Athleticism in Ancient Greece

Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine A. Gruber ABSTRACT The Greek sport of wrestling and the pankration reflect intriguing aspects of identity, iconography, and rituals to achieve manhood. I will look at the Panhellenic game’s organization and the development of male identities by reviewing pankration and wrestling iconography on pottery against literary sources. I looked at how the ancient Greek education for the games is structured to envisage a character that can help build and defend a territory against foreign enemies. Additionally, based on the decorated pots, I focus on how male-gendered roles are portrayed and the ideas behind artistic expressions showing naked youths fighting and training for these events. Using spatial analysis, I focused on the academic discourse of how depicting the pankration or wrestling on pottery can be similar or different depending on the available data. I aim to inform my reader how some of these pots should be contextualized as a group and then individually based on general attributes and individual characteristics. In the conclusion, I discuss how this scrutiny shows the importance of depicting the pankration and wrestling in various public forums. 1. INTRODUCTION In the 8th century B.C., the Greeks trained to compete in different contests at various festivals and events that generated substantial interest across the Mediterranean. These training events and leading up to the main event such as the Olympics or Panathenaic games were socially performed practices relating to the Greek’s fascination with physical bodies later to be painted, sculpted, and studied as a trend identifying an ideal male youth 1. The Ancient Greek athletic Women were excluded from the Olympic games even as spectators, however there are noted exceptions for the priestesses of Demeter being present. 1 1 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber community had four main great ‘Panhellenic’ festivals to compete in, Olympic, Pythian, Nemean and Isthmian games. Each Panhellenic event had different games to compete in, from chariot racing, running, discus, pankration, wrestling, and more. 2 At all these festivals, the set of criteria on who can participate can vary; however, the main rules are: (1) they must be a Greek citizen or be invited to participate and (2) afford the expense for participating in the games themselves or by a sponsor(s). The prizes for winning events at the games were minimal; at specific festivals, you can only win ribbon or grain but no money. The goal for competing in the celebrations is to have a victory commemoration about themselves and this would have involved poetry being written about their victory being granted by the gods and commemorating art of themselves in honor of their achievement. The activities at these events were “central to their ethnicity, something that distinguished them from so-called ‘barbarian’ peoples” 3 and to show off their talents for other city-states to admire. None of the activities were more violent than the wrestling and pankration events. Based on the architectural configuration found in Corinth, the ring for wrestling, boxing, and pankration happened in the same area. The ring at Corinth is a bowl-shaped basin made of soft and sandy bedrock with ashlar blocks that worked as a low wall. There is a free-standing monument erected on the low wall’s side close to the running track for adjudicators to observe the matches up high. 4 Wrestling is the first of the heavyweight events, which begins when two men stand together in the ring with their foreheads pressed together and their bodies leaning against each other to maintain balance. The goal of the event was to throw the opponent on the ground without touching the ground yourself. For this event, wrestlers could only wear simple binding strips on Lovatt 2005 Kyle 2007, 7 4 Catling 1980, 11-12 2 3 2 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber their knuckles to protect their hands and joints while inflicting damage onto their opponent. A referee with a whip or forked stick was used during the match if a wrestler breaks the rules. The rules they could not break included biting or stabbing their competitor or continuing to fight their opponent when they were down or unconscious. The pankration is a combination of boxing and wrestling, where a person uses only their body to subdue their opponent, including throwing blows to the head and strangulation. The first type of pankration is upright, where you must suppress your opponent to the ground until they submit three times in order to win a match. The second type of pankration is when two competitors fought on the ground, and the match is finished when a participant raises a finger, signaling “for surrender in both boxing and pankration” 5. The referee for the pankration was called the Hellanodikēs that enforced restrictions on the match, including no biting, gouging, or attacking a competitor’s genitals during a match, or the athlete would be flogged in public as a penalty. The main difference between wrestling and pankration is how the matches are won. In wrestling, it ends when an opponent falls to the ground versus the pankration, which only ends until an opponent submits. Much of the wrestling and pankration interpretation is mixed with awe and horror, even to some ancient Greeks; however, it was an essential aspect in Greek education and rite of passage for young men from wealthy families only. Notably, the depictions of training and scenes from these events were found throughout the Mediterranean, and some artworks are not attributed to single events or places. The wide distribution of vases and material finds requires some general interpretation. Still, it should be noted that the depiction of these events is similar in that it shows a violent spectacle that contributed to the development of ancient Greek identity. While characteristics of the pankration and wrestling are enshrined by social and economic 5 Sweet 1987, 72 3 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber inequality, the Greeks used sports to establish social status, demonstrate a level of manliness, ἀρετή, and moral beauty standards that is also being reflected by their education and depictions of training for these events. 2. CHRONOLOGY OF GREEK SPORTS Greek sports attracted widespread interest during the four main Panhellenic festivals; Olympia, Pythia, Isthmia, and Nemea. The legend behind the Panhellenic events is that every four years, each festival honors a specific Greek deity; for example, the first festival was the Olympics, which honored Zeus around July-August “at his shrine in Elis, a state in the northwestern Peloponnese” 6. After the Olympics, were the Pythian games to honor Apollo at Delphi around July-August, and then the Isthmian games to honor Poseidon at Corinth took place in May-June. The Nemean games dedicated to Zeus at Nemea took place every two years after the Olympics. In literature, Homer’s Epic provides the earliest descriptions of athletic events as an extended metaphor for war or as elite pastimes.7 Although the ‘Homeric question’ of historicity is apparent, the tradition “he upholds, (is) an agnostic heroic ethos, a moral order stressing honor and piety, and a hierarchical social order based on elite display” 8. Additionally, Homeric sport shows the value of prizes at these contests, called an agо̄n, which was fundamental because it helped strengthen and or defended social relations and statuses amongst Greek city-states and individuals. In the Iliad, after the death of Patroclus and Achilles reentering the fray to kill Hector in revenge, Achilles staged the funeral games for Patroclus, complete with gifts to reconcile with the Greek army. The heavyweight sports are mentioned in the Epic because it is associated with images associated with manliness, such as military preparation or battle. 9 Potter 2012, 38 Potter 2012, 54 8 Potter 2012, 55 9 Miller 2003, 28 6 7 4 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber As the Panhellenic competitions became popularized over time, the Greeks built a system of institutions, including the gymnasiam, to reward health and strength, which would psychologically play into their favor as a personifying masculine power from a community. For much of the Greek games, the “elites dominated the highest levels of Greek competitive sport” 10 . Scholars disagree over the meaning and significance of sports discourse, including “social exclusivity, divine favor and inherited versus achieved status” 11. Most scholars, such as Papakonstantinou, cites that athleticism dedications refer to the Homeric tradition and ἀρετή . Another scholar, Onians, believes it centers on the commemoration of νíκη, a design element that is unavoidable and replicated throughout Greek culture. The motivation for either reference shows a power that makes a profound impact because it is difficult to go to archeological sites and not visit a temple or find examples of art that brings a viewer face to face with war and conflict. For the purpose of this paper, I will be looking at 4 of these vessels, all of which bear a scene from training events or a Panhellenic festival for pankration or wrestling. The pots referenced here come from the Classical Period, 5th century B.C, which is a time of many wars either against foreign enemies such as the Persians in the Persian Wars (492 – 449 B.C.) or the Greek cities fighting amongst themselves, creating the Peloponnesian War (431 – 404 B.C.) 12. During this time of warfare, heroic models, and competition in their physical agо̄n were emphasized on pots and architecture that were designed to appeal to citizens “by offering models of heroism and courage” 13. Papakonstantinou 2019, 30 Papakonstantinou 2019, 33 12 Barringer 2014, 195 13 Barringer 2014, 209 10 11 5 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber 3. CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Around the 5th century B.C., the evidence of a formal education in a school setting appeared in literature at dense urban areas and became popularized in the Mediterranean as the Romans expanded during the Hellenistic period. Much of the early Greek education was based on ancestral customs as the guiding principles that stems back to the Trojan War and the Dorian invasion. The memorization and recitation of Greek victories in war were standard pedagogical practice and functioned as a moral education that students should strive to emulate “heroic or divine behavior”14. The utilization of ancient Greek traditions as the intellectual influence had been practical because it served to bring together Greek communities for a religious purpose of seeking favor from the gods. Much of the details about the primary education for children is not known, but historians pieced together that the secondary education was based on the broad Hellenistic έγκύκλιος παιδεία. Plato described that the general education system should be to develop an envisaged type of character in Greeks. καί φημι τὸν ὁτιοῦν ἀγαθὸν ἄνδρα μέλλοντα And I say that it is necessary for any man ἔσεσθαι τοῦτο αὐτὸ ἐκ παίδων εὐθὺς μελετᾶν wishing to become good at anything to train δεῖν, παίζοντά τε καὶ σπουδάζοντα ἐν τοῖς τοῦ this thing immediately from childhood, πράγματος ἑκάστοις προσήκουσιν. οἷον τὸν playing and working in all of the matters μέλλοντα ἀγαθὸν ἔσεσθαι γεωργὸν ἤ τινα relating to the matter. It is necessary for [a οἰκοδόμον, τὸν μὲν οἰκοδομοῦντά τι τῶν child] about to be a good farmer or a παιδείων οἰκοδομημάτων παίζειν χρή, τὸν δ᾽ homebuilder to play at the building of toy αὖ γεωργοῦντα, καὶ ὄργανα ἑκατέρῳ σμικρά, houses or being a farmer, and the ones raising 14 Reid 2017, 263 6 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber τῶν ἀληθινῶν μιμήματα, παρασκευάζειν τὸν them to prepare small tools for each person, τρέφοντα αὐτῶν ἑκάτερον,15 copies of the real ones.16 The general idea of έγκύκλιος παιδεία is that it was a matter of domestic policy, and training children to embrace the roles set for them in their respective social classes. What Plato describes in the Law passage is that children’s form of play and games is necessary for the development of a profession. The Olympic games are no exception as a form of play because it allowed young men to enter recreational sports, participate in welcoming ceremonies, and funeral games 17. The sentiment of sponsoring pankration and wrestling as a form of play for older children were also expressed by Plato’s friend and philosopher, Archytas. Archytas in the 4 th century B.C., became instrumental in developing effective military training exercises for youths to operate as a collective force. A military maneuver that required the necessity of cooperation is a phalanx because it required men to “fit like stones in a wall and the readiness of those same men… to function as an integrated whole”18. A phalanx has also been alluded to by Homer in the Iliad where “so close were compacted their helmets and bossed shields; shield pressed on shield, helmet on helmet, and man on man” 19. Aside from literary sources, the art on the vessels used in this paper reflect that the focus on παιδεία is rewarded by achievements from the gods themselves. Winners become illustrated as heroes that overcame their challenges and there achievements are to be sculpted and viewed in the years to come. Plat. Laws. 1.643b-c Loeb Classical Library translation 17 Wooyeal 2004, 9 18 Onians 1999 19 Homer Iliad, 16.216 15 16 7 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber 4. VISUAL AND CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF POTS The vessels cited in this paper are either red-figure kylikes or black-figure amphoraes made in Κεραμεικός, Athens. Two of the pots have an unknown found provenance, but the remaining pots are found in Vulci, Etruria, Italy in a funerary context. A common element amongst them is that there is always more than one person depicted in a scene of combat and referee. 3.1 Red-Figure Kylix from Vulci, Etruria, Italy The first example is a red-figure kylix from Vulci, Etruria, Italy, and dated to 500 to 450 B.C., that has been sourced to have been made in Attica by the Foundry Painter (fig. 1.1-1.3). Focusing on its decorations, we can see on the outside of the kylix shows two separate scenes that have been described as boys training for the pankration at a gymnasium. The first scene shows two groups of youths fighting the two different styles of the pankration, one on your feet and the other closer to the ground. In the scene with the pair of pankratiasts fighting on their feet, the one on the right has “long, thin ox-hide leather straps (himantes meilichai), to protect (his) hands” 20. In the depicted scene, a referee is seen to discipline a student misbehaving during a match. The disciplining is visually conveyed by the man’s extension and flexion of the elbow, which allows for the forked stick to be raised, ready to be put at work. Additionally, the referee looks to the student nearest to him as perhaps because he bit his opponent’s hand, as testified by the fact that the hand is wrapped around his head (fig. 1.1). Additionally, there are depictions of a diskos in a bag that appears to be hanging near another object shaped like a field hockey stick. On the other side, this scene is separated from the first scene using a stele. On the opposite side of the kylix, it is potentially showing a real sporting match because it depicts a hopolitodromos, or an armored runner, that is seen in the corner watching the match (fig. 1.2). 20 Kyle 2007, 124 8 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber In the cup’s interior decoration, we see a trainer using his arm to extend a forked stick behind an athlete to give a clear view of the intimidation by comparing the stick’s size to a slim athlete (fig. 1.3). 3.2 Red-Figure Kylix from an Unknown Provenance This second example is a red-figure kylix from an unknown provenance, and dated to 500 to 450 B.C., and is now stored in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston through a purchase from a private collection (fig. 2.1-2.3). Pottery specialists have deduced that this is made with an Athenian fabric and attributed it to an artist named Onesimos. Onesimos is known to represent “front faces in the context of the palaestra” 21. The scenes depicted on the outside pertain to the subject of training youths for the pankration. On the outside, one side of the cup, Onesimos painted athletes in between two judges. The judge on the left next to the stele shows a relaxed stance, intensely watching the athletes fight by bending forward and balancing his weight on his right knee and the staff toward the scene (fig. 2.1). The two athletes appear to be in a match about to end because the athlete on the left next to the relaxed judge is being subdued by the athlete on the right by trying to pick up the left athlete’s leg by the calcaneal tendon, or Achilles heel to make him fall to the ground. Placed behind the athlete on the right, a second judge appears to be reprimanding the athletes in the match using his stick that hovers over their heads. Behind the second judge on the right shows a youth watching the match while he stretches. On the other side of the cup, we can see a similar scene painted on the outside. However, this time, only one referee is leaning over to closely watch the match and is prepared with his reprimand stick (fig. 2.2). The athletes appear to be in a match that has just begun, as they are using their forearms to fight each other while standing. This scene has a figure that is front faced 21 Korshak 1987, 16 9 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber “who seems to be wielding a telling blow” 22. The figure on the right appears to be an athlete stretching next to the athletes fighting. The background items show a diskos in a bag that seems to be hanging near another object, potentially a pair of boxing gloves. Inside the kylix, Onesimos painted a circular pattern decorated with a meander around the arc with the youth in a circle that shows to be bent forward and holding a hare by the ears and back legs with a staff near him leaning against the circle’s arc (fig. 2.3). The scene here is referring to the training of youths for running by making them catch their dinner. 3.3 Black-figure Amphora from Vulci, Etruria, Italy The third example is represented by a black-figure amphora found in Vulci, Etruria, Italy, and dated to ca. 515 - 500 B.C. (fig. 3). On the outside, we can see the depiction of a pankration contest in an open field: the athlete on the right near the middle is about to strike his opponent kneeling on his right knee. The opponent on the ground looks at the athlete behind him to the right, extending his left hand showing a finger, a signal of surrender. Looking at the pot on the far side to the left, standing next to the two athletes fighting is the adjudicator dressed in a himation with a laurel wreath around his head and holding in his right hand the forked stick. 3.4 Black-Figure Amphora from an Unknown Provenance This fourth example is a black-figure amphora with an unknown provenance and dated ca. 500 B.C. is now stored at the Met Museum in New York through a private collection purchase (fig. 4.1-4.2). Pottery specialists believe this is an example of a Panathenaic prize amphora based on the inscription “Τῶν’Αθηνῆθεν ἄθλων, ‘from the games at Athens,’” 23. The exact archaeological context is missing, but the vase is attributed to the Kleophrades Painter from the Κεραμεικός in Athens. The Kleophrades Painter favored the depiction of a Pegasus, the winged horse, on the 22 23 Korshak 1987, 18 Richter 1916, 253 10 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber shields carried by deities in his art, such as Minerva or Athena. On the one side of the pot, Athena is depicted alone holding a shield with a painted Pegasus and represents the presiding deity for the Athenian games with the inscription (fig. 4.1). On the reverse side are three men; two are athletes in competition, flexing his leg to kick his opponent, and the other grabbing the leg to imbalance his attacker (fig. 4.2). The third man furthest to the right is the presiding judge or trainer with a forked stick, watching to ensure a fair match. 5. COMPARISON OF POTS Kylikes and amphorae styles are commonly found forms in Greek pottery that were frequently used in public and symposium forums. In this assemblage, these items are fine decorated tableware representing daily life to present a cohesive style emphasizing the culture of conflict. The comparative analysis will show that the stylistic regions did not delineate differently; in fact, Greeks and Romans viewed that this style shows highly valued attributes to be viewed and discussed. The visual depth on pottery is enhanced in the Classical period, with improved painting techniques to show topographical features or architecture. For example, wrestling and pankration training scenes can show a hoplitodromos, which is an extension of viewing the landscape surrounding the training area (fig. 1.2), which would have been a covered racetrack surrounding the wrestling ground.24 Pots with topographic attributes during this time are often flora, such as a tree or blooming plants, in the scene with human figures (fig. 3). For my sample of 4 vessels, I am given a good indication of important centers of consumption and distribution. Based on the data, I can only confirm that the Κεραμεικός in Athens is the leading distributor for athletic or military-style vessels that reached different consumers from areas outside of Greece. With the aid of plotting the data points on the map, I can see that the 24 Potter 2012, 121 11 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber peer polities’ interaction extends beyond symbolic entertainment, but recognizing common ethnicity and language plays a significant role in these exchanges of material goods (fig. 6). Based on the data available, the exchange of art showing intense and violent events such as the pankration and wrestling offers a connection of tradition that can cross over traditional boundary lines. The found provenance of (fig.1.1-1.3) and (fig. 3) are from Vulci cemeteries, which is traditionally an area associated with Etruscans and is 709 miles away from where the pots are made at the Κεραμεικός (fig. 7). The cemeteries at Vulci were excavated in the second quarter of the 19th century under the guidance of Lucien Bonaparte, Prince of Canino. The art found in the cemeteries were later put-on display and represented a wide variety of themes. Finally, the subjects of ancient art that form the third part of the exhibition itself are classified a second that refer to mythological subject or belong to common life. The former are distributed according to the different subjects of the Olympic divas (11), of the family of Bacchus (12), of other divinities of similar or inferior value (13), and of heroes (14); those others then according to what subjects of history and portraits (15) or scenes of common life represent (16).25 While the city of Vulci would be under the Etruscan rule, most of the art there is thoroughly Greek in style and drew on popular Greek art depictions such as the distinct style of sports iconography. Case in point, this goes beyond the crystallization of Greeks setting a status of being separated from ‘barbarians’ and that the eligibility of participants and spectators at these festivals were not a “formal association with a subdivision of citizenry” 26. 25 26 Gerhard 1830, 266. Originally printed in Italian, this is my own translation of his work. Papakonstantinou 2019, 99 12 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber Nevertheless, some ancient sources cite that the intense focus of art drawing attention to men sparring refers to a tradition for Greeks training in warfare encouraged by city-states or local tribes to gain influence over eligible citizens by this form of education. Combined with the idealized athletic nudity that, as Thucydides notes, “the choice to exercise without clothing distinguishes the Greek from a barbarian”27 in battle. According to Aristotle, classical Athenians believed physical education gave wealthy young men the discipline and strength they needed to be brave on the battlefield.28 The art appears to emphasize the gymnasium’s connection to education for the festival competitions because the pots show different aspects of paidotribēs (fig. 1.1-1.3 & fig. 2.1-2.3), or trainers, “teaching groups of students competitive athletics and overseeing their training” 29. This brings about a broader question of participation in athletic events and the level of education available to all the young boys at a given time. There is no decisive evidence from an archeological context that athletic and literacy education was confined to the upper classes. Considering that much of the non-elite pottery includes “only ‘gibberish’ words and phrases in their paintings”30, it can be assumed potters were only literate enough to secure their families’ livelihood. For example, in (figure 1), on all sides, the boys are portrayed participating in multiple activities related to the games and exclusively upper-class activities with multiple paidotribēs present. For a young man to gain the talent and experience needed to become athletically inclined, they would have required a lot of instruction and practice from the paidotribēs. Furthermore, the association of a gymnasium solidifies an individual’s identity and displays a level of loyalty to the state. Potter 2012, 77 Ath. Pol. 42.3 29 Pritchard 2003, 304 30 Pritchard 2003, 316 27 28 13 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber Based on the similar scenes showing the gymnasium (fig. 1.1-1.3 & fig. 2.1-2.3), they functioned to celebrate the development and internalization of social roles for youths to take on “leadership in benefactions, military campaigns, diplomatic missions, etc.” 31. Since the emphasis of these scenes is focused on the education provided to eligible citizens, in these contexts, the religious connotation of sports festivals is minimized due to the absence of deities. Whereas on other pots, there is the narrative of a dichotomy of two competitors watched over by the gods and the Hellanodikēs (fig. 4). The imagery of the pankration and wrestling also implies a critical component for the early Greeks, preparing for warfare by gaining favors from the gods. Warfare was an endemic condition to secure, provide, and grow the population in their territories. A high level of emphasis on combat is necessary for survival and reinforce training material. For this study, I propose to take a step further at dividing these pots into groups of ἀρετή or νίκη. Based on the literary sources, such as Pindar’s odes, victory (νίκη) “at the crown games brought the highest glory and honor, rivaled only by military virtue and success” 32. The victory was only granted by the favor of the gods, and in my sample, the only deity presented is from the Panathenaic amphora (fig. 4.1). However, ἀρετή is mentioned as “the process of assimilating athletic training with civic service, and social status that was facilitated through the discourse of amelioration”33. Meaning that youths’ education at the gymnasium allows the men to have excellence or moral virtue throughout their lifetime. The difference between νίκη and ἀρετή is whether the event is training for young men amongst peers (fig. 1.1-1.3 & fig. 2.1-2.3) or under the watch of the gods at festivals (fig.4.1-4.2). Based on this distinction of how νίκη and ἀρετή should be utilized, they should not be used interchangeably. Instead, we should look at the Papakonstantinou 2019, 17 Kyle 2007, 203 33 Papakonstantinou 2019, 147 31 32 14 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber iconography and available data to describe more of an accurate description on how these vessels were perceived during their time. Beyond the argument of terminology, participating in Panhellenic festivals to honor the gods largely affected neighboring areas using pottery and other media to have conflict naturally be at the center of their artistic production, history, and mythology. 6. SUPPORTING ANALYSES/SPECIAL MENTIONS 5.1 Bronze Figurine from Autun, France Pankration was practiced all the way through the Hellenistic period in the Greek and Roman provinces. A bronze statuette found in Autun, the Roman province of Lyonnaise, dated to around 1 A.D. reflects the popularity of the sport in the area (fig. 5) because artists had been “depicting them both in pottery and in small bronze pieces” 34. The statuette shows a fighter kicking in the air with his elbows flexed and twisting his lower body with his hips to keep himself upright. The fighter is sculpted to exaggerate the left leg’s circumduction, and the dorsiflexion is emphasized due to the muscles on the leg and thigh. It is important to note that this fighter’s hairstyle gathered into a bun at the back of the head was “worn by Oriental or Egyptian professional fighters”35. The inspiration for this statuette is influenced by Greek art in addition to sculptures made in early Roman Alexandria based on this addition of cultural reference to another source. There are deliberate scratches and scars carved into the piece’s side to show the fighter as realistic and mutilated. The difference between how the Greeks idealized bodies in combat is different from how the Romans portray the scars left behind by the pankration and wrestling matches. 34 35 Astier Astier 15 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber 5.2 West Pediment from the temple of Zeus in Olympia In the 5th century B.C., Greek city-states were frequently rebuilding architecture due to the constant state of warfare throughout that time. They constructed monuments, including the temple of Zeus on Olympia grounds. On the temple’s west pediment are “over-lifesize figures engaged in the Centauromachy”36, depicting Lapiths, Centaurs, and the Gods in battle (fig. 7). If we look at the scene, we can see the Lapiths “in standard wrestling poses, which would have been familiar to athletes, trainers, and much of the audience attending the Olympic games” 37. In the myth, the Lapiths won by killing half the Centaurs, which scared away the rest. The art of wrestling depicted in this complex composition offers a model that these events were also to inspire heroism and courage. Scholars have noted that the Lapith myth was only painted on pottery before this time of appearing on the pediment. Although my sample of pots shows a scene from daily life for these elite males, they are creating an illusion of contextual depth by drawing comparisons to mythology and portraying themselves as naturally ideal Greeks. 5.3 Women’s Physical Education In comparison of the development for a male identity, females in antiquity were often not given a formal education and instead are described or portrayed by historians only for their elegance and fine grooming 38. Nevertheless, as schools started to become a state-sponsored center, boys and girls in Sparta received a diverse physical education. Although not as stringent as the male upbringing, girls were subjected to fitness tests early on and created modified male version games suitable for women training in the domestic sphere. The Greek historian Plutarch justified the physical education for women in terms of benefits for childbearing. Barringer 2014, 208 Barringer 2014, 209 38 Livy 34. 7.9-10 36 37 16 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber He made the maidens exercise their bodies in τὰ μέν γε σώματα τῶν παρθένων δρόμοις καὶ πάλαις καὶ βολαῖς δίσκων καὶ ἀκοντίων διεπόνησεν, ὡς ἥ τε τῶν γεννωμένων ῥίζωσις ἰσχυρὰν ἐν ἰσχυροῖς σώμασιν ἀρχὴν λαβοῦσα βλαστάνοι βέλτιον, αὐταί τε μετὰ ῥώμης τοὺς τόκους ὑπομένουσαι καλῶς ἅμα καὶ ῥᾳδίως ἀγωνίζοιντο πρὸς τὰς ὠδῖνας. ἀφελὼν δὲ θρύψιν καὶ σκιατραφίαν καὶ θηλύτητα πᾶσαν οὐδὲν ἧττον εἴθισε τῶν κόρων τὰς κόρας γυμνάς τε πομπεύειν καὶ πρὸς ἱεροῖς τισιν ὀρχεῖσθαι καὶ ἄδειν τῶν νέων παρόντων καὶ θεωμένων.39 running, wrestling, casting the discus, and hurling the javelin, in order that the fruit of their wombs might have vigorous root in vigorous bodies and come to better maturity, and that they themselves might come with vigour to the fulness of their times, and struggle successfully and easily with the pangs of child-birth. He freed them from softness and delicacy and all effeminacy by accustoming the maidens no less than the youths to wear tunics only in processions, and at certain festivals to dance and sing when the young men were present as spectators. 40 The women in Sparta received the closest male centric education by learning to fight and compete. Competitions for Spartan women were only for local spectators and they could not directly compete against men. There are traditions for women during the Olympics to compete in honor of the goddess Hera, the Goddess of marriage. The women Olympics were only foot-races for maidens and only one-sixth of the track men had to run 41. However, the prizes for the women Plutarch, Lives. Lycurgus 14.47 Loeb Classical Library translation. 41 Pausanias, Description of Greece Volume II, 5.16.2-5.16.3 39 40 17 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber winning were similar to the prizes men received including a crown made of olive and contributed to the sacrifice of a cow for Hera. The idea of women receiving an education only for the value of reproduction still limits the female role to domestic spheres. For example, in ancient Greek art found around the Mediterranean that refers to sports, women are entirely excluded and shows only men competing42. Although Plutarch describes a broad range of activities, it does not include other pursuits available to men at the time including: philosophy, rhetoric, and grammatice. Based off the limited role available to women, even with a physical education, they had to find their purpose to support their men and city-state. Some ancient philosophers also agreed that a course of compulsory training for women was necessary in case of having to defend themselves from foreigner invaders during battle 43. 7. SPORT AND IDENTITY Greek sports are enshrined by the social and economic inequality by separating the elites as ideal men connected to myth and the lower classes that could not afford to participate. The Greeks institution of the gymnasium based on contemporary reports from Thucydides and Aristotle, the instruction provided from this educational system “was a relatively small-scale undertaking limited to members of the elite”44 because they can pay for the education. Based on the available data from the complex composition and the location of some pots found in the rich Etruscan area of Vulci, it leaves little room for error on how elites were the muse to be painted by the lower classes. The transmission of aristocratic ideology recognizing elite status is embodied by a subject’s aggression in a competition that reinforced heroic ethos. The pottery I used in this paper do not depict mortal women competing in combat. On fig. 4.1, there is a depiction of Athena which is a link to the Panathenaic games that were in honor of the goddess. 43 Wooyeal 2004 12 44 Potter 2012, 114 42 18 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber Since Homer’s time, sports were used to establish social status to show political and military leadership through cultural practices45. The emergence of the gymnasium institution as the Panhellenic festivals were becoming popularized among the elites were used “to demonstrate, to their social peers and to their communities at large their physical, and by extension social, preponderance”46. The Athletic victors can commemorate their achievement by being depicted on pottery and statues dedicated to νíκη (fig. 4) and joining “an elite group of athletic and military victors, mythological heroes, and gods” 47. In the case of commemoration for men, these public roles “serve as inherent declarations of social status”48. Greek male’s personality for dominance and showing victory in the pottery decoration they used for the symposium “show aspects of the training and education necessary to prepare young men” 49 in ἀρετή and strive for νíκη. The standards of showing dominant masculinity in art show athletes’ bodies as “the nexus of physical and character traits imitated by the image of a well-trained and victorious body” 50. The identification of nude male bodies is a common feature in Greek sports iconography; although, based on the bronze statuette from Autun, France, the Romans did portray examples of nudity in their art. However, the display of a naked youth in Roman art emphasized the physical toil and suffering of the pankration performance versus the Greeks only engaged in showing the development or achievement of self-fulfillment for engaging in the activity 51. For a recent discussion see Reid (2017). Papakonstantinou 2019, 30 47 Barringer 2014, 214 48 Barringer 2014, 256 49 Onians 1999 50 Papakonstantinou 2019, 121 51 Onians (1999) refers to Roman art and architectural evidence at the height of the Roman Empire. Onians suggests that the spread of έγκύκλιος παιδεία is the main factor to the holistic image of athletic performances. 45 46 19 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber 8. CONCLUSION The Greeks used sports such as the pankration and wrestling to establish social order and demonstrate a level of manliness that was highly valuable for warfare and portrays a masculine dominance in public roles. Both events featured aggressive and violent scenes that provided essential information on piecing together how young men were developed to be the ideal Greek warriors portrayed alongside their history and deities. Due to the popularity of the sports reaching into Roman territory and across other areas around the Mediterranean, there are new questions of how sport influences male identities in different cultures and further research athletic practices in other public representations. Thanks to sport historians’ incredible efforts doing excavations, research, and scholarship throughout the decades, the Greek sports of pankration and wrestling have been reconstructed to show how we can study the narrative and shaping of identity for ancient Greek men. 20 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber FIGURES Figure 1.1 © The Trustees of the British Museum. Red-Figure Kylix from Vulci, Etruria, Italy. Figure 1.2 © The Trustees of the British Museum. Red-Figure Kylix from Vulci, Etruria, Italy. 21 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber Figure 1.3 © University of Oxford. Red-Figure Kylix from Vulci, Etruria, Italy. Figure 2.1 © The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Red-Figure Kylix from an Unknown Provenance. 22 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber Figure 2.2 © The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Red-Figure Kylix from an Unknown Provenance. Figure 2.3 © The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Red-Figure Kylix from an Unknown Provenance. 23 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber Figure 3 © The Trustees of the British Museum. Black-figure Amphora from Vulci, Etruria, Italy. Figure 4.1 © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Black-Figure Amphora from an Unknown Provenance. 24 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber Figure 4.2 © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Black-Figure Amphora from an Unknown Provenance. Figure 5. © 1997 RMN / Hervé Lewandowski. Bronze Figurine from Autun, France. 25 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber Figure 6. © Katherine Gruber. Map showing the location of the material finds. 26 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber Figure 7. © Daniel O’Neil. West Pediment from the temple of Zeus in Olympia. 27 Athleticism in Ancient Greece Katherine Gruber REFERENCES Aristotle. “XLII” Athenian Constitution. Eudemian Ethics. Virtues and Vices. Translated by H. Rackham. Loeb Classical Library 285, pp. 119-120. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1935. ---. Politics. Translated by H. Rackham. Loeb Classical Library 264. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1932. Astier, Marie-Bénédicte. "Pankration Fighter.", https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvrenotices/pankrationfighter#:~:text=The%20Louvre%20purchased%20this%20bronze,his% 20arms%20wide%20for%20balance. Barringer, Judith M. “The Classical Period: The Fifth Century BC.” The Art and Archaeology of Ancient Greece. 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