar with wrestling technique. I do know that the ancient wrestlers commenced separated and standing. Three falls were necessary for a victory. This wrestler prepares to receive the assault of his opponent.
37. This is a typical wrestling hold.
38. Here we have a head lock. The Greek Vases commemorating wrestling victories are a veritable instruction book in the complete art of wrestling. Anyone need a Ph.D. thesis in physical education? 39. If you can lift your opponent into the air, it's only a matter of the appropriate maneuver to dash him to the ground.
40. An over the shoulder toss might do the trick. At this point I would like to recall the most famous wrestler of antiquity, Milos of Crotos. He was a six time winner at Olympia, and a seven time winner at Delphi. Aristotle uses him as an example of a big eater. He was as world famous as Muhammad Ali is today. We know that wrestling and boxing were part of the most ancient Olympic competitions.
41. This is an eighth century vase depicting a boxing or wrestling competition.
42. The boxers bound their fists with leather thongs to protect their hands.
43. They trained to music. The instrument is a double reeded aulis, which sounds similar to our modern oboe.
44. One method of defending against a blow is to raise your elbow. One ancient athlete, Melancomas, was so good at defensive technique that he wore out his opponents. He invented the strategy of rope-a-dope.
45. If your defenses fail, you can submit by raising a finger high in the air. This certainly beats throwing in the towel. That puts the decision in the hands of your trainer. Your opponent could, however, beat you senseless. But he would have nothing to gain from killing you. The boxer, Iccus, was killed in 496, and the referees decided not to give his opponent the victory. Howard Cosell, I believe, would have concurred in this decision.
For those with an extreme taste for violence, the final contest of the Olympics was the pankratium: a combination of boxing and wrestling.
46. You could toss your opponent as in wrestling, provided you could get a good grasp on his slippery oiled body.
47. Or you could punch him out. Notice that in the Pankratium, the athletes' fists are not bound.
48. You were not permitted to bite, or gouge, or strike a low blow. The referees would immediately interfere. In this scene, the referee is about to interfere in a decisive way.
49. Eventually, one opponent would concede. |
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