Sport in the Ancient World

According to Coakley, "The games played by early Greeks were grounded in mythology and religious beliefs" (59).  Sports usually took place at the same time festivals took place that involved prayer, sacrifices, and religious services, music, and dancing. There were spectators at the time but sport was not intended directly for spectacle. Women were not allowed to participate in any ways.  As we learned from the video, at the very first Olympic games the only event was the sprint. Although overtime, more events were added such as the triple jumps, discuss and javelin throw, and even the pentathlon.  Only wealthy and respected men could participate in these games because they had the necessary resources for training and the spare time to participate. Greeks placed a high value on the bodies of young men and the sports of the time was an attempt to display the "perfect" human body and the body of the gods. That is also why they participated naked.  Winning was all that mattered in these times.  It brought political and economic prestige to the victor, and in some cases even freedom as some slaves were allowed, most times forced, to participate. 

Sports in Ancient Rome were a bit different.  "Roman leaders used physical contests and games to train soldiers and provide mass entertainment spectacles" (63). The games were taken from the Greeks but were aimed towards training good soldiers and warriors. As Coakley states, "...the contest and games during the first century AD increasingly took the form of circuses and gladiatorial combat".  One on one fights until the death occured and criminals were basically fed to wild animals.  "These spectacles achieved two purposes for Roman rulers: They entertained an idle populace and disposed of socially undesirable peoples..." In addition to those "games" or entertainment of the rich, many Roman's and even women played common ball games, and honored their gods through showing talent in foot racing, wrestling, and certain ball games. There is not much information about the athletes of this time as winning and records were not kept for sports.