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Greeks

High value on physical fitness
Concept of “gymnastics”
Had public arenas for training, wrestling schools
Represent city-state
Rise in status, earn respect
Conducted sport in the nude
Ancient Olympics were held at Mt. Olympus in honor of Zeus

Ancient Pentathalon (foot race, javelin, discus, long jump, and wrestling)

Modern Pentathalon (fencing, 200m swim, equestrian, 3,200m race with shooting)
Baron Pierre de Coubertin, first IOC President in 1896.

Equestrian/chariot races
Pankration

Archery
Tug of War, “Helkustinda” and “Dielkustinda”

Gymnastics - In ancient Greece gymnastics encompassed many forms of athletic activity. This included running, wrestling and physical fitness routines.

Olympics - 100 oxen sacrificed to honor Zeus, big feast in the middle of the day. Winners would get a palm leaf. No silver medal or bronze medal.

Pentathalon = stadion (a short foot race/unit of distance, stade about 200 metters, double stade was 400m/ “hoplitodromia” which means race of soldiers; helmet, greeves, shield, 400m), followed by the javelin throw, discus throw, and long jump (the order of these three events is still unclear), and ending with wrestling.

Long jump was more like a broad jump; did it while holding stones

Modern Pentathalon - According to a 19th-century story, a young French cavalry officer was sent on horseback to deliver a message. To complete his mission, he had to ride, fight with a sword, shoot, swim and run. These are the five disciplines that face competitors in modern pentathlon — all in a single day.

Baron de Coubertin, first IOC president (1896 games in Athens, 1900 games in Paris) was an admirer of the pentathlon held in the ancient Olympic Games, which was modelled on the skills needed by a soldier at the time. He proposed a similar competition based on this lore of French calvary officer.

Modern pentathlon was first held at the Stockholm 1912 Games, with a women's competition introduced at Sydney 2000. Originally the elements were spread over four or five days, but since Atlanta 1996 all five disciplines have taken place in a single day.

Fencing – epee round robin

Swim – 200m freestyle

Equestrian – show jumping for time

Running and shooting – Laser-run, 4 x 800, 5 targets 10m away . Competitors run 800 meters, then fire at five targets using a laser pistol from a distance of 10 meters shooting until they hit all five, or until 50 seconds passes.

They repeat this four times, running a total of 3,200 meters.

Chariot Races - Held in the hippodrome; 2-wheels with 2, 4 or 6 horses. Almost 600 meters. The owners of the chariot were not necessarily the riders.

Pankration – like mixed martial arts – grappling, kicking, boxing, even choking; beat opponent into submission, maybe like UFC.

Archery – not in Olympics, but popular. Island of Crete known for archery. The Greek god Apollo is the god of archery, also of plague and the sun, metaphorically perceived as shooting invisible arrows. Artemis goddess of the hunt, Heracles and Odysseus, and many other mythological figures are often depicted with a bow.

�Tug of War - "I draw, I pull".^[7] Helkustinda and efelkustinda seem to have been ordinary versions of tug of war, while dielkustinda had no rope, according to Julius Pollux.^[8] It is possible that the teams held hands when pulling, which would have increased difficulty, since handgrips are more difficult to sustain than a grip of a rope. Tug of war games in ancient Greece were among the most popular games used for strength and would help build strength needed for battle in full armor.

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Discus

Discobolus, 460-450 BC

Discobolus – The discus thrower.

Originally done by Myron of Eleutherae. 480–440 BC, was an Athenian sculptor.

The original was in bronze. The original did not survive, but there were many copies found in Rome, including Palazzo Massimi alle Terme, Rome In bronze and marble.

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Discus

Part of ancient Greek pentathalon
Ancient discus weight 5.7kg/over 12lb; modern men’s discus weighs 2kg 4.4 lb); 1kg (2.2 lb) for women
Ancient discus was 34 cm (13.5 inches) in diameter; modern men’s is 22 cm (8.6 inch); 18cm (7 inches) for women
Did it standing; heavier; bigger, did it with a bent arm to lock it in place.

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Discus

Modern

1 and ½ rotations, lighter weight
Rotation technique was first done by Frantisek Janda-Suk of Bohemia (Czech Republic). Invented it when studying position of Discobolus. After only one year of developing the technique he earned a silver medal in the 1900 Olympics.

Pictures reconstruct the series of movements in discus throwing after studying images of athletes shown on ancient vases, coins or sculptures to explain as clearly as possible the way how discus was thrown in the ancient Greece (Fig. 1).

The place of discus landing was marked by a stick stuck into the ground (Fig.2). It has been assumed that the athletes threw diss 3 times, taking care not to cross the throwing line upon throwing the discus, which was not allowed, otherwise the throwing would not be valid

Figure 1 - Reconstruction of discus throwing according to J. Swaddling

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Celts

Valued skills with weaponry
Tailteann Games
Hurling

7^th-8^th c., sporting injuries that should be compensated
Leabhar na hUifre – 11^th-12^th c.
Cath mhaigh Tuireadh Chunga – 13^th-14^th c.
Tain Bo Cuailgne – 12^th c. , Ulster hero Cu Chullainn

Scottish Highland Games

Caber toss
SHOT PUT
Hammer throw
Weight throw
Weight over the bar
Sheaf toss
Maide leisg – “Lazy stick”

Weaponry – bronze spears, swords, shields, javelins

Women had right to divorce if their husbands got fat under Brehon, early Irish law

Tailteann Games – Ancient funeral games -Games held in County Meath in Ireland. 1600 BCE, all the way maybe through 9 c. AD – 2 week period, ended in Lusana. So honor dead, chanting, singing, etc., burn them on a pyre, and then games. Games included the long jump, high jump, running, hurling, spear throwing, boxing, contests in swordfighting, archery, wrestling, swimming, and chariot and horse racing.

Wrestling – cross-buttock throw was practiced - the pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne, prose narrative from 10^th century, possibly

Hurling – Brought to Ireland by the Celts but some sources say it pre-dates the celts, 1200 BCE; references to a stick and ball game

The earliest surviving references to hurling are found in 7^th and 8^th century AD Irish laws, which describe various sporting injuries that should be compensated. Hurling is also mentioned in the 11^th/ 12^th century Leabhar na hUidre, while further descriptions are to be found in 13^th/14^th century romantic tale Cath Mhaigh Tuireadh Chunga (ibid, p.33). This latter account details a very bloody hurling game between the Tuatha De Danna and the Fir Bolg (men of bags) that was played at Moytura, Co. Mayo. This mythical match supposedly took place in 1072 BC! (the Bronze Age).

However, the most famous early account of the hurling is found in the Tain Bo Cuailgne, which describes the exploits of the Ulster hero Cú Chullainn. Although the surviving version of this epic dates from the 12^th century it has been convincingly argued that the story’s origins lie in the Iron Age (500 BC – 400 AD). Hurling is mentioned a number of times in the text, most notably when the young hero, then known as Setanta, uses a hurley and sliotar (hurling ball) to kill a vicious hound. Hence forth he became known as Cú Chulainn (Cullen’s hound), after the owner of the dog.

Picture – gallowglass (elite mercenary Norse-gaelic warriors) gravestone from Donegal, 15-1600 of hurling stick and ball feature

Modern hurling – popular in 1700s; now very popular in Ireland

Scottish highland games – created during Victorian times, thought is what sports were during King Malcolm III (Scottish Gaelic: Máel Coluim; c. 1031 – 13 November 1093) when he summoned men to race up Craig Choinnich overlooking Braemar with the aim of finding the fastest runner in Scotland to be his royal messenger.^[^{citation needed}^] There are also thought to have been events where the strongest and bravest soldiers in Scotland would be tested. Musicians and dancers were encouraged to reveal their skill and talents and so be a great credit to the clan that they represented.

Weight over the bar – like a pole vault bar

Sheaf toss – Use a pitchfork to throw a burlap bag of straw over a bar

Maide-leisg (Scots Gaelic meaning 'Lazy Stick', pronounced [matʲəˈʎeʃkʲ]): Trial of strength performed by two men/people sitting on the ground with the soles of their feet pressing against each other. Thus seated, they hold a stick between their hands which they pull against each other until one of them is raised from the ground.

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Shot put

Was not originally in ancient Greek games like discus and javelin
It’s Celtic! Greeks may have learned it from proto-Celts in the area
Used to be a large round stone - crossed into Scotland from Ireland during the 4^th and 5^th century migrations of the Scotti into Dalriada (Argyll) and beyond.
The term “put” actually comes from the concept of “putting the stone”, which, according to Scottish folklore, was used by clan chieftains to help them identify their strongest men for battle purposes.
King Malcom III of Scotland (1031-1093) is reported to have competitions where bravest soldiers in Scotland would be tested in trials of strength which is the basis of the Highland Games.
The first events resembling the modern shot put likely occurred in the Middle Ages when soldiers held competitions in which they hurled cannonballs – where “shot” comes from!

Homer mentions competitions of rock throwing by soldiers during the Siege of Troy but there is no record of any dead weights being thrown in Greek competitions.

The first evidence for stone- or weight-throwing events were in the Scottish Highlands, and date back to approximately the first century.^[2]

Celts - "putting the stone" which, according to Scottish folklore, was used by Clan chieftains to help them identify their strongest men for battle purposes.

The earliest documented evidence of the tradition can be found in an Irish book titled the "Book of Leinster," which was written in the 12th century and describes the events of the Tailteann Games. The book is now kept at Trinity college in Dublin. One of the events included is stone throwing, but how much further back in history the tradition stretches remains unproven.

The first events resembling the modern shot put likely occurred in the Middle Ages when soldiers held competitions in which they hurled cannonballs. Shot put competitions were first recorded in early 19th century Scotland, and were a part of the British Amateur Championships beginning in 1866.^[4] The original tradition of throwing a stone evolved into throwing a cannon ball in the 18th century and the term "shot" derived from this period.

Was part of modern Olympics. The shot used in the first modern Olympics held in 1896 was made of lead, while the modern-day shot is made of smooth iron or brass. The men’s shot weighs 7.26 kg and the women’s shot, an Olympic event since 1948, weighs 4 kg.

A key factor in all shot put styles is that the shot must be put as opposed to thrown; this is achieved by keeping the ball in close proximity to the chin in all movements prior to its release.

Would stand and throw; Glide debuted in 1951; Spin debuted in 1976

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Shotput

16 lbs men; 8.8 pounds for women
Made of solid iron or brass
It drop below shoulder level at any time
2 techniques: spin and glide

Glide technique, Figures 1-8

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Vikings

Saga literature is full of references to sporting games, “leikar”
Men would come together for a games meeting, “leikmot”
Ball games
Wrestling, “glima”
Swimming
Weight lifting
HUNKERHAUSEN?

Photo by Stefan Jansson

Sometimes prominent men called people together for a leikmót (games meeting) specifically to take part in games.

Ball game - Knattleikr (ball game) was played with a hard ball and a bat. Again, we don't know the rules. We don't know the object of the game. We don't know the nature of the equipment or the playing field. Regardless, the sagas suggest the game was widely played and enjoyed. The stories provide a few clues to help us understand the nature of the game.

Chapter 15 of Gísla saga Súrssonar has a brief description of the game. It appears to have been a full contact sport, in which people were physically held back and tackled while the ball was in play. Chapter 15 of Grettis saga says that ball games were played every autumn at Miðfjarðarvatn (shown to the right as it looks today). The saga describes opposing players lined up facing one another. Individual players on opposing sides were matched based on strength. In one case, exceptionally strong players played only against one another, for the sake of fairness (Eyrbyggja saga chapter 43). Chapter 40 of Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar says that players were divided into teams, but opposing players were paired up. At one point, a player caught the ball and ran with it while opposing players chased him.

Wrestling - Wrestling (glíma) was a contest of strength. The goal of the competition was to throw the opponent to the ground. There was generally no ground fighting afterwards in sport wrestling. A win was recorded if the opponent was thrown off his feet, or lifted clear and then dropped onto any body part except the feet.

The stories suggest that some wrestling matches took place indoors. In chapter 37 of Finnboga saga ramma and in chapter 1 of Gunnars saga Keldugnúpsfífls, the games took place in the house. Gunnar lifted his opponent up and threw him onto the raised bench in the main room of the house, breaking his spine.

�At the annual Alþing assembly, men wrestled for sport at Fangabrekka (Wrestling Slope), to the north of Lögberg and the other areas where legal matters were discussed. The photo to the right shows Fangabrekka as it appears today.

Swimming - The swimming competitions might be more accurately called drowning competitions; the goal was to see who could hold his opponent underwater the longest. Chapter 40 of Laxdæla saga tells of a match between Kjartan Ólafsson and King Ólafur Tryggvason.

Weightlifing – big stones. Person who lifted the heaviest stone was the winner.

�Tug of war - Another competition of strength was toga hönk (tug-of-war). The name literally means tugging on a loop, or a hank. The sagas are silent on the details, but it is thought that two men sat on the floor or the ground, knees bent, with the soles of their feet pressed flat on the soles of their opponents feet. They pulled on a loop of rope, which may have been marked in the middle with a tag, or with a bit of rope. By pulling on the loop with the arms and straightening the legs, it is possible to pull an opponent over, winning the competition. A modern toga hönk competition is shown to the right, as played during Hurstwic Viking combat training.

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Hunkerhausen�

A Viking Game?
Played at Medieval Fairs and SCA camps for decades
The only reference I could find of a tug-of-war game was in the Flóamanna saga, ch.32.
The earliest reference to the game Hunker Hausen (Hunker Hauser, Hunker Hawser) is in The New Games Book published in 1976. There are no older historic records I could locate.
It arose in the late 1960s and early 1970s from the anti-war, alternative play, and alternative consciousness movement in the San Francisco Bay Area—strongly influenced by Stewart Brand (The Whole Earth Catalog), George Leonard (The Ultimate Athlete), Pat Farrington, the Esalen Institute, Bernie DeKoven (The Well-Played Game), John O’Connell, and Burton Naiditch.

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Flóamanna saga, ch.32

Um vorið voru menn kvaddir af Ásgrími til skipsdráttar og kom fjöldi manns. Pyttar voru um sandana víða og voru fullir með vatni þó að fjara væri. Ásgrímur tók á festum í fremra lagi og voru þar mest konur hjá honum. Hann var í litklæðum. Tóku nú fast á. Maður reið á landinu fyrir ofan, mikill vexti og hafði bolöxi í hendi. Hann horfir á skipdráttinn. Ásgrímur eggjar nú fast að menn herði sig vel. Og er Þorgils var kominn að flæðarpyttinum sá hann að Ásgrímur hélt á strenginum. Hleypur hann þá til og höggur strenginn og verður afturhlaupið hart og hrapar Ásgrímur í pyttinn og konurnar á hann ofan. Urðu öll klæðin Ásgríms vot og þrekkótt og svo hann sjálfur. Þetta þykir honum mikil svívirðing ger til sín. Verður nú vís hver gert hefir og kvað þá Þorgils varla mega við svo búið skilja.

In the spring, people were summoned by Ásgrím to the tug of war and a large number of people came. There were holes in the sand in many places and they were full of water even though there was a beach. Ásgrímur took to the front and there were mostly women with him. He was wearing colorful clothes. Get on now. A man was riding on the land above, tall and with an ax in his hand. He watches the tug of war. Ásgrímur is now insisting that men brace themselves well. And when Þorgils had reached the flood hole, he saw that Ásgrímur was holding the rope. He then runs forward and cuts the rope and the return is hard and Ásgrímur falls into the pit and the women on top of him. All of Ásgrím's clothes became wet and stiff, and so did he himself. He considers this a great disgrace. It will now be known who did it and what Þorgils said, we can hardly be separated like that.

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How to Play

EQUIPMENT NEEDED: Two small platforms ( 2 2 ½ foot sections of 4X4 ), other things such as logs or small platforms also work well. one rope (15 – 20 feet long)
Place the 4X4s a short distance from one another (8 to 10 feet)
Lay the rope between the two 4X4s so that the middle section lies between.
Space the 4X4s approximately 6-10 feet apart, and place a rope between them. Assign one player to each platform. Each player will now grab an end of the rope, and assume a hunkered or squatted position. The remaining slack in the rope will lie between the players. On the given signal players may begin to take up the slack and attempt to unbalance the opposing player from the platform. Competition continues until a player touches the ground with any body part. The winning player will stay and a new challenger will take the losers place.
During this activity, players may unbalance an opponent by pulling on the rope or by giving slack on the rope when their opponent pulls. A player also wins if the other player drops the rope.

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Conclusion

Could a similar game have been played in medieval time or by the vikings? Yes, it is probable since it is a simple game and test balance, strength and strategy. We know of other types of game from the saga’s that test the same skills.

There is no specific historic reference to the game.

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The New Games Book

Title The New Games Book

A Headlands Press book

Dolphin books

The New Games Book, New Games Foundation

Author New Games Foundation

Editor Andrew Fluegelman

Edition 5, illustrated

Publisher Dolphin Books, 1976

ISBN 038512516X, 9780385125161

Length 193 pages

Subjects Games & Activities

ID Numbers

Open Library OL4890644M

Internet Archive newgamesbook00newg

ISBN 10: 038512516X

LCCN 76022654

OCLC/WorldCat

87862220, 20636

Library Thing 803852

Goodreads 1296613

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