The culture of the athletic body, like many other beautiful things, originates in ancient Greece. About an ignorant man, not worthy of the title of a citizen of the polis, the wise Greeks said literally the following: "He can neither read nor swim." The conclusion suggests itself: the ancient Greeks paid no less attention to the chanting and development of physical qualities than to inner beauty and harmony. Vessels and frescoes with competing runners and young men on chariots, statues of athletes (in a word, everything that we perceive today as an integral part of ancient culture and art), served, of course, not as works of art, but as important "evidence" of their time. For example, olive oil was poured into the amphora that the winner received. The plot is not a free interpretation of the artist, but a scene honoring the winner or an image of the competitions in which the awardee distinguished himself. The fact that today they are present in the collection of almost every museum with a big name speaks not only about controversial moments in the history of colonialism, but also about the popularity of sports competitions — most archaeological finds are not prize vessels at all, but souvenirs. For a Greek to return from Athens with a reduced copy of an amphora is like bringing a fridge magnet or a scarf with the symbols of his favorite team from a trip today.


In Sparta, physical education classes for girls were mandatory. Of course, not in order to receive olive wreaths and amphorae, but in order to give birth to worthy, that is, by the standards of the Spartans, athletic progenitors of the genus. Competitions were considered as an important stage of preparation for wars, and the latter happened much more often than the Games held every four years (by the way, the concept of "Olympic truce", or ekeheiriya, appeared back in the 7th century BC — disputes between individual states, policies and citizens were forcibly terminated during the competition).