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Roman Sports
Roman Sports and Exercise
- The Greek influence
The Romans originally had no places
corresponding to the Greek gymnasia and palaestrae; and when
towards the close of the republic, wealthy Romans, in
imitation of the Greeks, began to build places for exercise
in their villas which they called gymnasia and palaestrae.
Roman Sports - The
Gymnasium, Stadia and Xysti
The gymnasium was introduced among the Romans from Greece.
The emperor Nero was the first to build a public gymnasium
at Rome. Another was erected by Commodus. Although these institutions were intended to introduce Greek
gymnastics among the Romans they never gained any great
importance, as the magnificent amphitheatres, and
other colossal buildings had always greater charms for the
Romans than the gymnasia.
The stadia were places in the form of the circus (circi), for the running
of men and horses. A beautiful stadia was built by Domitian.
The xysti were places constructed like porticos, in which
the wrestlers exercised.
Roman Sports - The Campus
Martius
The Campus Martius was located near the Tiber. It was called Martius,
because it had been consecrated to Mars, the god of war. Sports and exercises
were practised and performed here including chariot races and races
with single horses. The Martius complex was adorned with the
statues of famous men, with arches, columns, porticos and
other magnificent structures. This location also housed the villa publica or palace, for the
reception and entertainment of ambassadors from foreign
states, who were not allowed to enter the city of Rome.
Roman Sports - The
Athletes
Athletae or athletes were those who contended
in the public games of the Romans for the prizes which were given to
those who conquered in contests of agility and strength.
Athletes entirely devoted themselves to a course of training which
might fit them to excel in such contests and who made athletic exercises their profession. The athletae
differed, therefore, from the agonistae who
only pursued gymnastic exercises for the sake of improving
their health and bodily strength, and who, though they
sometimes contended for the prizes in the public games, did
not devote their whole lives, like the athletae, to
preparing for these contests. The athletae were those who
contended for a prize in the five following contests:
Running ( cursus) *** Wrestling ( lucta) *** Boxing ( pugilatus) *** The pentathlon (quinquertium)
which consisted of:
*** jumping or leaping *** the foot-race *** throwing of the discus *** throwing of the spear *** wrestling
The pancratium - a combination
of wrestling and boxing and martial arts
Roman Sports - History of
the Athletes
Athletae, or athletes, were first introduced at Rome, B.C. 186, in the
games exhibited by M. Fulvius, on the conclusion of the
Aetolian war. A certamen athletarum was also
exhibited by Scaurus, in B.C. 59. Julius Caesar also
subsidised a contest of athletae, which lasted for three days and
was exhibited in a temporary stadium in the Campus Martius. Under the Roman emperors, and
especially under Nero, who was passionately fond of the
Grecian games, the number of athletae greatly increased enjoying
many privileges and were generally relieved from the payment
of taxes, and also enjoyed the first seats in all public
games and spectacles. The athletae, or athletes, of Rome
formed a kind of
corporation, and possessed a tabularium (record office) and a common hall
called the
curia athletarum where they discussed matters which had a
reference to the interests of the body. The romans loved
gambling and considerable money was placed on the contests
of the athletes.
Roman Sports -
The Pancratium
At Rome the pancratium is
first mentioned in the games which Caligula gave to the
people. After this
time it seems to have become extremely popular and the consuls had to provide
these games for
the amusement of the people. The Pancratium was one of the
hardest athletic games, or sports, in which all the powers
of the fighter were called into action. The Pancratium
consisted of a fierce fight involving boxing and wrestling.
The fight was not controlled by
any rules and biting and scratching were not
uncommon. In fact, any tactics were in order that one of the parties might hope to overcome the other.
When the contest began, each of the fighters commenced by boxing or by wrestling. The victory was not decided until one of the parties
was killed, or lifted up a finger, thereby declaring that he
was unable to continue the contest either from pain or
fatigue. By this action he declared himself conquered or was strangled.
Roman Sports - Boxing
One of the favorite Roman sports was boxing which was a
popular game during the whole period of the republic as well
as of the empire. Boxing gloves were
made of raw ox-hide cut into thin pieces and tied under the hollow or palm of
the hand, leaving the fingers uncovered.
The sport of boxing, like all other gymnastic and athletic
games, was regulated by certain rules. Thus pugilists were
not allowed to take hold of one another, or to use their
feet for the purpose of making one another fall, as was the
case in the Pancratium.
Cases of death either during the fight itself or soon after,
appear to have occurred frequently. If
both the combatants were tired without wishing to give up
the fight they were allowed to pause to recover their
strength; and in some cases they are described as resting on
their knees. If the fight lasted too long the boxers agreed
not to move, but to stand still and receive the blows
without using any means of defence, except a certain
position of the hands. The contest did not end until one of
the combatants was compelled by fatigue, wounds or despair,
to declare himself conquered which was generally done by lifting up one hand.
Roman Sports - The Boxing
Match
It was considered a sign of
the greatest skill in a boxer to conquer without receiving
any wounds, so that the two great points in this game were
to inflict blows, and at the same time not to expose oneself
to any danger. A pugilist used his right arm chiefly for
fighting, and the left as a protection for his head, for all
regular blows were directed against the upper parts of the
body, and the wounds inflicted upon the head were often very
severe and fatal. In some ancient representations of boxers
the blood is seen streaming from their noses, and their
teeth were frequently knocked out. The
ears especially were exposed to great danger, and with
regular pugilists they were generally badly mutilated and
broken.
Roman Sports - Boxing with
the Cestus - the "limb breakers"
However, there was a much
more dangerous form of boxing in which a boxing glove called
the cestus was used.
The cestus was a formidable weapon, a Roman equivalent to a
'knuckle-duster'. It was
frequently covered with knots and nails and loaded with lead
and iron. Such weapons in the hands of a trained boxer, must
have frequently occasioned death and the cestus were often
referred to as "limb-breakers."
Roman Sports - Ball
Games and Tennis
The folliculus was an inflated ball of leather,
perhaps originally the skin of an animal filled with air. Boys and old
men among the Romans threw it from one to another with their
arms and hands as a gentle exercise of the body. But the
pula was he name of the ball used by the serious athletes.
The game at ball was as great a favourite with the Romans
and was played at Rome by persons of all ages. Augustus used
to play at ball and Pliny relates how much his aged friend
Spurinna exercised himself in this game for the purpose of
warding off old age. Under the Roman empire ball games were
generally played before taking a bath, in a room called the
sphaeristerium which was attached to the baths and included
facilities for the pilicrepus or tennis player. Greek and
Roman sports of ball games were played in various ways:
a ball game, in which the
ball was thrown up into the air, and each of the persons who played
tried to catch it, before it fell to the ground ***
football, played in much
the same way as with us, by a great number of persons divided into
two parties opposed to one another ***
another ball game was
played by a number of persons, who threw the ball from one to
another, but its peculiarity consisted in the person who had the
ball pretending to throw it to a certain individual, and while the
latter was expecting it, suddenly turning, and throwing it to
another ***
a ball game in which the
player threw the ball to the ground with such force as to cause it
to rebound, when he struck it down again with the palm of his hand
and so went on doing many times: the number of times was counted ***
the favourite ball game of
the Romans was the trigon or pila trigonalis, which was played at by
three persons, who stood in the form of a triangle. Skilful players
prided themselves upon catching and throwing the ball with their
left hand
Roman Sports -
Weightlifting
Halteres were masses of stone or metal,
which were used in the gymnastic exercises of the Greeks and
Romans. Persons who practised jumping and leaping often performed their
exercises with halteres in both hands; but they were also
frequently used to exercise the body in somewhat the
same manner as dumb-bells.
Roman Sports -
Wrestling
The contest in wrestling was divided by the ancient Roman
into two parts: the fight of the athletae as long as they stood
upright and where the athletae struggled with each other
while lying on the ground. The wresting continued
until one of them acknowledged himself to be conquered.
Roman Sports -
The Petaurum
The Petaurum is also referred to in respect of the Roman games
and sports although there is considerable doubt respecting
its meaning. The petaurum appears to have been a board moving up and down,
with a person at each end, and supported in the middle. It
was similar to our see-saw only it appears to have been
much longer. The petaurum machine, from which those who
exhibited were raised to a great height and then seemed to
fly to the ground. The persons, who took part in this game, were called Petauristae or Petauristarii.
Roman Sports
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