Sport in the Ancient World

After reading and understanding more about how sport was in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, it is clear that there has been a development of sport. Through the article by Guttman, Coakley, and various youtube videos, I have learned what types of sports were played in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, the characteristics of these sports, the functions/role of sports in these respective societies, and who the participants in the sports were.

To start, track and field events were very predominant in Ancient Greece. The discus, triple jump, javelin, and sprints are just a few track and field events that were popular then and are still popular now. In Ancient Greece we also learned about how tie breakers were handled, in which they would end up in wrestling matches. While there were very few contact sports in Ancient Greece, we learned that in Ancient Rome, almost all of the sporting events were contact oriented sports. Ancient Rome was definitely more deadly and physical than Ancient Greece. They would engage in fights of Gladiators with weapons and spectators would crave to see these gladiators spill the other opponents blood.

The structure of the sports were laid out very differently. In Ancient Rome, Gladiators fought in an Arena which was open to most of the public. It would allow citizens of Rome able to see the bloody fights that ensue. In comparison, Ancient Greece was set up similar to an ancient olympic games. The sports would be very organized and participants and spectators knew what the expectations were, such as false starts (flogging), misbehaving (beatings), etc. While in Ancient Rome, there were very few rules besides win or die, Ancient Greece was far more formal in the fact that there were specific rules.

The function of sports was very different. In Ancient Greece there was a huge reliance that sports were religious based. According to an article by the Olympic.org, the olympic games were closely linked to the religious festivals of the cult of Zeus. The whole reason for sports was to show respect towards Zeus, and in doing so would allow Zeus' sister to be the only female spectator. The games would serve as entertainment but mostly for religious motives. In Ancient Rome, we see the games as more of an entertainment event. An opportunity for spectators to fall in love with a gladiator and to hate another. The gladiators were also seen as objects of desire from the public. While there was little religious motive for the games in Ancient Rome, it's clear that the sports were organized as a means of entertainment.

In Ancient Rome, we see that the participants of the gladiator fighting sport were gladiators. These gladiators were most likely barbarians or slaves. They were given a very strict diet and forced to maintain a very athletic body. These participants were seen as dispensable because of how there was little need for keeping them around since death was always an outcome. In Ancient Greece, the participants were men and no women were allowed during the main events; however, in the article by Guttman, we learn that women were allowed to compete at a separate game. The participants could be from any ages and would be sorted out so no one had an unfair advantage no matter what age. The winners of their respective sports were seen as desirable as showing the most respect to Zeus and would earn a excess amount of money. Competing in these sports was seen as a profession just as it can be seen today.

Clearly there are some complete differences of ancient sports in comparison to modern sport. We learned about then types of sports that were played, the characteristics, the function/role, and who participated in the sports. I believe that while there are some major differences such as how religious some events were and how death was an almost for sure outcome, there are also some similarities. In modern sports we enforce a strict structure and organization. We also push athletes to maintain the "ideal" body. The biggest similarity I identified was that if you win, you are valued and are important. While there were differences, I found it very interesting that there were some similarities that haven't changed.

References:
Ancient Greece: Youtube videos provided
Ancient Rome: Youtube video provided
Coakley Sports in Society
Guttman
http://www.olympic.org/ancient-olympic-games