What is the oldest sport in the world?

What is your favorite sport?

What are you doing to win, or because the sports itself is fun?

The following five experts are considering the significance of sports in Western civilization.Some people point out how sports began, and others pointed out that the struggle was at the core, and that they were to get honor and prizes.

It's also a story about sports in the first place.Unlike the ancestors who were hunting and hunting to live, we can live without finishing the marathon with any painful feelings.But why are there many people running on marathons around the world?

Humanity loved martial arts for a long time

SARAH MURRAY Assistant Professor Toronto (Greek history, material culture)

It's a difficult question.In the first place, the answer changes depending on how sports are defined.

Humanity has been doing voluntary physical activities and competitions since ancient times, but all of them cannot be said to be sports.It is clear that rugby battles and Olympic competitions are sports for everyone, but what is sports and what is not sports is the same for everyone.There is none.

There are several criteria for distinguishing sports from play and entertainment.To compete with two or more opponents using the strength of the power, the man -made, or both.There is no result in advance without a match.In addition, since the progress of the competition is basically fair, there are common rules that the competitors have confirmed in advance and accepted.However, there are still more gray parts even if these standards are met.For example, shooting is one of the Olympic competitions, but it does not require much physical activity.In addition, although there are not many people who recognize their arms as sports, they meet the above standards.

It is natural that it is difficult to define "what is sports", so it is natural that the opinion does not match when sports have penetrated human society.If you could define sports, you would not find a decisive answer to when the oldest sport started.Because it should have already begun in the history of the past, when there were no letters or pictures.Imagined, it probably started with low physical hurdles, such as race, work, and throwing.And there must have been some rules to crack down on them, but there is no evidence.

So the only answer we can answer is "What is the world's oldest record?"In this case, you don't have to say strangely.The oldest sports I know are boxing and wrestling.Both are found in Egypt and Iraq, and old ones go back to 2000 BC.

In particular, the mural is drawn in the Ganno cave tomb found in the Veni Hassan Village in the middle of the Nile.It is depicted that those who are doing wrestling are applying skills to defeat the opponent in various positions.Egyptian wrestling is an entertainment (same as Silk de Soleil) to entertain Pharaoh and powerful people, and some intellectuals argue that it is not a sport.However, most of the mural found in Beni Hassan describes everyday life, such as farming and craft making, so there is no reason not to believe that wrestling was melting into the daily life of Egyptians at the time.Yes.

At the same time, King Schurgi, the second generation of the third dynasty of Mesopotamia, wrote confidently, "I am the strongest and the best in exercise and power tests."The background that many scholars dismiss that it would not be evidence that sports was being held was that the king at the time was deified and invincible, so the king was involved in the king from the beginning.It is presumed that it was decided to be.However, even if the king's remark was just a propaganda, it would not have been meaningful if the athletic competition and power tests were not spread in the first place.

In addition, although it is much more posterity than the evidence that wrestling and boxing was being held, in the middle of the 2,000 BC, the scenery like a rodeo jumping on a cow is Creta, and other East Mediterranean Sea and Anatria.Here are some things found in local archeological sites.

So it has become longer, but in short, I intend to intend to say that the oldest sport was probably simple, but the oldest sports that are currently recorded were martial arts.It's not very good to talk about human coordination.

Run for honor for God

HEATHER REID Morning Side University Professor (philosophy)

He has authored "Olympic Philosophy: The IDEAS and IDEALS BEHIND THIND THIND THE ANCIENT ANDERN OLYMPIC GAMES"

The general answer would be "wrestling"."Gilgamesh", which is often mentioned as evidence, depicts the protagonist wrestling with rivals.But this is a mythology category, something closer to the battle rather than a sport.If you borrow a simple and clear word of the philosopher Bernard suit (my favorite), sports are "spontaneous acts to overcome unnecessary obstacles", so all need for sports is necessary.Must be removed.

Homeros's "Ilias" (myths) describes the content of funeral competitions that we can consider as sports, such as wrestling, boxing, race, tank racing, and throwing competitions.It is not described which competition is the oldest.However, it is clear that the athletic competition (ATHLETICS) has evolved from a ceremony to praise the achievements of Hercules (Latin in Latin).The problem is when these athletic competitions and why it became a competition.

At least in ancient Greece, it seems that the first competition was the speed of the feet.I know that there was a ritual with running, and if young people were running together, it wouldn't have been so long until it was deployed in the race.According to Philostratos in Rome, the first event in the ancient Olympics was a race, which was given to the sacrifice ritual to those who were fastest from the sanctuary end to the altar.Philostratos is a later era, but his testimony is credible, and this competition, which was called "Studion Run", has been the most honorable event in the ancient Olympics.There is no doubt.

There was a religious background that fair racing was being held to determine the winners of this honorable event.The sacrifice ceremony was to delight the god (or gods).It would not have been a good idea to slick in front of the whole -known god, so I think that a fair race was adopted as a way to choose the best person in the right way.Or maybe it can be considered as a scientific experiment to know who is the fastest.

In this way, I think that the first competition that humanity did was a race.Despite the important religious purposes, I think it was not a surviving competition, but a competition to praise human wonderful potential.

Ancient Greeks were pioneers of all competitions

David Lunt Professor Southern Utah (History)

Exercise competitions and Olympic history in ancient Greece

In the Egyptian of the Pharaoh era, competitions such as wrestling, boxing, and western bow were held, and Pharaoh's physical abilities revealed in these competitions were also an important premise for being deified.However, these were generally unable to say that they were "sports."In fact, Pharaoh's running at a festival has a strong symbolic meaning because there were no competitors, and it would be appropriate to consider it as a ritual rather than a race.

Wrestling and boxing seemed to have been performed in the Aegean civilization (1500-1100 BC) of the late bronze -ware era.The fresco painting on Tira Island (now Santorini) shows how some young fighters are sparing with gloves, and from the material cultural considerations, Creta's Minoa civilization is in the Minoa civilization on Creta.It is presumed that boxing was also done.

Speaking of Minoa civilization, the mysterious "cow flying" may be a kind of sport.There is a picture left on a beef that an agile person is returning on a beef that grows horns, but it is difficult to determine that these are sports because they do not know the background of these.

In summary, it can be said that the ancient Greeks have developed the modern "sports".In the early literature of Greek civilization, Homeros describes the grand funeral competition held for Patrocross, which was defeated in "Ilias", and Odysseus is on the way back to Odysseia in Odysseia.Is drawn.

However, the ancient Greeks competed in a wider range of competitions we currently regard as sports.They worked hard in music concerts, poetry reading sessions, comedy and tragedy, and of course competitions held in Olympia to win prizes.

The only competition in the Olympia tournament in 776 BC was a short -distance run of about 182 meters, and the winner was honored for sacrifice offerings.Despite the time, other competitions have been held, but the honor of the first short -distance run has been taken over to posterity.The ancient Greek Olympic Games were remembered by the name of the winner of the short -distance running that year.

Competition is part of humanity

Peter J.Miller Winnipeg University Associate Professor (Classic)

What is the oldest sport?

At least the act of "running" was prompted for hunting and other reasons, and it could be said that it was the beginning of competing from there.As far as we know, running is one of the oldest sports in ancient Mediterranean, but running itself is not always a competitive sport.For example, at the Sedo Festival (ancient Egyptian ritual, a revival festival) held by Pharaoh to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Egyptian rule, there is a scene where Pharaoh will perform short -range running, probably the vitality as his ruler.I think there was an intention to show off physical abilities.

Looking at ancient Greece, running will appear early.Homeros mentions a lot of exercise competitions in "Ilias" and "Odysseia" (both written around 800 BC), and competition, such as the scene where Achilles runs and chases in the end of "Ilias".Running without accompanying is also an important factor in the story.

Greek Pausanias wrote 900 years later that the first exercise competition held at the ancient Olympics was also running.This is an Olympiad (4 among the Olympic Games (4th Olympic Games), which is the most short -distance race held at the ancient Olympics, is about 200 meters of the Studion for a truck.The decoration of ancient Greece's calendar year in the year also shows that running is related to the Olympics.It is only a guess, but from the relationship between the Studion Run and the four -year cycle of the Olympic Games, it can be said that running was probably a sport for the early Olympics.

But what kind of running was it?There are few materials for this, which makes it difficult to mention.The name of the Studion has become the name of the place where the sport is performed, indicating that the Studion Run was the earliest race.At that time, it was a competition to complete the distance of one studion, but this distance was different depending on the location, that is, in ancient Greece, the length of the stadium was different depending on the location.In addition, it seems that the initial running competition was Diaurus running (2 readers at a distance) and Dolicos running (8 to 24 studies at a distance, there are differences depending on the material).

There are only the reasons that running was being done from the beginning, but it seems that the tank race has been done for a long time.The tank was a major fighting means in the bronze ware era.Although there is no evidence that tank competition has been held, I think that it may no longer be a part of humanity that competing for the superiority of skills even if it is separated from a special situation and background.

Homeros mentions tank races in ancient Greece, and can be seen from the early literature of ancient Rome.In the 12th century BC, found in the Tillin Fort, which flourished during the Bronze Ware Age, there are some tank races and prizes given to their winners next to each other.This is the oldest evidence that the prizes were given to the winners of the competition in ancient Greece.For ancient Greeks, prizes seem to have been indispensable for any competition.

The tank race was introduced in the Olympic Games a long time later, only from 776 BC, which is said to have begun the Olympics.However, it became one of the most notable events that were brilliant when introduced.For hundreds of years, the tank race, which was held in both Europe and the North African circular stadiums in both the Roman Republic and the Empire, was the most popular athletic competition.Moreover, the tank race lasted longer than any other sport.It has been more than 2000 years since it was born in the ancient Mediterranean and has been in the medieval period since the Bronze Age.

Competitive culture creates sports

JOEL CHRISTENSEN Professor of Bland Dice (classical)

The word "sports" is loosely, the oldest sport in the world is a warning or racified of violence.There is also evidence that boxing was doing at least a few years ago.The fresco of Minoa civilization left on Tira Island depicts boxing people.As a team sport, there are evidence that the Persian played a game like a modern polo.

However, if you choose by majority vote, it will be running.One of the reasons is the origin of the Olympic Games, which began in 776 BC.According to myths, Hercules won the Olympia and founded a tournament to be held on the spot, but the main race was held under the honor of Zeus.It's strange to think about this, it has nothing to do with Hercules's labor.Probably a race was held as part of the ritual to worship the gods.

There was evidence that it was rallying in Egypt before that, and dates back to the Minoa civilization era around 1600 to 1700 BC.In addition to running, subsequent documents also appear in wrestling, boxing, and even a dance that uses something like Hacky Sack (foot bag) in Odysseia.

Although it is not a competition, there is a scene that is closer to the entertainment of sports, where Princess Nausica, who appears in Odysseia, visits the seaside to do the laundry and throws the ball with the servants.In the story, the ball rolls to the feet of the naked Odysseus hidden behind the rocks.The fact that the reader at that time knew this content was that such play was popular.

The important point you should point out here is that competitive culture creates sports games.The Greek culture has been intensely competitive from the beginning, and a jargon called "Agonist" was born.In Greece, I wanted to compete in everything, such as who is the best singer, who is the best poet, and who is the best flute player."It's a cast, who can run the fastest to the rocks there?There was even a drinking party called "Cottabos".After drinking a bottle of wine, throwing the remaining lees toward the target.We are the successor to this mentality.The intentional competition that is widely permeated in modern Western culture comes from here.