From a variety of sources, we know of hundreds of sports and games in the ancient world, some of which one can be traced from the beginning of writing in about 3,000 BC to the time of the Middle Ages. Many of these pursuits played a prominent role in their respective societies and transcended mere sport to become associated, for example, with religion, entertainment, the military, and social customs. Several sports listed below have parallels in the modern world even though in some cases there may be no direct ancestry. I have extended the discussion to include (in one instance) a non-physical activity.
Here are 10 of the ancient world’s top sports and games – more information can be found on each of them in my book, Sport in Ancient Times, published by University of Oklahoma.
1: The Olympic Games in Greece
What event or occasion of any kind is best known from ancient Greece, or even the ancient world as a whole? Most people today would probably say the Olympic Games, which lasted for more than 1,000 years, traditionally from 776 BC to AD 393. There followed a gap of more than 1,500 years before Baron Pierre de Coubertin “revived” the festival in 1896.
An important element found in these Greek Games, but to a lesser extent in most other parts of the ancient world, was the agon, or spirit of competition, where only the winner was rewarded and second and third places ignored. Indeed, the Greeks themselves called the Olympics ‘Contests’ not ‘Games’. These ancient Games consisted of a mere 23 events for men and boys – but none for females – that included running, the pentathlon, equestrian events, boxing, wrestling, and the pankration (or ‘martial arts’).
In addition to sport, the Olympics had religious elements (being in honor of Zeus), provided entertainment for the more than 40,000 spectators in the stadium, and offered the possibility of political advancement for the victors, especially in the prestigious equestrian events.
2: The Mesoamerican Ball Game
The invention of rubber made possible the ball games of the Olmecs, Maya, Aztecs, and others in Central America, the Caribbean, and even Arizona.
Several modern sports would not exist without a rubber ball. Hitherto, the ancient world had witnessed informal ball games but none as developed as this complex team sport, which was a fast game similar in part to basketball, volleyball, and European handball. The sources refer to captains, referees, professional players (the best of whom became celebrities) and women. The most prestigious and perhaps rarest way to win was by throwing the ball through a ring.
This violent competitive sport could literally be a matter of life and death, in which the Mesoamericans sacrificed losing ball players to the gods. The most famous and largest ball court, complete with elaborate bleachers for spectators, is located at Chichén Itzá in the Yucután peninsula of Mexico.
3: Roman Chariot Racing
The Oscar-winning movie Ben-Hur captured well the excitement (if not the historical accuracy) of chariot racing in Rome. The spectacle took place in the Circus Maximus, one of the outstanding structures of the city that could accommodate perhaps as many as 250,000 spectators. The people viewed this arena as “a temple, home, community center and the fulfillment of all their hopes.”
Savvy emperors used the show as an instrument to rule, following the concept of “bread and games.” Like modern sports fans, Romans of all classes became obsessed with their favorite teams or racing colors.
After its decline in Rome, a similar style of chariot racing continued in the East Roman Empire, especially in Constantinople (modern Istanbul), up to the time of the Middle Ages. Here the racing teams assumed even greater religious, social, and political significance. The passion of the people sometimes resulted in major riots in the arena, though their cause was rarely a direct consequence of sport.
4: Ancient Football
In 2004, the President of the world governing board of soccer, FIFA, declared that football, or soccer, originated from the ancient Chinese game of cuju. On the FIFA website, an ancient Chinese illustration depicts a player (although not attired like a modern athlete) with a football-style ball.
Cuju or ‘kick ball’ appears to have been the ‘people’s game’ that developed from a form of military training into a leisure activity, an entertainment (as in the Monty Python’s inspired match soon to play, with Bettany Hughes on the Greek team), and a competitive sport with rules, captains, referees, professionals, and female players. From the fifth century AD onward, the Chinese played with a modern-style air ball made from an animal bladder and attempted to score goals into a net. Cuju became so important that the poet Li You professed that the game was a microcosm of daily life and a representation of the balance of yin and yang. Fans of this year’s World Cup may feel the same way.
I will leave it for the reader to decide whether similarities of this game with modern football are coincidental and whether football evolved in the Eastern or Western world.
5: Persian Polo
The Persians were renowned for their expertise in a form of polo known as chogãn that probably began in the fifth century BC as a training exercise for soldiers, but later had rules that advised players to practice patience and moderation.
Chogãn become an integral part of Persian society (including women) and evolved into a game especially for the nobility whose tournaments the famous poet-historian Ferdowsi describes. We even have evidence for an international “polo” match. At Isfahan in central Iran, one can find the remains of a medieval “polo” ground from the 16th century, an extremely large playing area that suggests that more players participated in a Persian contest than in modern polo (four per side).
Versions of chogãn took place elsewhere throughout the Middle East and spread from Persia to China and Japan, probably along the Silk Road, and later to the Byzantine Empire.
6: Roman Gladiators
These violent contests had “civilized” moments, as when gladiators received drinks and massage during intermissions. Sometimes, as in modern boxing, the referee kept the opponents apart to prevent further injury – the best gladiators being valuable athletes.
Recent research has shown that gladiators rarely fought to the death but considered it a mark of honor to win without killing their opponents. Spectators admired the manner in which a gladiator fought and appreciated the courage and expertise of performances, not only the blood and violence. However one considers the contests, gladiatorial games became a major entertainment for all ranks of people including the aristocracy.
7: Japanese Sumo Wrestling
Sumo has become part of Japan’s’ founding mythology. According to legend, it began in the year 23 BC, although the term “sumo” occurs in writing only in the fifth century AD, where it refers to the erotic wrestling of women attendants at court.
Organized sumo bouts appear in the eighth century AD, when Japan was beginning to institutionalize sports. At this time, the emperor held sumo tournaments in the royal palace in an area covered in white sand, but with no clearly defined ring as now. A wrestler could achieve victory when any part of the body of his opponent (except the soles of his feet) touched the ground. Over time the special ring, the increasing importance of spectators, and the growing professionalism of the participants helped to make sumo a more modern-style sport (although it was still much associated with ritual).
Present-day sumo, the national sport of Japan, has evolved into an event for the masses and television, rather than for the court and the upper classes.
8: Martial Arts
The evidence does not allow us to pinpoint exactly the origins of martial arts, but several ancient cultures developed forms of hand-to-hand combat that would be recognizable today.
thriving today. Image by Jendroszczyk
There has been a revival recently of the ancient Greek pankration that dates at least to the seventh century BC. Some researchers have traced the beginnings of Japanese ju-jitsu, said to be the martial art of the samurai, to about the same time. In approximately 525 AD, Bodhidharma, a Zen Buddhist monk from southern India, is reputed to have brought a form of martial arts to China, where there was an interest in general fitness that combined philosophy, mental stimulation, and breathing techniques.
Chinese wushu, an early kind of Kung Fu, became a demonstration sport at the 2008 Olympics.
With the exception of the pankration, however, the martial arts do not appear to have developed into organized forms of sport until the 17th century, and in the case of Judo much later.
9: Weightlifting
Although one could make a case for including another sport here, such as boxing, I have chosen a lesser known activity, the primeval urge to lift heavier weights than one’s peers.
In China, foot soldiers engaged in weightlifting, as did professional athletes who sought to improve their social status by their prowess at exhibitions and contests. The Hittites held weightlifting competitions. A fresco shows the Egyptians lifting a club shaped weight, which may or may not have anticipated the swinging of clubs in India that some say originated in Persia. Although no formal contests existed, the Greeks recorded outstanding feats of strength with stones (and even cattle), including a reputed 1000 lb. dead lift and a one-arm press of almost 300lb.
The Romans appear to have come closest to modern weightlifting with balanced weights of metal, systematic training in isometrics, and such lifts as military press and biceps curl.
10: Board Games
Chinese chess dates to the second century BC, a game that involved mental stimulation and military strategy. Other versions of chess existed in Japan and Korea, but the “modern” game probably evolved in India in the sixth century AD, from where it spread to Persia, the Islamic world, and later to Russia and the rest of Europe. The Byzantine aristocracy played a game like chess with elaborate pieces. The most famous chess set – the Lewis Chessmen – is probably not a chess game after all.
In Egypt, where actual boards have been discovered, all classes amused themselves with games resembling backgammon. There were two such games – Mehen and Senet (King Tut’s favourite) – both of which evolved into spiritual endevours that were intimately related to the gods.
Among the Etruscans of early Italy, men and women of the upper ranks played board games against each other. The Romans considered board games such as backgammon and checkers to be serious activities where some participants analyzed every move. For the plebs in Rome, the gambling element provided a brief respite from their harsh daily lives.
Numerous other peoples, including the Sumerians, Minoans, and Greeks also participated in a variety of board games.
The ancient history of sport is vast and we couldn’t include everything here. What are your favourite sporting starts? Let us know in the comments box below.