The Greeks possessed one of the most advanced cultures of ancient times, although it is sometimes difficult to separate their mythology from historical fact. For example, we know that the Olympic Games were first held in 776 B.C., but it is also said that Zeus and Kronos wrestled for possession of the earth on the peaks near Olympus and that the games were held in honor of the victory of Zeus.8 Homer's Iliad and Odyssey are examples of pre-Olympic Greek literature and contain several descriptions of wrestling. The best occurs in the Iliad during the funeral games honoring Patroklas, a hero who had died in battle:

There was a great tripod, to set over fire, for the winner. The Achaians among themselves valued it at the worth of twelve oxen. But for the beaten man he set in their midst a woman skilled in much work of her hands, and they rated her at four oxen presently there rose up huge Telamonian Ajax, and resourceful Odysseus, who was versed in every advantage. The two men, girt up, strode out into the midst of the circle, and grappled each other in the hook of their heavy arms, as when rafters lick, when a renowned architect has fitted them. . . . Their backs creaked under stress of violent hands that tugged them stubbornly, and the running sweat broke out, and raw places frequent all along their ribs and their shoulders broke out bright red with blood, as both of them kept up their hard efforts for success and the prize of the wrought tripod. Neither Odysseus was able to bring Ajax down or throw him to the ground, nor could Ajax, but the great strength of Odysseus held out against him. But now as they made the strong-greaved Achaians begin to be restless, at last great Telamonian Ajax said to the other: 'Son of Laertes and seed of Zeus, resourceful Odysseus: lift me, or I will lift you. All success shall be as Zeus gives it.'

He spoke, and heaved; but not forgetting his craft Odysseus caught him with a stroke behind the hollow of the knee, and unnerved the tendons, and threw him over backward, so that Odysseus fell on his chest. Next, brilliant much-enduring Odysseus endeavored to lift him and budged him a little from the ground, but still could not raise him clear, then hooked a knee behind, so that both of them went down together to the ground, and lay close, and were soiled in the dust. Then they would have sprung to their feet once more and wrestled a third fall, had not Achilles himself stood up and spoken to stop them.

A later account of the Trojan War was written by Quintas of Smyrna about 400 A.D. In it is described the funeral games of Achilles during which Ajax wrestles Diomedes, both of whom were exceptionally well built and equally strong. Diomedes was able to gain the first throw by bending his knees, lifting Ajax, and using the motion of his thigh to aid his throw. Ajax gained the second throw when he countered Diomedes' grip upon his thighs and "hurled him like a stone." Apparently the contest was becoming protracted because the respected Nestor called it a draw at that point; each of the contestants received two captured women as prizes and parted as friends.

Athletics were a significant part of the culture of ancient Greece; events were even depicted on coins (Figure 50). The Greeks believed in the union of a strong mind and body, realizing that such fitness was necessary for the survival of their city states. Wrestling was the favorite activity of the Greeks and was even a central part of their education.

The education of Athenian boys began at age seven and lasted until age sixteen; time was equally divided between physical and intellectual activities. This education took place at any of the many "palaestras" throughout Greece, a term which means wrestling school. Wrestling was the principal exercise and others were considered preparatory for it. In most of the Greek city states only the boys participated in regular physical education, however, in Sparta even the girls wrestled.

Athletic activity was not limited to the young, most adult males continued to work out at "gymnasiums," a term meaning to exercise in the nude. Upon arriving at a gymnasium individuals stripped and rubbed themselves with olive oil to protect their skin. The oil, while protecting the skin, made wrestlers too slippery so they followed the oil with a fine sand or powder. To protect their ears, some wrestlers wore headgears during workouts, though they were rarely used at the great games. Matches at the Greek games were serious affairs; however, wrestling at the palaestra (Figure 51) or gymnasium was usually a friendly matter. Men of all ages regularly participated there with others of about the same age or ability. Emphasis was placed on participation rather than winning, although it was considered undignified for an older man to attempt feats obviously beyond his capabilities. After a workout the old oil was scraped off with a curved instrument called a strigil, a cold bath was taken, and fresh oil applied. The ancient Greek writer Philostratus explains that so much oil was used that a tank of it was often provided. Wrestling normally took place in the "skannna," dirt or sand dug up for softness. The lack of a skamma once caused a group of soldiers, running athletic events to celebrate a victory, to exclaim: "How then can men wrestle on ground so hard and overgrown as this is?"

There is presently no known manuscript which details the rules of Ancient Greek wrestling. Our knowledge of this style has been derived from literature and artwork, abundant in references to wrestling but not registering the specifics of a rulebook. In fact, when studying old works it must be remembered that what the writer or artist has depicted is not always an accurate description of events. In any case, we can reason that Greek wrestling did not continue on the ground, but rather was limited to throws from standing. The criteria necessary for a clean throw are not clear and most sources merely state that one's opponent must be thrown to the ground. One source suggests that a wrestler had to be thrown to his back to register a clean throw. Another source maintains that any body part touching the ground counted, that a wrestler had to remain on his feet or fall on top of his opponent, and no throw was recorded if they both fell together on their sides. The rules disallowed hitting, biting, taking holds on the genitals, or wrestling outside the pit (skamma) While leg holds were commonly used in the Pankration (Chapter II), their legality in throw wrestling is unclear. Pictures which show leg holds being used (Figure 3, page 11) are labeled as the Pankration even though a clear ban against leg holds in throw wrestling does not exist. The reason for this may be that ground wrestling was not allowed and dropping to one's knees is necessary for the common double and single-leg takedowns. However, tripping is mentioned in Homer's works and elsewhere, and Quintas even mentions Diomedes grabbing the thighs of Ajax. There are many wrestling moves which facilitate the grabbing of a leg without dropping to a knee, and the Greeks, advanced as they were, must have known of these.

At the palaestra or gymnasium men and boys of all sizes were active wrestlers; however, due to the lack of weight classes, big men had an advantage at the Greek games. The only divisions were apparently those of age, a boys' division for "beardless youths" and the men's division. In competition, three throws were usually necessary to win a match. The best evidence of this is probably the following quotation from an anonymous ancient Greek writer:

Milo the wrestler was once the only one who came to the sacred games, and the steward of the games called him to crown him at once. But as he was approaching he slipped and fell on his back, and the people called out: 'Do not crown this man, as he [lost] a fall when he was alone!' But he, standing up in their midst, shouted back: 'Are there not three falls? I fell once, now let someone give me the other two.'

According to Philostratus there were certain physical attributes which the good wrestler should possess. They were: good height, a slender but well proportioned body, a neck not too long or "sunken" in his shoulders, developed shoulders, "well-formed" arms, broad chest but not too barreled, a flat stomach, flexible hips, and strong legs. The Greeks were an advanced people athletically and practiced a wide variety of techniques. Among them were the arm drag (Figure 52), hip throw, front headlock (head draw), upper body lift, Greco-type waist lock and tilt, shoulder throw (Figure 53), and other body lifts, tie-ups and blocks. Regarding the arm drag depicted in Figure 52, Kent states that "the figure on the left goes for an arm lock but his opponent counters by grabbing his wrist." This is a typical misrepresentation of a Greek artifact since an opponent's wrist grab is a common set-up for the arm drag. Regarding instruction, Philostratus stated that "the paidotribe will show all kinds of wrestling holds that exist, specifying the opportune moment; further, how one is to defend himself, or how one can overcome the defense of the other." The Spartans valued strength more than skillful technique and Damagetus, a 3rd century B.C. poet, expressed their view:

I am a wrestler neither from Messene nor Argos, my fatherland is Sparta, Sparta whose boast is her men. Those other wrestlers are men of skill; but I, as befits the sons of Sparta, prevail by strength.

Due to their physical training, the Spartans did very well at the Olympia Festival and the other Greek games. Competitors gathered for these festivals from all over the Greek world including what are now Turkey and Italy. All free men could compete, and kings often competed with common soldiers. Plato once wrestled in the Isthmian Games. The Olympic Games were the first and most revered of the Greek athletic festivals and were held every four years from 776 B.C. to 394 A.D., almost 1200 years. Three different events involving wrestling were contested: wrestling in the pentathalon, wrestling as a separate event, and wrestling for submission (Pankration). Prizes at the games were usually of little monetary value, the olive wreath for example, but victory brought tremendous respect to the athlete and his community. In order to compete at Olympia, it was necessary to swear that one had undergone ten months of training, and to spend thirty additional days of training at Olympia. Because the actual entries at Olympia were much smaller than at the other major festivals, it is apparent that eliminations took place during the thirty day training prior to the start of the games. Pairings, according to Lucian (circa 162 A.D.), were established by the drawing of lots:

A silver um dedicated to the god is placed before them. Into this are thrown small lots, the size of beans, with letters on them. Two are marked alpha, two beta, two gamma, and so on in the same way, if there are more competitors, two lots always having the same letter. Each of the competitors comes up, offers a prayer to Zeus, puts his hand into the urn, and picks up one of the lots. After him another does the same.

If there were an uneven number of contestants a bye would be awarded and one wrestler would advance "without getting dusty." It was possible to draw more than one bye since lots were redrawn each round; there was special honor in winning without drawing a bye.

The distinction of winning a championship at one of the four great panhellenic festivals (Olympia, Delphi, Corinth, and Nemea) was such that odes were often written to honor the victors. Pindar (518-440 B.C.), considered the greatest lyric poet of ancient Greece, wrote several of them. One of Pindar's odes honored Epharmostus of Qpous who won wrestling championships at all four of the panhellenic games circa 468 B.C.:

And barely freed from beardless years,
Finely he matched with older men
At Marathon for the silver prize.
His swift and deftly-balanced craft,
Unthrown himself, felled all his rivals.
How mighty a shout hailed the parading victor,
For youth and beauty and fine deeds achieved.

Another ode was written about Alcimidas of Aegina who won the boys wrestling circa 470 B.C., his family's twenty-fifth victory in a panhellenic game:

To sing Alcimidas, your proud success,
The five and twentieth now
Earned by your famous race,
At the contests which men entitle sacred.

Another honor accorded the great champions was the erection of a statue in their honor at such places as their hometown or at Olympia. Inscriptions on the statues were common and the ancient historian Pausanias recorded the following:

Twice in wrestling alone I conquered the men at Olyropia and at Pytho, thrice at Nemea, and four times at the Ithmus by the seas I am Chilon of Patrae, the son of Chiloni I perished in war. And was buried for my valour's sake by the Achaean people.

Milo of Crotona was another great champion. He won an Olympic title in boys' wrestling and followed it with six championships in the men's division. He also won at Pytho seven times, including a boys' title. Milo was said to have been capable of remarkable feats of strength; he could carry his own statue, could stand on a greased discus and no one could push him off, could hold a ripe pomegranate in his hand safely though no one could take it from him, and could break a cord tied around his forehead by holding his breath and increasing the pressure of his veins.

Winning the olive wreath in both wrestling and the Pankration was a rare honor. Pausanias recorded that the register of champions at Olyropia listed only seven men who had accomplished this feat, although the legendary Hercules was said to have won both in heroic times. The seven are listed below:

It is interesting to note that, although the Olympic Festival was held for almost 1200 years, five of the seven "Successors to Hercules" won during a comparatively short period of time after the Roman conquest of 146 B.C. It is probable that the professionalism and corruption which marched into Greece along with the Roman soldiers were related to this. Philostratus considered the athletics of his day (circa 225 A.D.) inferior to those of the time of Milo or Polydamas due to "the lack of judicious training and vigorous exertion." He stated that in his time victories were often bought in advance and that "only among the Eleans is the olive-crown according to ancient belief still inviolable." The Greek games had continued in much the same manner until the Roman conquest, after which the Greek ideals of athletics suffered. The worst example may have been when the Emperor Nero himself traveled to Olympia where he:

. . . bribed everyone, had himself declared champion of
everything, and caused his tutor, Seneca, to write bitterly,
'I do not include wrestling and the whole course of study,
compounded of mud and oil in my liberal arts curriculum.'

In any case, the Greek ideal of the union of a strong mind and body suffered under Roman rule, eventually disappeared, and was lost for centuries.