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INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY
16th INTERNATIONAL sEMINAR
ON OLYMPIC sTuDIEs fOR POsTgRADuATE sTuDENTs
1-30 JuLY 2008
PROCEEDINgs
ANCIENT OLYMPIA
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Published by the International Olympic Academy
and the International Olympic Committee
2009
International Olympic Academy
52, Dimitrios Vikelas Avenue
152 33 Halandri, Athens
GREECE
Tel.: +30 210 6878809-13, +30 210 6878888
Fax: +30 210 6878840
E-mail: ioa@ioa.org.gr
Website: www.ioa.org.gr
Editor
Assoc. Prof. Konstantinos Georgiadis, IOA Honorary Dean
Production
Livani Publishing Organization
ISBN: 978-960-14-2121-6
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INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY
16th INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR
ON OLYMPIC STUDIES FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS
SPECIAL SUBJECT:
Youth Olympic Games: Children and Sport
ANCIENT OLYMPIA
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CONTENTS
7
EPHORIA
OF THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY
(2008)
President Minos X. KYRIAKOU
Vice-President Isidoros KOUVELOS
Members Lambis V. NIKOLAOU (IOC Vice-President)
Emmanuel KATSIADAKIS
Antonios NIKOLOPOULOS
Evangelos SOUFLERIS
Panagiotis KONDOS
Leonidas VAROUXIS
Georgios FOTINOPOULOS
Honorary President Juan Antonio SAMARANCH
Honorary Vice-President Nikolaos YALOURIS
Honorary Dean Konstantinos GEORGIADIS
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8
HELLENIC OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (2008)
President Minos X. KYRIAKOU
1st Vice-President Isidoros KOUVELOS
2nd Vice-President Spyros ZANNIAS
Secretary General Emmanuel KATSIADAKIS
Treasurer Pavlos KANELLAKIS
Deputy Secretary General Antonios NIKOLOPOULOS
Deputy Treasurer Ioannis KARRAS
IOC Member ex-officio Lambis V. NIKOLAOU
Members Stelios AGGELOUDIS
Ioannis ANTONOPOULOS
Niki BAKOYIANNI
Athanassios BELIGRATIS
Christos CHATZIATHANASSIOU
Dimitris DIATHESSOPOULOS
Michalis FISSENTZIDIS
Andreas FOURAS
Vassilis GAGATSIS
Nikos KAKLAMANAKIS
Manolis KOLYMBADIS
Panagiotis KONDOS
Pavlos LAPPAS
Thomas MEDESSIDIS
Ioannis PSARELIS
Dimitris RAZIS
Vassilis SEVASTIS
Freddy SERPIERIS
Ioannis SGOUROS
Georgios SMYRNEOS
Evangelos SOUFLERIS
Petros SYNADINOS
Georgios VASSILAKOPOULOS
Athanasios VASSILIADIS
Ioannis VASSILIADIS
Konstantinos WILLS
Georgios YEROLYMPOS
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9
INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE
COMMISSION FOR CULTURE AND OLYMPIC EDUCATION
(2008)
Chairman Zhenliang HE (CHN)
Members Haya Bint AL HUSSEIN (UAE)
Beatrice ALLEN (GAM)
Fernando F. Lima BELLO (POR)
Valeriy BORZOV (UKR)
Helen BROWNLEE (AUS)
Philip CRAVEN (GBR)
Iván DIBÓS (PER)
Conrado DURÁNTEZ (ESP)
Hicham EL GUERROUJ (MAR)
Manuel ESTIARTE (ESP)
Timothy TSUN-TING FOK (CHN)
Konstantinos GEORGIADIS (GRE)
Nat INDRAPANA (THA)
Minos X. KYRIAKOU (GRE)
Karl LENNARTZ (GER)
Vladimir LISIN (RUS)
Alicia MASONI de MOREA (ARG)
Samih MOUDALLAL (SYR)
Norbert MÜLLER (GER)
Roque-Napoléon MUÑOZ-PEÑA (DOM)
Mohamed MZALI (TUN)
Lambis V. NIKOLAOU (GRE)
Francis Were NYANGWESO (UGA)
Enrico PRANDI (ITA)
Sam RAMSAMY (RSA)
Thomas P. ROSANDICH (USA)
Mounir SABET (EGY)
Melitόn SANCHEZ RIVAS (PAN)
Klaus SCHORMANN (GER)
Antun VRDOLJAK (CRO)
Ching-Kuo WU (TPE)
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THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SPORTS DURING THE PHARAOH DYNASTIES
79
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SPORTS DURING
THE PHARAOH DYNASTIES
AND ITS RELATION TO THE ANCIENT GREEK SPORTS
Mohammed A. EL-GAMMAL (EGY)
Demonstrator at the Dept. of Theories and Applications of Grouped Sports,
Faculty of Physical Education “male”, Zagazig University – Egypt
Many of today’s sports were practiced by the Ancient Egyptians, who set the
rules and regulations for them. Inscriptions on monuments indicate that they
practiced wrestling, weightlifting, long jump, swimming, rowing, shooting, fishing
and athletic, as well as various kinds of ball games.
Ancient Egyptian kings, princes and statesmen were keen on attending sports
competitions, which they encouraged and provided with the necessary equip-
ment. Drawings on pharaonic monuments tell us that several thousand years
ago, the Egyptians had laid down basic rules for games, chosen a neutral referee,
a uniform for players, and a means of announcing the winners by awarding them
different collars. Both winner and loser were met with ovation, the first for his
superiority and the latter for his sporting spirit.
The following is a demonstration of some ancient Egyptian sports:
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MOHAMMED A. EL-GAMMAL
80
Hockey Handball Gymnastics
(floor exercises)
Gymnastics Javelin Throw Fishing
(consecutive vault)
Boxing Weightlifting Equestrian Sports
High Jump Swimming Rowing
Archery Rhythmic Gymnastics Tug of Hoop
Marathon Equilibrium Tug of War
(Hassan Kamal, 1935) (4)
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THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SPORTS DURING THE PHARAOH DYNASTIES
81
It started first in Egypt and from there it moved to Phoenicia, Carthage,
Greece and Rome.
The Ancient Egyptians engaged themselves in sports with the intention of
training and strengthening their bodies, and also for pleasure and recreation.
The Stele of Amenophis II in the vicinity of the great Sphinx in Giza is proof
that sports were practiced in the higher strata of society and must have been very
popular and widespread in Ancient Egypt.
Amenophis II was very proud of his skill in archery, running, rowing and his
love of horses.
The same was true for Tuthmosis IV who was proud of his skill in shooting,
hunting and other major sports.
The high standard which the Ancient Egyptians reached in physical fitness is
revealed in their standard portrayals of the male and female forms in sculpture
and painting.
The men are strong, and radiate a muscular vigour, while the ladies are
slender, and redolent with femininity.
There are numerous representations on tomb and temple walls, but none is
more striking than the oldest document relating to sport. It is a unique mural, not
only because of its historical date, but also through its social implications, for it
depicts the Pharaoh himself, Zoser the Great, the founder of the third dynasty
nearly 3000 years before Christ or about 5000 years ago.
This mural shows Zoser participating in the running programme of the Heb
Sed festival, as a symbol of the significance of physical fitness for the Ancient
Egyptians.
The artist has brought out, with a thorough knowledge of anatomy, the harmo-
nious play of muscles. The positions of Zoser’s arms, trunk and legs denote an exper-
tise of technique and movement which only advanced development can achieve.
Queens were no less aware of the importance of sports in all round culture,
for on a wall of her sanctuary in the Karnak Temple, Queen Hatshepsut of the
eighteenth dynasty had herself represented in a similar attitude in the Heb Sed.
Hardly any of ancient Egypt’s rulers during the thirty centuries under view
failed to have themselves depicted as a sporting figure in the Heb Sed festivals.
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MOHAMMED A. EL-GAMMAL
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The most notable instances of this are Sati and his son Ramses the second,
both of the nineteenth Dynasty, on their temples at Abydos and Abu Simbel
respectively.
Another example is the mural of Ramses III of the twentieth Dynasty on the
walls of his funerary temple in Medenet Babu.
Fully aware of the invaluable role of sport in raising the standard of health,
and hence of national productivity, the Ancient Egyptians as a whole, men,
women, youths and children, were all engaged in sporting activities with a zeal
which amounted to a cult.
The Saqqara tombs generally, and those of petah Hotep and Meriroke in
particular, are show places for children’s sports. They contain many illustrations
of athletics, wrestling and some other games.
It is difficult to think of a sport which the Ancient Egyptians did not practice.
The Benni Hasan rock tombs are a show place for most sports such as: athletics,
swimming, wrestling, dancing, gymnastics, hockey, yoga, and many others.
(Mosaad Ewes, 1985) (7)
Indoor Games
One of the most popular indoor activities was a board game known as senet.
Tourists who visit Egypt with a cautious eye may well run across a simple version
of the board, sometimes found at antiquity sites marked out on the pavement
or stone. However, much more elegant boards are to be found among the
wealthy, including one found in the tomb of Tut. This game was an ancestor of
draughts, with a checkered board known as the “perw” (houses) of three rows of
10 squares. Pieces of the opposing sides were distinguished by their size, color or
shape. Each opponent usually had seven pieces.
Moves were determined by throwing sticks, or “astragals” (knuckle-bones).
The object was to move the pieces around a snaking track to the finish, landing on
a number of specially marked squares representing good or bad fortune. Senet,
which means “passing”, became so popular that it took on religious significance.
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THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SPORTS DURING THE PHARAOH DYNASTIES
83
Another board game thought to have come from Asia was twenty squares.
Several boards have been discovered, and it is known that the game was played
by two players using five pieces, but otherwise the rules of this game are now
lost. Other games are recorded using different numbers of squares, but all were
position games usually played by two people sitting face to face.
There were several games that could be played by more than two people. In the
game of “snake” (mehen), up to six people could play. It used a long field scratched
out on the floor and stone pieces into the shape of dogs, lions and balls that were
moved along it. In yet another game, pegs with their tops shaped into dogs, jackals
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MOHAMMED A. EL-GAMMAL
84
and other animals were stuck into a row of 30 to 60 holes drilled into a board.
Unfortunately, we currently know little about the rules of any of these games.
(Erman Adolf, 1960) (2)
Sports Games
Many organized sports games were confrontational. Some of the favored sports
were wrestling, boxing and fencing with sticks, and of these, wrestling was prob-
ably the most favored. However, the early Egyptians seemed to have their own
early Olympics, with competitions including an early form of hockey, handball,
Gymnastics, spear throwing (javelin), weightlifting, various equestrian sports,
high jump, swimming competition, boating competitions, archery, long distance
running, tug of war and others. There is currently an effort in Luxor to revive
some of these old games into a national event.
The Games of Children
Children’s games appear to be much less organized, most often taking on
spur of the moment challenges such as balancing, racing, wrestling, and tug of
wars. We have also found that children played some sort of ball games, having
found various balls made from papyrus. In one picture we find girls playing a
game called “pressing the grapes”. While we know nothing of this game, the girls
are pictured holding hands in a circle. Dancing, which was very popular among
children, may also have been made into a game by girls. It is also clear that
children had many different toys to play with, some very complex in fact.
What is clear is that while the Egyptians labored to build pyramids, fought
wars and practiced religious ceremonies, they also could, and did, have a good
time.
There is a theory, in fact, that the Ancient Egyptians began the custom of
holding international games regularly at Akhmem in Upper Egypt.
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THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SPORTS DURING THE PHARAOH DYNASTIES
85
It is my hope that the research of scholars in Akhmem will shed more light on
this subject.
Last, but not least, it remains to be said that in Egypt, sport was born and
flourished, and from there it spread to Greece, Rome and to the rest of the world.
(Seleem Hassan, 1984) (8)
Egyptian Games, Toys and Leisure Activities
The father was responsible for the economic well-being of the family, and the
mother watched the household and brought up the children. Although Egyptian
children had toys much of their time was spent getting ready for adulthood. For
example, peasant children were with their parents in the fields. Privileged children
sometimes received more formal education to become scribes or soldiers.
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MOHAMMED A. EL-GAMMAL
86
Ancient Egyptians had games of all kinds, some for fun and entertainment
and others for physical activity. Samples of these games have been found in
drawings located in the tombs at Saqqara, and in other locations. These pyramids
were built in about 2600BC and believe it or not many people still play some
of these games to this day. Board games have also been found in tombs from
the same time period. Many of the physical kinds of games drawn in paintings
are of popular games that we play today such as hockey. The ancient Egyptians
used long palm tree branches for sticks and a puck made from papyrus stuffed in
between two pieces of leather. There are also pictures of various types of games
that use handballs.
Different types of board games have been discovered like Dogs and Jackals,
Senet and Seega. Some of the games have boards that have 20 squares and
others that have 30 and 50 squares. Dogs and Jackals games and pieces have
been found in the tomb of Reny-Seneb. The board was made out of wood, ebony
and ivory, shaped like a piece of furniture and roughly measuring 15x10cm. The
game had 4 animal carved legs and the board with 55 holes was made of ivory
with a palm tree carved into it. There were drawers that held the ebony pawns
that looked like jackals and dogs’ heads on a stick. Three coins were used to
decide the movements of the pieces on the board and the first person with all the
pieces at the end wins the game.
Board games were very common in ancient Egypt and people from all levels
of society played them. Many game boards from ancient Egypt have been found
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THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SPORTS DURING THE PHARAOH DYNASTIES
87
by archaeologists. However, the rules explaining how to play these games have
not survived. By studying game boards and other evidence, experts have made
some educated guesses about how these games were played. (Abd Elhameed
Zaied, 1980) (1)
These Egyptian board games, as you can see, are amazingly cool.
Ancient Greek Games
The Greeks took games of all kinds very seriously, but especially physical athletic
competition. The Greeks believed that their gods particularly loved to see strong,
fit, graceful human bodies, especially boys and men’s bodies. So one way to
get on the good side of the gods was to exercise, to eat right, to oil your skin, to
create a beautiful body that the gods would love. Because of the Greek tendency
to turn everything into an agon, a competition, this also meant that there were a
lot of athletic competitions in Greece. The most famous of these is the Olympic
Games, but there were other games held in other places as well, like the Isthmian
Games at Corinth.
Discus Thrower (classical period)
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MOHAMMED A. EL-GAMMAL
88
Young men (from richer families who didn’t have to work) in most Greek cities
spent a lot of their time training for these competitions, and the best of them
were chosen to compete against the best young men from other cities. Then they
would all meet, at the Olympic Games or the Isthmian Games or elsewhere, and
compete for prizes and for the favor of the gods. Of course these games also
served as good training for the army, because all these men would be soldiers as
well. The events were the same kind as in the Olympics today: running, jumping,
throwing a javelin, and throwing a discus. Only men could compete.
Greek boys also played games which were not part of the Olympic Games,
like field hockey. Greek boys usually played games without their clothes on (and
so girls were not allowed to watch).
We do also see Greek girls throwing balls, though the Greeks were much less
interested in physical activity for girls. The girl in this picture is juggling three balls.
Nothing about the picture indicates that she is an entertainer or an acrobat. She
is dressed like an ordinary girl. (Girls from Sparta were said to exercise naked,
but Athenian girls like this one wore clothes).
Greeks also played less active games like dice and marbles, and knucklebones,
and checkers. This is a famous vase from the Vatican museum showing Achilles
and Ajax playing checkers.
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THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SPORTS DURING THE PHARAOH DYNASTIES
89
Even in these games, though, the competition was very important, and there
was a feeling that losing at games meant that the gods didn’t like you. (H. D.
Keto, 1962) (5)
Ancient Olympic Events
The ancient Olympics were rather different from the modern Games. There were
fewer events, and only free men who spoke Greek could compete, instead of
athletes from any country. Also, the games were always held at Olympia instead
of moving around to different sites every time.
Like our Olympics, though, winning athletes were heroes who put their home
towns on the map. One young Athenian nobleman defended his political reputa-
tion by mentioning how he entered seven chariots in the Olympic chariot-race.
This high number of entries made both the aristocrat and Athens look very
wealthy and powerful. (Klod Pastier, 1979) (6)
The Olympics have a lot of history, myth, and religion behind them.
Myths: There are several myths on how the Greek Olympics started.
1) the most common myth is about Pelops. Pelops was a prince who wanted
to marry Hippodamia. But Hippodamia’s father, King Oinomaos, would only let
her marry someone who beat him in a chariot race. Pelops replaced the king’s
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MOHAMMED A. EL-GAMMAL
90
chariot axles with wax, and the king’s chariot broke, and he died. To celebrate
his victory, Pelops started the Olympic Games.
2) The other myth is about Heracles. According to that myth, Heracles started
the Olympics as a tribute to his father, Zeus, after defeating the city of Elis.
Heracles supposedly taught men how to wrestle and came up with the length of
the stade, which is used for footraces.
Religion: The Olympic Games in Ancient Greece had a very strong tie to
the worship of gods and heroes. References were made in Homer’s poem, “The
Iliad”: “Take this, my good old friend, as an heirloom and memorial of the funeral
of Patroclus – for you shall see him no more among the Argives. I give you this
prize though you cannot win one; you can now neither wrestle nor fight, and
cannot enter for the javelin-match nor foot-races, for the hand of age has been
laid heavily upon you.”
The Olympic games also were held with many ancient fertility festivals, the
funeral games of Oinomaos and a fertility cult which worshipped gods and
goddesses at the site. Another important religious aspect was honoring Zeus. “The
games were staged in the wooded valley of Olympia in Elis. Here the Greeks
erected statues and built temples in a grove dedicated to Zeus, supreme among
the gods. The greatest shrine was an ivory and gold statue of Zeus. Created by
the sculptor Phidias, it was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
(Woll Durant, 1959) (9)
Sports Played in Greece
The stade (a 200 yard foot race) was the only Olympic event for the first 13
Olympic Games. Later, many more events were added to the Olympics, such as:
Boxing: The matches were chosen at random. They didn’t use boxing gloves,
but leather thongs were wrapped around their hands and wrists. The match
continued until one boxer was knocked out or beaten. In modern Olympics the
matches are fought in rounds, the opponents are put into weight classes and
gloves are worn.
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Wrestling: The matches were won by winning three throws. The wrestler
needed his opponent to fall on his hip, shoulder, or back. It was legal to break
your opponent’s fingers but biting and genital holds were illegal.
Running: Running consisted of four events: the stadium which was where the
runners ran the length of the stadium; a long distance run; a 2 to 4 stade, which
was a race were the runners wore armor; and a 2 stade race.
Equestrian Events: there were 2 events in this category: chariot racing and
riding. There were both 2 horse and 4 horse chariot races. The riding event was a
6 lap race with the jockeys riding without stirrups. It was a 4.5 mile race.
Pankration: This event consisted of boxing and wrestling. The athletes did
not wrap their hands and there were very few rules.
Pentathlon – 5 Events:
1. Discus: The athletes needed strength, precision, and rhythm. It was made
of either iron, bronze or lead and varied in size.
2. Javelin.
3. Jumping: The athletes needed to move their body in a forward motion. They
used halters (lead or stone jump weights) to help the athlete during his jump.
4. Running.
5. Wrestling. (Fathia Hassan, 1970) (3)
Finally I can say that Egypt and Greece have a lot of things in common.
References
Abd Elhameed Zaied: Sports Ceremony in Ancient Egypt, Aalam Elfekr journal, Kuwait,
no.4, 1980.
Erman Adolf: Life in Ancient Egypt, Dover pub.inc, New York, 1960.
Fathia Hassan: Education in Greek & Roman Society, Nahdet Masr pub., Cairo, 1970.
Hassan Kamal: Physical Sports in Ancient Egyptian, Almokttaf journal, Cairo, 1935.
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H. D. Keto: the Greek, translated by Abd elrazek Yosry, Dar Elfekr Alaraby, Cairo, 1962.
Klod Pastier: Coubertin renew the Olympic Games, Arab & World History journal,
no.11, Beirut, 1979.
Mosaad Ewes: The Story of Games Class, Good Mourning journal, Roz El Yousef pub.,
1985.
Seleem Hassan: Ancient Egypt, Alkotob Almasria pub., 1984.
Woll Durant: The Civilization Story, translated by Mohammed Zedan, Cairo, 1959.
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