Sport in the Ancient World

The various videoclips, readings and additional research furthered my knowledge of sport in the ancient world; particularly sport in ancient Greece and Rome. My knowledge of the development of sport worldwide prior to these readings and videos was immoderately low. I now feel that I have an understanding of where sport began, their characteristics and most importantly, the roles and functions of sport in the ancient world. The readings exemplified how both society and sport have evolved overtime. 

Sport in ancient Greece included running, jumping, discus throw, boxing, wrestling and the four horse chariot race. Although most of these sports still exist in today's society, many of their rules and regulations have changed overtime. For example, in Greece, the discus throw would not consist of spinning prior to releasing the discus and today, the athlete will spin to gain momentum before launching the discus. Another example of the change in rules overtime would be in the 100-meter dash. In ancient Greece, if there was a false start in the 100 meter, the participant would be brutally beaten by the judges as a penalty. The participants of sport in ancient Greece were "hailed as sons of the gods" according to the YouTube video. They wore "uniforms of the Gods" and competed naked. Much like today, the athletes of Greece had pre-game rituals. Today in the US, a pre-gmae ritual may vary from stretching or listening to music.....but in ancient Greece, a pre-game ritual consisted of being washed, oiled and scented in respect to the gods. 

Sport in ancient Rome was extremely different than in ancient Greece. In Greece, sport was for entertainment and pleasing the gods, where in Rome, sport was played to kill. Another major difference in sport in Greece and Rome was that in Greece, Greek citizens partook in the sporting events while in Rome, the slaves and war prisoners were the sporting participants. Sport in ancient Rome included chariot racing, boxing, and gladiator battles. The gladiator battles were the most popular and the most gruesome. It is said that the gladiator training "parallels training of the Roman soldier". Sport in Rome was known for fighting and killing. Boxing was even intended to injure and kill. For example, if the boxing match was exceeding long, and neither opponent went down, "free-shots" without protection were given against each opponent until one went down or died. I think that it is safe to say that much of the dynamics and roles of sport have evolved overtime while much has also remained the same in terms of competitiveness and common goals. 

References:
Youtube videos posted to D2L