"The ancient Egyptian Sports during the Pharaoh dynasties & its relation to the ancient Greek Sports"

Transcription

1 16 th INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON OLYMPIC STUDIES FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS 16 th INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON OLYMPIC STUDIES FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS 1-30 JULY 2008 ANCIENT OLYMPIA GREECE "The ancient Egyptian Sports during the Pharaoh dynasties & its relation to the ancient Greek Sports" Mohammed A. El-Gammal Demonstrator at the Dept. of Theories and Applications of Grouped Sports, Faculty of Physical Education "male", Zagazig University Egypt.

2 "The ancient Egyptian Sports during the Pharaoh dynasties & its relation to the ancient Greek Sports" By Mohammed A. Elgammal 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 equipment. 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 an expose of some ancient Egyptian sports: Hockey Handball Gymnastics(floor exercises) 2

3 Gymnastics (consecutive vault) Javelin Throw Fishing Boxing Weightlifting Equestrian Sports High Jump Swimming Rowing Archery Rhythmic Gymnastics Tug of Hoop Marathon Equilibrium Tug of War (Hassan Kamal, 1935) (4) It started first in Egypt and from there it moved to Phoenicia, Carthage, Greece and Rome. 3

4 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 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 numberless 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 of the Ancient Egyptians. The artist has brought out, with a thorough knowledge of anatomy, the harmonious play of muscles. The positions of Zoser's arms, trunk and legs denote an expertise of technique and movement which only advanced development can achieve. 4

5 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. The most notable instances of this are Sati and his son Ramses 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 tose 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 5

6 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 it took on religious significance. 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 and other 6

7 animals were stuck into a row of 30 to 60 holes drilled into a board. Unfortunately, we currently know little about the rules for 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 probably favored. However, the early Egyptians seemed to have their own early Olympics, with competition 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. 7

8 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. 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 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. 8

9 . 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 2600B.C, 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. 9

10 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 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. 10

11 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) 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 11

12 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). 12

13 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. 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 reputation 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 chariot axles with 13

14 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 to the 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) 14

15 Sports Played in Greece The state (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. 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. 15

16 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 4. Running 5. Wrestling. (Fathia Hassan, 1970) (3) At last I can say that Egypt and Greece have a lot of things in common. 16

17 References: 1. Abd Elhameed Zaied: Sports Ceremony in Ancient Egypt, Aalam Elfekr journal, Kuwait, no.4, Erman Adolf: Life in Ancient Egypt, Dover pub.inc, New York, Fathia Hassan: Education in Greek & Roman Society, Nahdet Masr pub., Cairo, Hassan Kamal: Physical Sports in Ancient Egyptian, Almokttaf journal, Cairo, H. D. Keto: the Greek, translated by Abd elrazek Yosry, Dar Elfekr ALARABY, Cairo, Klod Pastier: Coubertin renew the Olympic Games, Arab & World History journal, no.11, Beirut, Mosaad Ewes: The Story of Games Class, Good Mourning journal, Roz ElYousef pub., Seleem Hassan: Ancient Egypt, Alkotob Almasria pub., Woll Durant: The Civilization Story, translated by Mohammed Zedan, Cairo,