Sport in the Ancient World

Sports in Ancient Greece celebrated the beauty of the human form and the perfection of the athlete. Every four years, without a break for nearly twelve centuries, a sporting event in Olympia was held where athletes were able to display their abilities and their physique. The winners of these games were seen as individuals favored by the gods and used as objects of desire. At the time these games were first created, the only sport was sprinting. The atmosphere of the sprinting race was that of religious tension; those who won were seen as favored by the gods. Because form and physique played such big roles in Greek sports, it was important that that was put on display throughout the events, so all athletes performed naked. Before the event, each athlete was washed, doused in oil, and scented; Body odor was seen as a sign of divinity. After, the body was then sprinkled with dust, preferably yellow, because it added glisten to the athlete's body. After the competition, the body was then scraped of the oil and dirt, which was said to have a sort of healing power to heal wounds and inflammation. Even at that time, athletics was a serious, lucrative business. Starting in the 6th Century BC, detailed dietary and workout plans were given to athletes by trainers. As for the athlete themselves, those who could participate were free-born Greek men, with Zeus' daughter being the only woman who could attend the event.

As for the Ancient Romans, sport was based on brutality, death, and violence. The "athletes," or Gladiators, were either slaves, criminals, or POWs fighting to the death in order to gain their freedom. The training regimen for the gladiators was just as rigorous and intense as training for the Roman soldiers-all athletes must know how to use a sword, so all athletes trained with a Gladius, which is a standard, two-edged sword. When it came to costumes, a Gladiator's armor was his costume. Each Gladiator had their own special design on their armor to separate themselves from the others. No gladiator was ever fully protected because it was thought that everyone needed to have a weakness that their counterpart was able to identify. As previously stated, the actual event itself consisted of a fight to the death, with the winner eventually gaining his freedom.

When comparing sports today with sports of the ancient worlds, we can see that their are obvious similarities and differences. Athletes today are put in a very similar spotlight to the athletes of ancient Greece. Just as they did then, many athletes nowadays follow a specific workout and dietary plan for their respective sport so they can be in the best shape possible to compete. The fans today tend to put the athletes on a pedastal above most individuals because of their physical abilities. As for the game itself, Greek style of sport was more similar to sport today than Ancient Roman sport because Roman sport focused more on violence and the brutality. Roman sport was more about brute force than having athletic ability, which may be handy for some sports today, such as boxing, MMA, and other fighting sports, but not for most sports. 

Reference

"Ancient Olympia Part 1." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2015.

"Ancient Olympia Part 2." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2015.

"Gladiator Training." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2015.