Running in Ancient Greece
In Ancient Greece, the history of running can be traced back to 776 BC. Running was important to members of ancient Greek society, and is consistently highlighted in documents referencing the Ancient Olympic Games. The Olympic Games hosted a large variety of running events, each with its own set of rules. The ancient Greeks developed difficult training programs with specialized trainers in preparation for the Games. The training and competitive attitude of Greek athletes gives insight into how scientifically advanced Greece was for the time period.
The people of Greece generally enjoyed sporting events, particularly foot racing, and wealthy admirers would often give large gifts to successful athletes.[citation needed] Though foot races were physically challenging, if successful, athletes could become very wealthy.[citation needed] The ancient Greeks developed running as a sport into a sophisticated field of science and philosophy.[citation needed]
In the ancient sources, training is often discussed. However, details about how the training of runners compared to the training of other types of athletes are not clearly addressed. In ancient Greece, athletes might not have been as specialized as they are today.[1] It is likely that a single athlete would have trained for, and competed in, many different events resulting in less distinction being drawn between training for different events.[2] Many philosophers had ideas about how athletes should train, which provides historians with numerous insights. For example, Plato argued that the whole body should be trained to increase strength and speed for running and wrestling (Stefanović et al. 113). The lengths and types of foot races are widely written. Also discussed in a variety of sources is the use of music in athletic training and the diet of athletes. Professional runners known as "hēmerodromoi", the messengers who were informational lifeline of an empire. They were running across rugged terrains and paths to convey vital information in battles. [3]
Early Olympic Games
The earliest
Types of foot races
There were many lengths and types of foot races in ancient Greece. The standard distance that these races were measured in was the , which was a long-distance race that was 20 or 24 stades long, or about two and a half miles. For races longer than one stade, runners would have to turn 180 degrees around a post at each of the two ends of the stadium (Flaceliere 106).
In the Olympics, there was a race in armor, the
Another event in the
Training
As
- Day One – the day of preparations. It consisted of toning and short, high-intensity workouts.
- Day Two – the day of intensity. It involved the athlete going through long, strenuous exercises.
- Day Three – the day of resting. On this day athletes would do short mild workouts and primarily rest.
- Day Four – the day of medium intensity. Athletes mainly practiced wrestling on this day, focusing more on tactics than strength.
This was the basic training structure practiced throughout ancient Greece. In order to create the optimal training structure for any given day, however, the trainers would consider many factors such as the place, the time, upcoming events, and the athlete's physical and mental condition. The training also differed depending on whether it was done indoors or outdoors. Based on these factors, the trainer would adjust the workout (Stefanović et al. 113).
Trainers and philosophers
Hippocrates, an ancient Greek physician, believed that athletes who walked after exercising would have a stronger and more rested body. Because of his beliefs, ancient Greek athletes ended each workout with a low-intensity cool down. Aristotle observed that athletes who have a rest day should not rest completely but do a mild, low-intensity workout instead. These practices are still in use today because of how well-founded the early principles had been (Stefanović et al. 112).
The ancient Greeks also valued rest after exercising. After a workout, athletes used their aryballos, a special bottle of oil, and a strigil, which is a curved stick. They would rub the oil on their skin and then scrape it off using the strigil. In this way, they would clean themselves (The Olympic Games 5). After exercising, they also often had a bath and a massage. Massages would consist of gentle movements and stretching of their arms and legs (Stefanović et al. 112).
Trainers and philosophers had many ideas about specific ways of training. One practice that developed had athletes exercise with 3-pound (1.4 kg) weights in each hand. This practice helped improve arm strength, which is beneficial for running, throwing the javelin, swimming, and martial arts. Lucian, an ancient Greek philosopher, postulated another principle. He believed athletes should always train in "exuberated conditions." His idea was that training should take place outdoors in the sun every day of the year. He thought that the body should be beautiful, tanned, and lean to perform its best. During workouts, he believed athletes should work as hard as possible. When training in the gymnasium, his idea was that one should not run or exercise on the stone floor but on sand instead to add difficulty. An exercise he invented involved a long jump where athletes would run and jump high into the air wearing weighted suspenders. Another exercise he developed was for athletes to jump over
Age categories
The ancient Greeks divided athletes into three age categories, similar to what is done today. Each age category would have its separate set of coaches. The training programs for each age level varied, growing increasingly strenuous the older the athletes were. Certain coaches were selected to scout for young boys who looked particularly strong and fit. These boys would be selected to start training with the young men as soon as they were old enough (Stefanović et al.113).
Diet
Along with developing training programs and stretching exercises, the ancient Greeks also introduced special
Music
Ancient Greeks believed that training and music should be experienced together because they both pleased man's spirit. Music was used both in training and in competition. Each gymnasium had at least one aulos player. The aulos player's job was to produce rhythmical music in order to help the athletes, particularly when warming up. The athletes were supposed to focus primarily on accurately performing the exercises according to their trainer's advice; however, music was a key part of their warm up (Stefanović et al.112).
Over-training
Although many people in ancient Greece liked sports, not all philosophers thought that intense training was good. Aristotle believed that fitness should be a part of children's education, but that over-training was bad. In ancient Greece there were four main parts to education: reading, writing, gymnastic exercises, and music. Aristotle thought that an appropriate amount of exercise was a key part of education; however, he recognized how much some athletes over-trained. Aristotle referred to the excessive training that many competitive athletes did as “evil” (Stefanović et al. 113).
Effects of ancient Olympics on the modern world
The
See also
References
- ^ "The ancient athlete: amateur or professional?". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
- ^ "The ancient athlete: amateur or professional?". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
- ^ "Day Runners of Ancient Greece, Heroes of Communication". www.sportsgearmag.com. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- PMID 7023595.
- ^ "Aristotle, Rhetoric, Bekker page 1361b". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
- ISBN 978-1-85444-055-6.
- ISBN 978-0-313-31600-5.
- ^ Robert Flacelière. Daily life in Greece at the time of Pericles. New York: Macmillan; 1965 [cited September 22, 2011].
- ^ Stefanović, Đ., T. Ioannidis, and M. Kariofu. "Syncretism of coaching science in ancient Greece and modern times." Serbian journal of sports sciences 2.1–4 (2008): 111–121 [cited September 22, 2011]. ISSN 1820-6301."
Sources
- The Olympic Games in Antiquity. 2nd ed. N.p.: n.p., 2007. Olympic.org. 5 December 2009.
- "Olympic Sports- Foot Races." The Olympic Games. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 December 2009.
- "Running." The Ancient Olympics. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 December 2009.
- "Running events." BBC History. BBC, n.d. Web. 5 December 2009.