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Thus
prepared, the wrestlers began their combat. They were matched two
against
two, and sometimes several couples contended at the same time. In
this
combat, the whole aim and design of the wrestlers was to throw
their
adversary
upon the ground. Both strength and art were employed for this
purpose:
they seized each other by the arms, drew forwards, pushed
backwards,
used many distortions and twistings of the body; locking their
limbs
into each other’s, seizing by the neck, throttling, pressing in
their
arms, struggling, plying on all sides, lifting from the ground,
dashing
their heads together like rams, and twisting one another’s necks.
The
most considerable advantage in the wrestler’s art, was to make
himself
master
of his adversary’s legs, of which a fall was the immediate
consequence.
From whence Plautus says in his _Pseudolus_, speaking of
wine,
“He is a dangerous wrestler, he presently trips up the
heels.”(127)
The
Greek terms υποσκελίζειν
and
πτερνίζειν,
and the Latin word
_supplantare_,
seem to imply, that one of these arts consisted in stooping
down
to seize the antagonist under the soles of his feet, and in
raising
them
up to give him a fall.
In
this manner the Athletæ wrestled standing, the combat ending with
the
fall
of one of the competitors. But when it happened that the wrestler
who
was
down, drew his adversary along with him, either by art or
accident,
the
combat continued upon the sand, the antagonists tumbling and
twining
with
each other in a thousand different ways, till one of them got
uppermost,
and compelled the other to ask quarter, and confess himself
vanquished.
There was a third sort of wrestling, called Ἀκροχειρισμὸς,
from
the Athletæ’s using only their hands in it, without taking hold
of
the
body, as in the other kinds; and this exercise served as a prelude
to
the
greater combat. It consisted in intermingling their fingers, and
in
squeezing
them with all their force; in pushing one another, by joining
the
palms of their hands together; in twisting their fingers, wrists,
and
other
joints of the arm, without the assistance of any other member;
and
the
victory was his, who obliged his opponent to ask quarter.
The
combatants were to fight three times successively, and to throw
their
antagonists
at least twice, before the prize could be adjudged to them.
Homer
describes the wrestling of Ajax and Ulysses; Ovid, that of
Hercules
and
Achelous; Lucan, of Hercules and Antæus; and Statius, in his
_Thebaid_,
that of Tydeus and Agylleus.(128)
The
wrestlers of greatest reputation amongst the Greeks, were Milo of
Crotona,
whose history I have related elsewhere at large, and Polydamas.
The
latter, alone and without arms, killed a furious lion upon mount
Olympus,
in imitation of Hercules, whom he proposed to himself as a model
in
this action. Another time having seized a bull by one of his
hinder
legs,
the beast could not get loose without leaving his hoof in his
hands.
He
could hold a chariot behind, while the coachman whipt his horses
in
vain
to make them go forward. Darius Nothus, king of Persia, hearing
of
his
prodigious strength, was desirous of seeing him, and invited him
to
Susa.
Three soldiers of that Prince’s guard, and of that band which the
Persians
called “immortal,” esteemed the most warlike of their troops,
were
ordered to fall upon him. Our champion fought and killed them all
three.
Of
Boxing, or the Cestus.
Boxing
is a combat at blows with the fist, from whence it derives its
name.
The combatants covered their fists with a kind of offensive arms,
called
_Cestus_, and their heads with a sort of leather cap, to defend
their
temples and ears, which were most exposed to blows, and to deaden
their
violence. The Cestus was a kind of gauntlet, or glove, made of
straps
of leather, and plated with brass, lead or iron. Their use was to
strengthen
the hands of the combatants, and to add violence to their
blows.
Sometimes
the Athletæ came immediately to the most violent blows, and
began
their onset in the most furious manner. Sometimes whole hours
passed
in
harassing and fatiguing each other, by a continual extension of
their
arms,
rendering each other’s blows ineffectual, and endeavouring by
that
sparring
to keep off their adversary. But when they fought with the utmost
fury,
they aimed chiefly at the head and face, which parts they were
most
careful
to defend, by either avoiding or parrying the blows made at them.
When
a combatant came on to throw himself with all his force and
vigour
upon
another, they had a surprising address in avoiding the attack, by
a
nimble
turn of the body, which threw the imprudent adversary down, and
deprived
him of the victory.
However
fierce the combatants were against each other, their being
exhausted
by the length of the combat, would frequently reduce them to the
necessity
of making a truce; upon which the battle was suspended by mutual
consent
for some minutes, that were employed in recovering their fatigue,
and
rubbing off the sweat in which they were bathed: after which they
renewed
the fight, till one of them, by letting fall his arms through
weakness
and faintness, explained that he could no longer support the pain
or
fatigue, and desired quarter; which was confessing himself
vanquished.
Boxing
was one of the roughest and most dangerous of the gymnastic
combats;
because, besides the danger of being crippled, the combatants ran
the
hazard of their lives. They sometimes fell down dead, or dying
upon
the
sand; though that seldom happened, except the vanquished person
persisted
too long in not acknowledging his defeat: yet it was common for
them
to quit the fight with a countenance so disfigured, that it was
not
easy
to know them afterwards; carrying away with them the sad marks of
their
vigorous resistance, such as bruises and contusions in the face,
the
loss
of an eye, their teeth knocked out, their jaws broken, or some
more
considerable
fracture.
We
find in the poets, both Latin and Greek, several descriptions of
this
kind
of combat. In Homer, that of Epeus and Euryalus; in Theocritus,
of
Pollux
and Amycus; in Apollonius Rhodius, the same battle of Pollux and
Amycus;
in Virgil, that of Dares and Entellus; and in Statius, and
Valerius
Flaccus, of several other combatants.(129)
Of
the Pancratium.
The
Pancratium was so called from two Greek words,(130) which signify
that
the
whole force of the body was necessary for succeeding in it. It
united
boxing
and wrestling in the same fight, borrowing from one its manner of
struggling
and flinging, and from the other, the art of dealing blows and
of
avoiding them with success. In wrestling it was not permitted to
strike
with
the hand, nor in boxing to seize each other in the manner of the
wrestlers;
but in the Pancratium, it was not only allowed to make use of
all
the gripes and artifices of wrestling, but the hands and feet,
and
even
the teeth and nails, might be employed to conquer an antagonist.
This
combat was the most rough and dangerous. A Pancratiast in the
Olympic
games
(called Arrichion, or Arrachion,) perceiving himself almost
suffocated
by his adversary, who had got fast hold of him by the throat,
at
the same time that he held him by the foot, broke one of his
enemy’s
toes,
the extreme anguish of which obliged him to ask quarter at the
very
instant
that Arrichion himself expired. The Agonothetæ crowned Arrichion,
though
dead, and proclaimed him victor. Philostratus has left us a very
lively
description of a painting, which represented this combat.
Of
the Discus, or Quoit.
The
Discus was a kind of quoit of a round form, made sometimes of
wood,
but
more frequently of stone, lead, or other metal; as iron or brass.
Those
who used this exercise were called Discoboli, that is, flingers
of
the
Discus. The epithet κατωμάδιος,
which signifies “borne upon the
shoulders,”
given to this instrument by Homer, sufficiently shows, that it
was
of too great a weight to be carried from place to place in the
hands
only,
and that the shoulders were necessary for the support of such a
burden
for any length of time.
The
intent of this exercise, as of almost all the others, was to
invigorate
the body, and to make men more capable of supporting the weight
and
use of arms. In war they were often obliged to carry such loads,
as
appear
excessive in these days, either of provisions, fascines,
palisades;
or
in scaling of walls, when, to equal the height of them, several of
the
besiegers
mounted upon the shoulders of each other.
The
Athletæ, in hurling the Discus, put themselves into the posture
best
adapted
to add force to their cast; that is, they advanced one foot, upon
which
they leaned the whole weight of their bodies. They then poised
the
Discus
in their hands, and whirling it round several times almost
horizontally,
to add force to its motion, they threw it off with the joint
strength
of hands, arms, and body, which had all a share in the vigour of
the
discharge. He that flung the Discus farthest was the victor.
The
most famous painters and sculptors of antiquity, in their
endeavours
to
represent naturally the attitudes of the Discoboli, have left to
posterity
many masterpieces in their several arts. Quintilian exceedingly
extols
a statue of that kind, which had been finished with infinite care
and
application by the celebrated Myron: “What can be more finished,”
says
he,
“or express more happily the muscular distortions of the body in
the
exercise
of the Discus, than the Discobolus of Myron?”(131)
Of
the Pentathlum.
The
Greeks gave this name to an exercise composed of five others. It
is
the
common opinion, that those five exercises were wrestling,
running,
leaping,
throwing the dart, and the Discus. It is believed that this sort
of
combat was decided in one day, and sometimes the same morning: and
that
to
obtain the prize, which was single, it was required that a
combatant
should
be the victor in all those exercises.
The
exercise of leaping, and throwing the javelin, of which the first
consisted
in leaping a certain length, and the other in hitting a mark
with
a javelin at a certain distance, contributed to the forming of a
soldier,
by making him nimble and active in battle, and expert in flinging
the
spear and dart.
Of
Races.
Of
all the exercises which the Athletæ cultivated with so much pains
and
industry
to enable them to appear in the public games, running held the
foremost
rank. The Olympic games generally opened with races, and were
solemnized
at first with no other exercise.
The
place where the Athletæ exercised themselves in running was
generally
called
the _Stadium_ by the Greeks; as was that wherein they disputed in
earnest
for the prize. As the lists or course for these games was at
first
but
one Stadium(132) in length, it took its name from its measure, and
was
called
the Stadium, whether precisely of that extent, or of a much
greater.
Under that denomination was included not only the space in which
the
Athletæ ran, but also that which contained the spectators of the
gymnastic
games. The place where the Athletæ contended was called Scamma,
from
its lying lower than the rest of the Stadium, on each side of
which,
and
at the extremity ran an ascent or kind of terrace, covered with
seats
and
benches, upon which the spectators were seated. The most
remarkable
parts
of the Stadium were its entrance, middle, and extremity.
The
entrance of the course, from whence the competitors started, was
marked
at first only by a line drawn on the sand from side to side of
the
Stadium.
To that at length was substituted a kind of barrier, which was
only
a cord strained tight in the front of the horses or men that were
to
run.
It was sometimes a rail of wood. The opening of this barrier was
the
signal
for the racers to start.
The
middle of the Stadium was remarkable only by the circumstance of
having
the prizes allotted to the victors set up there. St.
Chrysostom(133)
draws a fine comparison from this custom. “As the judges,”
says
he, “in the races and other games, expose in the midst of the
Stadium,
to the view of the champions, the crowns which they are to
receive;
in like manner the Lord, by the mouth of his prophets, has placed
in
the midst of the course, the prizes which he designs for those who
have
the
courage to contend for them.”
At
the extremity of the Stadium was a goal, where the footraces ended,
but
in
those of chariots and horses they were to run several times round
it
without
stopping, and afterwards conclude the race by regaining the other
extremity
of the lists, from whence they started.
There
were three kinds of races, the chariot, the horse, and the
footrace.
I
shall begin with the last, as the most simple, natural, and
ancient.
1.
Of the Foot-race.
The
runners, of whatever number they were, ranged themselves in a
line,
after
having drawn lots for their places. Whilst they waited the signal
to
start,
they practised, by way of prelude, various motions to awaken
their
activity,
and to keep their limbs pliable and in a right temper.(134) They
kept
themselves in wind by small leaps, and making little excursions,
that
were
a kind of trial of their speed and agility. Upon the signal being
given
they flew towards the goal, with a rapidity scarce to be followed
by
the
eye, which was solely to decide the victory. For the Agonistic
laws
prohibited,
under the penalty of infamy, the attaining it by any foul
method.
In
the simple race the extent of the Stadium was run but once, at the
end
of
which the prize attended the victor, that is, he who came in first.
In
the
race called Δίαυλος,
the competitors ran twice that length; that is,
after
having arrived at the goal, they returned to the barrier. To
these
may
be added a third sort, called Δολιχὸς,
which was the longest of all,
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