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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e54ab90 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #65554 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65554) diff --git a/old/65554-0.txt b/old/65554-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 3311c78..0000000 --- a/old/65554-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2991 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Greek Athletics, by F. A. Wright - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Greek Athletics - -Author: F. A. Wright - -Release Date: June 7, 2021 [eBook #65554] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Al Haines, Chuck Greif & the online Distributed Proofreaders - Canada team at https://www.pgdpcanada.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GREEK ATHLETICS *** - - - - - - [Illustration: THE AGIAS OF LYSIPPUS (Delphi)] - - - - - Greek Athletics - - _by_ F. A. Wright - - London - Jonathan Cape Ltd - - FIRST PUBLISHED IN MCMXXV - MADE & PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN - BY BUTLER & TANNER LTD - FROME AND - LONDON - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PREFACE 9 - -1. ATHLETICS AND ATHLETIC FESTIVALS 13 - -2. GYMNASTICS AND MILITARY TRAINING 28 - -3. PHYSICAL EDUCATION 61 - -4. HEALTH AND BODILY EXERCISE 83 - -5. GALEN’S TREATISE ON THE SMALL BALL 108 - - SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 123 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - -THE AGIAS OF LYSIPPUS (_Delphi_) _Frontispiece_ - -THE WRESTLERS (_Uffizi Gallery, Florence_) 30 - -A WRESTLING CONTEST (_Athens_) 36 - -THE DISKOBOLOS OF MYRON 40 - -INDOOR SPORTS (_Athens_) 76 - -THE VICTORY OF PAIONIOS (_Olympia_) 104 - -THE THROW-IN AT THE SMALL BALL GAME -(_Athens_) 110 - -A HOCKEY MATCH (_Statue base discovered -at Athens_, 1922) 116 - - - - -PREFACE - - -In a previous volume[A] an attempt was made to set out the principles -followed by the Greeks in the three sister arts of acting, music, and -painting; and to show how in some respects we have failed to improve -upon their practice. It is perhaps doubtful whether the mass of our -countrymen will ever take a very deep interest in the laws that govern -the right use of colour, sound, and gesture; and even if our inferiority -in art were proved, it is probable that the position would be regarded -with equanimity. - -But as regards athletics the case is different; and it is with some -hesitation that in this book, after giving a brief account of Greek -gymnastics and physical training, I have ventured to raise the question -whether Greek systems of bodily culture were not in some ways superior -to ours, and whether on the whole the Athenians of the fifth century -B.C. were not a finer and a healthier people than are the Englishmen of -to-day. - -Before the year 1914 such doubts might never have presented themselves. -But one of the many unpleasant truths that the War revealed was that the -physical condition of our average middle-aged citizen was very far from -being what it should be. Indeed, anyone whose business it was then to -examine recruits, if he was at all familiar with the work of Greek -sculptors, must often have noticed with positive pain the difference -that was apparent between the figure of the typical Greek athlete and -the figure of the typical English town-dweller. - -The reasons for this poverty of physique were manifold--city life, -alcohol, nicotine, sedentary occupations, unsuitable food among the most -frequent--but there was one that overshadowed all the rest, a complete -ignorance of the structure and functions of the human body. Accompanying -this ignorance nearly always came an utter lack of acquaintance with the -elementary principles of gymnastics. There were very few men who did not -take a passionate interest in the progress of some football team, and -there were equally few who had ever given any intelligent thought to -their own physical condition. - -Games have certainly been of immense value to modern England, and we -have succeeded in making of them a real instrument of moral education. -On the cricket and the football field our national qualities of -individual initiative and cheerful obedience have been developed, the -virtues of courage, endurance, and self-control fostered. But the -average man to-day is inclined to take games too seriously, and to the -competitive element in them he attaches an altogether absurd -importance. In cricket, football, or tennis it really makes little -difference which side wins, as long as all the participants get their -due share of exercise. The true object of a game is not to secure runs -or points or goals, but rather to develop and increase the strength of -every part of our body. - -On the other hand, gymnastics, in their widest sense, are not taken -seriously enough. It is the duty, and it should be the pleasure, of -every man and woman amongst us to make themselves as healthy and as -beautiful as Nature meant them to be. For this purpose the playing--not -of course the mere watching--of games has a definite value, but it does -not take the place of a properly devised system of gymnastic exercises. -Knowledge of the right methods is here of the first importance, and I -therefore dedicate this book to our real experts in physical science, -the gymnastic instructors of His Majesty’s Army. - - - - -1 - -Athletics and Athletic Festivals - - -Athletics, whether ancient or modern, is a wide term covering a large -field of bodily activities, while the boundaries between sport and -athletics are often hard to fix. But we may safely distinguish four main -branches of physical energy. - -1. Athletics proper, where the essential feature is the competition with -its almost invariable concomitant the prize,--athlon; the two things -going so closely together that, as in the ‘Grand Prix,’ the same word is -used for race and reward. - -2. Gymnastics, the training of the body by a system of exercises in -which the naked limbs are allowed free play. Competition is here often -replaced by united action, and there is a close connexion with the -sister arts of music and medicine. - -3. Drill, the particular form of bodily training which is necessary to -fit a man for the duties of a soldier. It includes all the varieties of -military exercise and practice with arms, and differs from athletics and -gymnastics in that its formal purpose is purely utilitarian. - -4. Games of various kinds, played either singly or in company, and -usually requiring some sort of implement, a ball, a stick, or a hoop. -The elements of competition and united effort are usually present, but -a prize is not essential. - -The history of organized athletics in Greece is a very long one, and -extends for some twelve hundred years. The Olympic register of winners -in the foot-race begins 776 B.C., this year being taken as the first -Olympiad when, in the third century B.C., the Olympic register came into -use as the recognized method of reckoning dates. From 776 B.C. to A.D. -217 the list, as drawn up by Julius Africanus, has been preserved intact -for us by Eusebius. In the third century of our era the Roman Empire, -attacked by Goths, was forced to call in the Greeks to fight once more -for their native land, and even when the invading hordes were repulsed -the effects of their ravages were still felt. The Olympic games, as a -permanent institution, apparently ceased after the Gothic invasion, and -the policy of Constantine hastened the process of decay. Christianity, -now the official religion, looked with little favour on the ancient -festivals, and finally Theodosius I, probably on the advice of St. -Ambrose, in A.D. 393 abolished the games by imperial edict, the last -Olympic victor known to history being a certain Armenian knight, a man -of gigantic strength, named Varaztad. - -There is hardly any other Greek institution which had so long a career. -Through the centuries, from the age of the tyrants to the great era of -the free States; from the rise of Macedonia to supremacy, through the -troubled years of the Achæan and Ætolian Leagues; while Greece lay -crushed under the rule of the Roman Senate and while it had its brief -revival of prosperity under the Roman Empire; in spite of every -vicissitude of fortune, year by year the Olympic games took place. There -is something impressive in this continuity which links together periods -otherwise so different, and historians have laid full stress on the -services that Olympia rendered in emphasizing the sense of national -unity and goodwill. But exaggeration is very possible here, and no one -can say that these athletic festivals created or maintained an -atmosphere of peace among the constantly warring Greek States, any more -than that their recent revival as an international event has succeeded -in bringing harmony to our modern empires. The chief benefit of all -these gatherings is the stimulus they afford to local and national -patriotism; but whether the dangers of such competitions are not greater -than the advantages is a question still undecided, and it may be useful -to remember that in Greece, despite the general popularity of athletics, -the two leading States, Athens and Sparta, during the greatest period of -their history held somewhat aloof. The reasons that actuated them were -different: for Athens, athletics were too specialized; for Sparta, they -were not specialized enough. But the fact remains that the two cities -which give to us most of what is valuable in Greek culture took but -little interest in this particular organization. - -The Athenian, in his indifference, was influenced probably by various -currents of thought. There was the old Ionian vein of softness, which -made the arduous straining of the athlete distasteful and led to the -formation of the adjective _athlios_, ‘distressful,’ from the noun -_athlon_; the spirit that regarded work as a ‘plaguy nuisance,’ the -carrying of burdens as ‘vulgar,’ and any form of manual labour as -beneath the dignity of a gentleman. There was also the finer feeling -that the excessive pursuit of athletics tended to coarsen rather than to -refine the human body by developing particular muscles at the expense of -general grace, and thus destroying that _eutrapelia_, the ready -nimbleness of mind and limb, which the Athenian valued most. Lastly, -there was the just belief that athletics in themselves are but a means -to an end, the health of the body, and that although that end is a -desirable one, a healthy mind is even more important. This is the point -of view that Xenophanes of Colophon (576-480 B.C.) represents when he -says: - -‘It is not right to prefer strength to the blessings of wisdom: our -wisdom is better than the strength of men and horses. It is not speed of -foot that gives a city good government; nor does it bring fatness into -the dark places of a land.’ - -In the next century Euripides repeats the complaint, and in more bitter -language: - -‘Of all the countless evils in Greece, none is worse than -the athlete tribe. Slaves of their belly, they know neither how to make -money nor to bear poverty. In early manhood they seem fine fellows and -strut about, the darlings of the town; but when old age comes, like -worn-out cloaks they are flung aside.’ - -And for all this mischief the athletic gatherings, with their crowds of -useless spectators, are chiefly responsible. The principle of valuation -is wrong, for - -‘Who by skill in wrestling, or by lifting the diskos, or by -a shrewd blow on the jaw ever helped his native land, even though he won -the prize? Will men fight the foe holding a diskos in both hands, or -will they get home with one fist through the foemen’s shield? No one -thinks of such folly when he is standing near cold steel.’ - -These last lines, though written by an Athenian poet, represent the -Spartan reasons for withdrawal from Olympia. In the early days of the -festival--from 720 to 576 B.C.--the number of Spartan victors in the -list is very large, and shows, indeed, an undisputed Spartan supremacy. -After 576 they cease almost entirely, and the disappearance of Sparta -coincides with the specialization of athletics which then began. At -Delphi, Corinth, and Nemea small local games were changed into national -festivals which hoped to rival Olympia. Besides the four great -festivals, there were countless smaller competitions established--at -Athens, for example, at Argos and at Pellene, and the first result was a -distinct rise in the standard of athletic performances, so that definite -training became necessary to win success. Secondly, people began to -attend the meetings purely as spectators, and additional -competitions--in music, poetry, even in beauty--were introduced to -please an idle audience, with the result that at last these gatherings -presented almost as many attractions as a mediæval fair. It was against -this combination of international merrymaking and individual -prize-winning that the Spartan system was a protest. ‘Sparta for the -Spartans’ was the ruling principle of the Spartan State, and aliens who -tried to establish themselves at Lacedæmon were removed by somewhat -drastic methods. In a State where all personal initiative was -discouraged, the international athlete, honoured by poets and sculptors -for his mere personal prowess, could have no place. Moreover, athletics, -which the Spartans were prepared to support as a useful recreation -tending to produce that which alone in their judgment was of importance -to a State, good soldiers, had in the sixth century before Christ -become an end in themselves, and the gulf between the specialized -athlete and the soldier very quickly began to widen. The athlete soon -became a professional in fact if not in name, with little time for -anything else but training. A class of professional instructors came -into existence, and Sparta, after first excluding the trainers, finally -forbade her citizens to take part in such competitions. She saw that the -spirit of the professional athlete was at enmity with the military -ardour which she made it her business to create, and so after about the -middle of the sixth century she practically withdrew from active -participation in the Olympic festival. - -The withdrawal of Sparta, however, had also its political reasons, and -was only part of her general disapproval of the Tyrants. While she, the -Dorian ox, represented the principle of individual isolation, the -tyrannis, the Ionian horse, was the champion of expansion and national -unity. Athletic festivals were to the tyrants one of several means -whereby the commercial and social intercourse of all the Greek States, -on the mainland or across the seas, might be encouraged, and the period -of the tyrants’ prosperity was also the period when most of the -Panhellenic Games were instituted. Periander, tyrant of Corinth, founded -the Isthmia about 586 B.C.: Cleisthenes, tyrant of Sicyon, about the -same time helped the Amphictyons to establish the Pythia: the Nemea, -which began in 573, almost certainly owed their importance to one of the -tyrants of Argos who succeeded Phidon. As for Phidon himself, it is -probable that he should be regarded as the second founder of the Olympic -Games, and that his was the influence which changed a local festival -into a national gathering where East and West could meet. We know that -the chief object of his policy was to promote free intercourse with -South Italy and Sicily, and the geographical position of Elis, looking -across the western sea, was probably an important factor in his plans. - -But however this may be, and we know too little of Phidon to be -dogmatic, it is a certain fact that the Olympic games were reorganized -by the managers at Elis some time in the early part of the sixth century -B.C. The festival, which had been for one day only, was now enlarged and -the chief competitions became races for chariots and single horses, -these taking the place of importance given formerly to the simple -running and wrestling matches of which alone the Spartans approved. -Chariot races, except in so far as they improve the breed of horses, -have no military value, and they also require a considerable expenditure -of money, time and trouble, things of which Sparta thought better use -might be made; but they exactly suited the merchant princes of the -West, and after 550 B.C. we find the Greeks of Italy and Sicily playing -always a very prominent part at Olympia. Of the ten treasure-houses -there that have been identified five belonged to them, and possessing -those material resources which the home-staying Greeks so painfully -lacked they were able both very frequently to win the chariot race and -also to commission Pindar to celebrate their victories. Among other -places that were especially successful in the athletic contests we find -the great African colony of Cyrene, the island of Rhodes, whence came -the famous athlete Dorieus, and, curiously enough, the little State of -Ægina for whose citizens Pindar wrote no fewer than eleven of the -forty-four epinikian odes we now possess. Athens was occasionally -represented, Sparta never. - -At the beginning of the fifth century the four great games were all -firmly established. The Olympic took place in the first year of each -Olympiad; the Nemean and the Isthmian came in the second year, the -Pythian in the third, and the Nemean and the Isthmian again in the -fourth. Every year therefore the Greek athlete had one competition open -to him and in alternate years two. Of the four, the Nemean games were -the most purely athletic, as befitted a festival where the old -Peloponnesian traditions still maintained some of their vitality. The -Pythians gave rather more importance to literary and musical -competitions than did the others; one of the chief events was a recital -of the ‘Hymn to Apollo’ and there were also contests in flute playing. -The Isthmians, which were the most frequented by the Athenians, catered -especially for sightseers and there was a large number of side shows of -every kind. But the Olympic festival, the first of the four to be -established, always maintained its premier place, having furthermore the -distinct advantage of a site especially designed and reserved for this -one great occasion. The games were to the ruling families of Elis what -the oracle was to the ruling families of Delphi, a source of honour, -profit and wealth, and every effort was made to glorify and embellish -the precinct of Olympian Zeus. - -Of that precinct, the Altis, we have a very full description by the old -Greek traveller Pausanias, who visited it in the second century of our -era. Following his indications German archæologists, assisted by their -Government, excavated the greater part of the site with the most careful -thoroughness between the years 1875-1881, and discovered there, _inter -alia_, nearly all the exterior temple sculptures, the Hermes of -Praxiteles, and the Victory of Pæonius, although they failed to find any -trace of the greatest treasure of all, the sitting figure of Zeus by -Pheidias. - -The Altis is a quadrilateral space, where goats now feed, about 750 feet -long by 570 feet broad, lying between the river Alpheus on the south and -a low but steep hill, thickly wooded with pine trees, the ancient Mount -of Cronos, which rises to the north. Immediately to the west, the river -Cladeus flows between high sandy banks into the Alpheus, which now in -the summer is only a trickle of muddy water running over a broad -gravelly bed, but in old times was a navigable stream. - -In the precinct itself stood the Temple of Zeus, built by the architect -Libon, about 460 B.C., to house the statue of the god; the Temple of -Hera, one of the oldest of Greek shrines, dating back perhaps to the -tenth century B.C.; the Treasuries of the various states; and the -Council House. The stadion, some 230 by 32 yards, where the athletic -contests took place, was just outside the precinct at the north-east -corner, the spectators being accommodated on raised embankments of earth -which may have contained as many as forty-five thousand people standing. - -The festival took place at the time of one of the summer full moons, and -as soon as the sacred truce was proclaimed, sightseers began to flock in -by sea and land from all parts of the Greek world. The first day of the -five, to which the games in 472 B.C. were extended, was spent in -sacrifices and general festivity, while the competitors and the judges, -the Hellanodicæ, took the oath of fair dealing. On the second morning at -daybreak the judges, in purple robes, were conducted to the special -seats reserved for them, the herald proclaimed the names of competitors, -and the day was spent in chariot and horse races and in the pentathlon -competition for men; the crown of wild olive, which was the only prize, -being presented by the judges to the victors at the conclusion of each -event. The boys’ contests came on the third day; the men’s foot-races, -wrestling, boxing and pankration on the fourth; and the last event of -all was the race for men in armour. On the fifth day there were -sacrifices again, and in the evening a ceremonial banquet at which the -victors were entertained. This was the beginning of that athletic -glorification to which Sparta so strongly objected, and their homecoming -was usually made the occasion of the most elaborate celebrations. -Exainetos of Agrigentum, for example, who won the foot-race in 416 B.C., -was brought into the city in a chariot to which his fellow townsmen -harnessed themselves and was escorted by three hundred cars drawn by -white horses. In the western states especially they sometimes received -almost divine worship: their exploits were recorded on stone monuments, -and songs composed in their honour were sung by bands of youths and -maidens, while for the rest of their lives they had the privilege of a -front seat at all public festivals, and often also the right of taking -their meals free in the town hall. - -All this was part of the exaggerated pomp with which the festival itself -in all its details was conducted; its processions, feastings, -proclamations, and sacrifices, where each state vied with the others in -making a show of gold and silver plate and displaying all the wealth -they possessed. Ostentation was not a common fault in Greece, but it had -full scope at Olympia. The two worst defects of the Greek character were -also prominent there--a contempt for women which forbade any female even -to be present, and an exaggerated idea of racial purity which shut out -all competitors except those of undisputed Greek descent. But the -spectacle must have been a splendid one, and it undoubtedly inspired -some of the finest works of Greek art. The erection of a statue in the -Altis was one of the honours given to victorious athletes to glorify -their triumph, and if the victor was unable himself to meet the expense -of setting up such a monument, the cost was often borne for him by his -native city. ‘In the courts of Olympia,’ as Walter Pater says, ‘a whole -population in marble and bronze gathered quickly,--a world of portraits -out of which, as the purged and perfected essence, the ideal soul, of -them, emerged the _Diadumenus_ and the _Discobolus_.’ Pausanias gives -us a list of some of the great sculptors whose works were still standing -there in his time--Hagelaidas, Pythagoras, Kalamis, Myron, Polycleitus, -Lysippus, and possibly Pheidias--and these nude figures established a -canon of bodily perfection which had no little influence in actual life. - -Poets also vied with sculptors in glorifying the Olympic victor. -Simonides of Keos and Bacchylides sang his praise, and in the Epinikian -Odes of Pindar we have the greatest of all memorials to the athletic -spirit--‘Verse that is all of gold and wine and flowers, and is itself -avowedly a flower, or “liquid nectar,” or “the sweet fruit of his soul, -to men that are winners in the games.” “As when from a wealthy hand one -lifting a cup, made glad within with the dew of the vine, maketh gift to -a youth”: the keynote of Pindar’s verse is there.’ With a choral music -unsurpassed in any language, with wealth of legend and myth, with -accumulation of epithet and metaphor, Pindar bears his witness to the -pride of physical perfection. And with all the grandeur of his odes it -is significant that he lacks conspicuously both the Spartan virtue of -simplicity and the Athenian desire for economy of effort. - -‘His soul rejoiced in splendour--splendour of stately palace -halls where the columns were of marble and the entablature of wrought -gold; splendour of temples of the gods, where the sculptor’s waxing art -had brought the very deities to dwell with man; splendour of the -white-pillared cities that glittered across the Ægean and Sicilian seas; -splendour of the holy Panhellenic games, of whirlwind chariots and the -fiery grace of thoroughbreds, of the naked shapely limbs of the athlete, -man and boy.’[B] - -Splendour was the ideal alike of the Achæan chieftain, the Corinthian -tyrant, and the Olympic judge. But the stern lesson of the Persian Wars -led the Greek people in the fifth century to higher things, and the true -spirit of athletics passed from the magnificent precinct of Olympian -Zeus to the simple exercising grounds which every town possessed. -Olympia and its prizes fell into the hands of professionals; but -gymnastics remained an essential part of national education. - - - - -2 - -Gymnastics and Military Training - - -The various athletic exercises, which are here for convenience classed -together under the word ‘gymnastics,’ fall into three main classes, -depending respectively on strength of body, of leg, and of arm. To the -first class belong boxing and wrestling, to the second running and -jumping, to the third throwing the diskos and the javelin. The last five -of these six sports--boxing being excluded--formed the Pentathlon, a -combined competition of five events arranged to suit the all-round -military athlete, for whom Greek athletic training at its best was -especially designed. In such a competition the foot-race probably came -first and the wrestling last; the three middle events--the field events, -as we should call them, jumping, throwing the javelin, and hurling the -diskos--being those that were particularly identified with the -five-sport system which aimed at producing, not a specialized athlete, -but a man who combined strength with agility and skill. Victory in the -Pentathlon depended, not on success in all events, but on a system of -marks; victory in three of the competitions was sufficient in itself, -but if no competitor won three times, and two competitors tied with two -victories each, it is highly probable that account was taken of second -and third places. - -Of the separate exercises, wrestling perhaps was the favourite. It was -the oldest of all sports, and to the Greeks one of the most important. -To them it was both a science and an art. Theseus, its inventor, was, -according to the myth, taught the rules by Athena herself. Victory alone -was not sufficient; the winner must win gracefully and according to the -precepts of the schools. It was from wrestling that the palæstra took -its name, and the Greek language is full of metaphors and expressions -borrowed from the technical phraseology of the ring. The contests -between Heracles and Antæus, and between Atalanta and Peleus, are two of -the best known and most frequently depicted episodes of the heroic saga, -and wrestling was one of the sports in which women were allowed by some -States--by Sparta and Chios, for example--to take part, competing even -against men. Instruction was given in the school; there were separate -rules for men and boys, and the different movements, grips, and throws -were taught on a system of progressive difficulty; textbooks were used, -and fragments of such a manual have recently been found on an Egyptian -papyrus. There were two principal styles, the upright wrestling, in -which the object was to throw one’s opponent to the ground, three falls -being necessary for victory, and the ground wrestling, in which the -struggle was continued even after a fall until one of the combatants -yielded. The first style, however, was the only one regarded as strictly -legitimate, the second being merely part of the pankration. The attitude -of a Greek before coming to grips was very similar to that of modern -wrestlers, and is beautifully illustrated in the pair of boy statues -from Naples which may be seen in the Embankment gardens. Standing square -to one another, they endeavoured to get a hold from the front or the -side. The defence was often a grip on the opponent’s wrist, which might -lead to the offensive if his elbow could also be seized and the throw we -call ‘the flying mare’ be then executed. Of front body-holds, the most -effective was gained by catching the waist with both hands and then -lifting the opponent off his feet, such a hold as Heracles used against -Antæus. Of side-throws the best known was ‘the heave,’ usually ascribed -to Theseus, where one hand was passed round the opponent’s back and the -other hand slipped underneath him. Another favourite hold was by the -neck--a strong neck was essential for a wrestler--and when this was -secured a sudden turn of the body would lead to the throw that we call a -‘cross-buttock.’ In all wrestling tripping played an important part, and -there are a very large number of technical terms in Greek for the -different trips that are - -[Illustration: THE WRESTLERS (Uffizi Gallery, Florence)] - -employed. Every district in Greece had a style of its own, and these -diversities of method helped to keep active an interest in wrestling and -to preserve it from the disease of professionalism, so that even when -other sports had been ruined the wrestling ring still remained a useful -and a popular institution. - -It is this popularity in actual life that accounts for the frequency of -descriptions of wrestling matches in Greek literature. Two of them at -least are worth quoting; the first from the _Iliad_, Book XXIII, the -contest between Ajax and Odysseus at the funeral games of Patroclus: - - He said; and straight uprose the giant form - Of Ajax Telamon: with him uprose - Ulysses, skilled in every crafty wile. - Girt with the belt, within the ring they stood, - And each, with stalwart grasp, laid hold on each; - As stand two rafters of a lofty house, - Each propping each, by skilful architect - Designed the tempest’s fury to withstand. - Creaked their backbones beneath the tug and strain - Of those strong arms; their sweat poured down like rain; - And bloody weals of livid purple hue - Their sides and shoulders streaked, as sternly they - For victory and the well-wrought tripod strove. - Nor could Ulysses Ajax overthrow, - Nor Ajax bring Ulysses to the ground, - So stubbornly he stood; but when the Greeks - Were weary of the long protracted strife, - Thus to Ulysses mighty Ajax spoke: - ‘Ulysses sage, Laertes’ godlike son, - Or lift thou me, or I will thee uplift: - The issue of our struggle rests with Jove.’ - He said, and raised Ulysses from the ground; - Nor he his ancient craft remembered not, - But locked his leg around, and striking sharp - Upon the hollow of the knee, the joint - Gave way; the giant Ajax backwards fell, - Ulysses on his breast; the people saw, - And marvelled. Then in turn Ulysses strove - Ajax to lift; a little way he moved, - But failed to lift him fairly from the ground; - Yet crooked his knee, that both together fell, - And side by side, defiled with dust, they lay. - (Homer: _Iliad_, XXIII, 820-851, - Derby’s translation.) - -The second description is separated from Homer by some twelve centuries, -but it is equally vigorous. In the tenth book of _The Æthiopian History_ -of Heliodorus, the hero Theagenes, as his last trial before winning his -beloved Chariclea, is matched against a stalwart Æthiopian, and in -Underdowne’s quaint Elizabethan version the passage thus appears: - -‘Then hee tooke dust, and cast it upon his armes and -shoulders, and stretched foorth his hands, and tooke some footing, and -bent his legges a little, and stouped lowe, at a word all partes of his -body were ready, so that he stoode, and with great desire awayted for -the advantage at the close. The Æthiopian seeing this laughed irefully, -and triumphed scornefully upon him: and ranne suddenly upon him, and -with his elbowe hit Theagenes in the necke, as sore as if he had -stricken him with a leaver, and then drewe backe, and laughed againe at -his owne foolish conceite. But Theagenes like a man alway from his -cradle brought up in wrastling, and throughly instructed in Mercuries -arte, thought it good to geve place at first, and take some triall of -his adversaries strength, and not to withstand so rude a violence, but -with arte to delude the same. Therefore he stouped lower, and made -semblance as though he had beene very sorrowfull, and layde his other -side to receive his other blowe. And when the Æthiopian came upon him -againe, he made as though hee would have fallen flat upon his face; but -as soon as the Æthiopian began to despise him, and was incouraged well, -and came unadvisedly the third time, and lyfted up his arme againe to -take holde of him, putting his right arme under his left side, by -lifting up his hande he overthrew him in a heape, and casting himselfe -under his arme pittes gryped his gorbelly with much a doo, and forced -him with his heeles to fall on his knees, and then leapt on his backe, -and clasping his feete about his privie parts made him stretch out his -legges, wherewith he did stay up himselfe, and pulled his armes over his -head behinde him, and laide his bellie flatte upon the earth.’ - -Boxing also, like wrestling, always retained its attractiveness, and in -its ancient form offers some varieties from the modern mode. There were -three stages in its history, depending largely upon the instruments of -fighting used. Down to the beginning of the fourth century B.C. it was -customary to wind soft strips of leather--_meilichai_--round the hands -and arms, which served, like our light gloves, to protect the knuckles -and so increased the power of attack, but did not in themselves add to -the severity of the blow. Early in the fourth century the _meilichai_ -were superseded by gloves--_sphairai_--made of hard pieces of leather -with projecting and cutting edges, real weapons of offence, like our -knuckle-dusters. From these the Roman _cæstus_ was developed, where the -glove was weighted with pieces of iron and metal spikes placed in -position over the knuckles. - -In Greek boxing there was no ring and therefore little close fighting, -there were no rounds and therefore the pace was slow, for rushing -tactics marked the untrained man; lastly, there was no classification -by weight; the heavier the man the greater his chance of success, so -that a meat diet for boxers was almost compulsory, and boxing became -practically the monopoly of the heavy-weights. As thongs or gloves were -always used on the hands, wrestling was impossible, and in later times -at least the defence was all-important. It seems fairly well established -that body-hitting was not practised, and in the Hellenistic age a fight -was usually decided by a knock-out blow on the jaw. But in the best -period the Greek boxer used both his hands freely, was active on his -feet, and had a considerable variety of attack. The introduction of -heavy gloves vitiated the art, and boxers began to rely merely on their -weight and defensive powers. - -Of all these stages we have plentiful evidence both in art and -literature, for boxing and its preliminaries are among the favourite -subjects of vase painters, while in poetry, beside the account of the -fight between Odysseus and the beggar Irus in the _Odyssey_ and between -Entellus and Dares in the _Æneid_, we have a really enthusiastic and -expert description by Theocritus of the great struggle between Amycus -and Polydeuces. The battle is as vividly described as the epic contest -in the Dell between Lavengro and the Flaming Tinman, and the poet, by -making it a fight between the old school of scientific activity and the -new method of stolid strength, ingeniously enlists our sympathies from -the first upon the side of skill against brute force. - -‘Then Amycus came on furiously, making play with both hands; but Pollux -smote him on the point of the chin as he charged, maddening him the -more, and the giant confused the fighting, laying on with all his might, -and going in with head down.... But the son of Zeus stepped now this -side, now that, and hit him with both fists in turn, and checked his -onslaught, for all his monstrous strength. Like a drunken man he reeled -beneath the hero’s blows, and spat out the red blood, while all the -princes shouted together, as they marked the ugly bruises about his -mouth and jaws, and saw his eyes half closed by puffy flesh. Next Pollux -began to tease him, feinting on every side, and at last, seeing that he -was now quite bewildered, he got in a smashing blow just above the -middle of the nose beneath the eyebrows, and laid the bone of his -forehead bare. Stretched on his back the giant fell amid the flowers; -but he rose again, and the fighting went on fiercely. They mauled each -other hard, laying on with the weighted thongs; but the giant was always -busy with his fists on the other’s chest and outside his neck, while -Pollux, the invincible, kept on smashing his opponent’s face with cruel -blows.’ (Theocritus: _Idyll_, XXII, 87-111.) - -[Illustration: A WRESTLING CONTEST (Athens)] - -Boxing and wrestling were combined in the pankration and allied with -many other devices, such as kicking, strangling, twisting, etc.; it was -a versatile performance, the joint invention of Heracles and Theseus, -and considered both by Pindar and Philostratus as ‘the fairest of all -contests.’ There was an element of danger, but it was no more brutal -than is the almost similar method of jujitsu; moreover, strict rules -were enforced by umpires who closely watched the combatants. Biting and -gouging were strictly forbidden, although frequently attempted, as for -example by Alcibiades. ‘You bite like a woman,’ cried his opponent. -‘No,’ said the young Athenian, ‘like a lion.’ Of gouging we have a -picture on a cup in the British Museum, where one figure has inserted -his finger into his opponent’s eye, while the umpire hurries forward -with uplifted rod. But nearly every manœuvre of hands, feet, and body -was permissible. You might catch your opponent by his foot and throw him -backwards; you might seize his heel or ankle, and then, if you could, -twist his foot out of its socket; you might kick him violently in the -stomach; you might plant your foot against the other man’s waist and -throw him over your shoulder; you might even stand on your own head, if -that position seemed expedient. All these tricks were used in the -standing position, but the issue of the combat was usually decided on -the ground. There you might twist arm or hand, break fingers, and -strangle. All neck holds were allowed, but the favourite method of -strangling was known as the ‘ladder grip,’ in which you mounted your -opponent’s back and wound your legs round his stomach and your arms -round his neck. Ground wrestling was indeed the distinctive feature of -the pankration, and the well-known group in the Uffizi Palace at -Florence represents one of the last stages in such a contest. - -Of running and jumping little need be said, for it is very possible that -in neither sport had the Greeks much to teach modern athletes. They were -a short-legged people, and although they may have had some advantages in -long-distance races they probably would be much inferior to our -specialized sprint runners: length of leg must tell, and as in -horse-racing ‘a good big ’un’ is better than ‘a good little ’un,’ so in -a short-distance race length of stride ensures victory. But running was -very popular in Greece, and of the eight events in the early Olympic -games no less than four were foot-races, three for men--at 200 yards, -400 yards, and three miles--and one for boys. The running course--the -stade--was a straight 200 yards; for the diaulos of 400 yards the -runners turned at a post and came back to the starting-point. The start -was marked by two parallel lines, for a Greek runner began in a somewhat -cramped position, with the feet close together. The runners ran naked, -their bodies carefully oiled, and for each man there was a post at the -starting and at the finishing point to which he ran; there were no -dividing strings, nor was there any tape. Vase paintings of runners are -very frequent and plainly show the difference of style between the -sprinter and the long-distance man; in the early vases a short, thickset -type is common, in the later the thin sprinter is preferred. The most -famous names are those of long-distance runners--e.g. Pheidippides and -Ladas, whose statue by Myron was even more admired than the same -master’s Diskobolos,--and in these races the Cretans and Arcadians -especially excelled, while the Athenians were better at short distances. -Beside races proper there were various running contests; for example, -the race in armour, which was introduced at Olympia towards the close of -the sixth century and was the final event of the games, the competitors -running in full panoply of shield, helmet, and greaves. Other similar -events were the Oschophoria, where youths ran in women’s clothes, and -the Lampadophoria, in which a lighted torch was carried by single -runners or by teams. These latter were very popular at Athens, and they -illustrate the difference between the ancient and modern view of -running. They were not serious and specialized enough for a modern -athletic meeting, where everything is a matter of record and a fifth of -a second is of vital importance. - -Jumping, also, was comparatively simple and restricted in its scope. Of -high jumping and pole jumping the Greeks had none, for athletics were -always practical, and as there were no hedges in Greece for soldiers to -jump over it was unnecessary to practise high jumping in the school. -Their long jump differed from ours in that it was always performed with -the help of jumping weights--_halteres_--things much like our dumb-bells -and used in a very similar fashion. With these implements a class of -pupils would practise together to the music of the flute. Both standing -and running jumps were performed from a take-off into a -pit--_skamma_--and jumps of over twenty feet were common; the fifty-five -feet ascribed to Phayllus is an impossible exaggeration. - -But if in running and jumping we have little to learn, it is very -different in regard to the ‘field events,’ the throwing of the javelin -and the diskos. Here the Greek system of body poise and muscular -development gave their athletes an enormous advantage and enabled them -easily to perform movements which to our modern bodies seem almost -impossible. Both exercises were especially popular at Athens, and were -there regarded as part of gymnastics rather than athletics: i.e. they -were designed, not as - -[Illustration: THE DISKOBOLOS OF MYRON] - -competitive sports, but as means to improve bodily efficiency. - -The javelin was a light stick of wood, usually pointless. Distance -throwing was far more usual than throwing at a mark, and for this -purpose a thong--_amentum_--was used, fastened near the centre of the -javelin shaft. Such a thong practically quadruples the range of throw, -but the process needs long practice and is of course highly artificial -in comparison with the natural use of the spear in hunting or in war. -Greek athletics had a definite purpose, and we may be sure that it was -not the actual throw but the movements necessary for the throw that gave -its value to the exercise. These movements, the short, quick steps -before the cast and the sharp turn of the body to the right, are -illustrated frequently on the vases; the throw itself is seldom -represented, and then with very poor results. The diskos was a flat and -fairly heavy circle of bronze. It was thrown from behind a line and in a -restricted space, a throw of 100 feet being exceptionally good. - - -II - -Such is a brief account of the gymnastic sports and exercises which -formed so important a part of a Greek’s everyday round. Each one of them -had its own special value in developing the strength of some particular -part of the body, and taken together they formed a complete and -adequate training for what was to an ancient citizen the chief business -of life--war. - -To us, whose civilization is based on the habits of peace and to whom -war means the negation of all the humanities, it may seem illogical to -think of fighting as a business. But it was not so in Greece. Warfare -was _the_ art of life, so far surpassing all the other arts that it was -regarded not so much as an accidental state but rather as a vital -function, as necessary to existence as breathing, sleeping, eating, and -drinking. It would accept what help the other arts could give: athletics -made a soldier nimble and supple; medicine kept him in health; the music -of the flute was useful in marching; the lyric poet and the dramatist -could foster and elevate the martial spirit; but all these were -subservient to the one engrossing purpose. Men fought to live and lived -to fight. - -For the Greeks it was war, not peace, that seemed the natural state of -an organized community. War was part of their civilization: they liked -fighting and they fought like gentlemen. The Romans, on the other hand, -had no love for fighting in itself and fought without much regard to the -rules of the game. And yet the Romans were more successful in the -conduct of war, for, as our English general says, Courage, Common Sense -and Cunning are the essentials of victory, and if by courage we mean -endurance all three were Roman rather than Greek qualities. The Romans -were always anxious to win and get finished with it, and for this -purpose they were willing to fight on year after year in order that at -last they might inflict a crushing defeat on the enemy and then return -home to their flesh-pots. The Greeks were satisfied with one indecisive -success and never tried to annihilate their opponents; for then the -sport would have come to an end. To the Romans, in spite of their many -campaigns, war was an unpleasant interruption of their usual way of -life; to the Greeks, it was simply an exciting but somewhat dangerous -diversion, which was, however, an integral part of the citizen’s service -to the state. - -The Greek attitude may be easily understood if we consider their -history. They were never, like the Romans, a pastoral or agricultural -community. Their culture was cradled on the battle-field and the more -intense the fighting the more intense the literary and artistic effort -of the nation. The constant stress of battle wore the race out -eventually, but it never hurt their civilization. From the earliest days -peace was unknown in the land. The raids of sea pirates, the forced -migrations of peoples, tribal wars, trade wars, dynastic wars: such is -the history of Greece in its first, middle, and concluding stages. If -war is a curse that can only bring evil, then the Greeks were the most -unhappy of nations, for the noise of battle was seldom hushed, and -instead of declaring war they thought themselves fortunate if -occasionally they could declare peace. - -This constant presence of the martial spirit is visible in all that -remains to us of their art and literature. Upon the silver ware of -Mycenæ we see the Minoans fighting naked, crouching with bow and arrow -behind their shields. The statues from Ægina are all of men arrayed for -battle with lance, shield, and sword. Even Pallas Athene, the goddess of -wisdom and the household arts, is usually represented wearing the -panoply of war, and the decorations of her temple are mostly pictures of -battle or of preparation for the fray, the combats between Centaurs and -Lapithæ and the marshalling of the mounted soldiers for her solemn -procession. Painters, like sculptors, found their chief subjects in war, -either in the ancient combats of the epic lays or in the actual life of -the parade-ground and the guard-room. The Attic vases of the sixth and -fifth centuries, the best example we possess of truly popular art, -repeat the warrior motif almost to satiety, and they did so because the -potter knew that of this subject at least his clients would never be -weary. - -It is the same in Greek literature, from first to last. In the Homeric -poems fighting is the normal business of man. There are fairy-lands, the -poet can imagine, where fighting is not the common rule of life, the -land of the lotus-eaters, the orchards of the Phæacians, the island -realms of Circe and Calypso: but these are all uncanny magic places -where decent everyday rules do not hold good. In Homer it is a man’s -function to fight, by sea and land, in a chariot or on foot, to use -spear and sword, to attack and plunder, or to defend himself from the -enemy’s raids. So also with the lyric poets of the next era, from -Archilochus downwards; they are men of battle first and men of letters -afterwards, squires of the War god, as Archilochus cries: - - ‘My spear is bread, white kneaded bread, - My spear’s Ismarian wine, - My spear is food and drink and bed, - With it the world is mine.’ - -We get the same refrain in Hybrias the Cretan, the verses known to -English musicians by Campbell’s translation: - - ‘My wealth’s a burly spear and brand - And a right good shield of hides untanned - Which on my arm I buckle. - With these I plough, I reap, I sow, - With these I make the sweet vintage flow - And all around me truckle. - - But your wights that take no pride to wield - A massy spear and well made shield, - Nor joy to draw the sword, - Oh I bring those heartless hapless drones - Down in a trice on their marrow bones - To call me king and lord.’ - -‘King and lord’--they are the only words that the lyrists -have for the soldier, and the elegiac poets repeat the idea in the more -serious fashion appropriate to their poetical form. Tyrtæus, for -example, the lame schoolmaster lent by Athens to Sparta, in those poems -which the Spartans regarded as one of the chief causes of their military -success, emphasizes the supreme importance of martial valour: - -‘I would never remember a man nor hold him of any account -because of his speed of foot, or skill in wrestling, his bigness, or his -strength, his beauty, or his wealth. He might be more kingly than -Pelops, more eloquent than Adrastus; but all his fame would avail him -naught unless he were a man of mettle in fight. This is the supreme -virtue, the best sport, the highest prize that a young man can win.’ - -Tyrtæus, as we see in his verses, regarded the art of poetry as -ancillary to the art of war, and the greatest of the Athenian dramatists -shared his views. The real gravamen of Æschylus’ attack upon Euripides -in the _Frogs_ is that the latter did not sufficiently exalt the martial -spirit among a nation, of whom the old poet says: - - ‘Their life was in shafts of ash and of elm, in bright plumes - fluttering wide, - In lance and greaves and corslet and helm and heart of seven - bulls hide.’ - -Prose literature gives us the same evidence as poetry. Thucydides and -Xenophon look upon history chiefly as a succession of battles and -campaigns. Of the social history of their time they tell us scarcely -anything, but they will dilate with the most intense interest on the -smallest details of a skirmish. To them, as to most of their -contemporaries, war was the one thing that mattered, the great business -and the great sport of life, and our historians have only in -comparatively recent times escaped from their point of view. - -It is probable indeed that many of those Athenians, whom we think of -only as men of letters, were viewed by their contemporaries in rather a -different light. Æschylus was perhaps better known as one of the heroes -of Salamis than as a dramatist. Sophocles was an admiral in charge of -the Athenian fleet the year after the performance of the _Antigone_, and -the anecdote that his military position was due to his literary skill is -probably a literary invention. Thucydides had been appointed to the -command of the Athenian troops in Thrace long before he set to work on -his history. The stubborn courage of Socrates was proved upon the field -of Delium, and Euripides, that keenest critic of the war spirit, served -his forty years in the Athenian army when fighting was at its fiercest. -We generally imagine Pericles and Nicias as being civilian ministers, -men holding the same sort of position as Pitt and Walpole: in reality -through most of their lives they were soldiers on active service, and -Cleon, who was almost a professional politician, was ready and willing -at a moment’s notice to take command of a difficult and dangerous -military expedition and, what is more, had enough technical knowledge to -bring it to a successful termination. - -As every Athenian citizen was a soldier serving under equal conditions, -there was no military caste and no military discipline as we know it. -The cavalry, once the preserve of the richer classes, was in the fifth -century B.C. confined to decorative peace functions. The higher officers -of the army were elected by their fellows, walked in the ranks, and had -no distinguishing badges. - -The Athenian, who supplied his own elaborate equipment and was trained -to a particular kind of fighting, refused to become part of a military -machine. A general was forced to adapt his tactics to the temper of his -men, and the personal element entered very largely into all questions -of army organization. The accoutrement of the hoplite was the deciding -factor in strategy and tactics, and the character of fifth-century -fighting can only be realized by considering first the weapons with -which the citizen soldier was armed and the fashion in which he was -accustomed to use them. - -If a citizen were to play his part properly in the great war game, long -and constant bodily training was necessary. At Sparta, the complete type -of a militarist state, everything was made subservient to physical -fitness, and even at Athens the claims of the body came before the -claims of the mind, so that when Socrates wanted patients for his -dialectic he had to go to the gymnasia to find them. And this was -reasonable, for only a man in perfect condition could fight under the -conditions imposed upon a Greek heavy-armed soldier. The mere weight of -a hoplite’s accoutrement would astonish a modern infantryman. His -defensive armour consisted of four pieces: helmet, cuirass, greaves, and -shield; and even the first of these, especially if it were of the -Corinthian type, was a considerable burden and involved a severe strain -on the neck muscles. It was very heavy, twice as heavy as any of the -mediæval helmets that we possess, was made usually of thick iron and -completely covered the head and neck. Holes were left for eyes and -mouth, the nose was protected by a vertical strip of metal, and a -lining of felt or leather was sewn inside to save the skin from -abrasion. After the fifth century, it is true, the Corinthian type began -to go out of use, and the Attic shape became more common. This was -considerably lighter and in appearance resembled a metal cap with extra -pieces protecting neck, cheeks and nose, which could be detached at -will. It was graceful both in its proportions and its adornment: a -crest, and often a triple crest, was usually worn with it, the three -plumes being carried in elaborately modelled supports. - -The cuirass in its first form consisted of two bronze plates, roughly -carved to fit the body and fastened on the sides and shoulders. The -bottom edge was turned up to leave the hips free and the lower parts of -the body were thus dangerously exposed. Moreover, the rigid metal -seriously hampered all movement, and this type was generally superseded -by the cuirass proper, a garment worn much in the fashion of a modern -corset, but made of leather plated with bronze and buckled down upon the -breast by means of shoulder straps. The bronze plating was mostly in the -form of round scales sewn on to the leather with wire and overlapping so -as to present three thicknesses of metal. - -The greaves were thin sheets of bronze shaped to fit the leg, which they -clasped and held by their own elasticity. They were often adorned with -embossed work and the fittings were sometimes of tin or ivory. Their -length varied; some went only to the knee, others covered part of the -thigh and an ankle pad was worn to keep the bottom edge from chafing the -foot. They were a protection against minor hurts, scratches, bruises, -etc., rather than a defence against spear thrusts, but their general -adoption is synchronous with the disappearance of the oblong covering -shield in favour of the smaller oval, carried on the left arm. - -The Homeric shield, ‘great as a tower,’ and large enough to cover a man -from head to foot, had in the fifth century gone completely out of use. -In art we have no representation that corresponds to the descriptions in -the _Iliad_, and the heroes whose combats are pictured on the Attic -vases are armed either with a round shield which protects their body -only, or else with the oval shield about three feet long which after 500 -B.C. had become the normal type in Greece. These shields bore usually -the blazon of their owner and often served to identify his body: man and -shield were inseparable and the fighter who threw his shield away -revealed himself as destitute of knightly honour. The character of the -blazonry varied as much as our heraldic designs. Sometimes it was -decorative and depended on individual caprice; Capaneus, in Æschylus’ -play, carries as his device a naked man with a torch; beneath, the words -‘I will burn your city’; Alcibiades had merely a little Cupid with a -toy thunderbolt. In other cases it was the city or a god who supplied -the design: for example, the Mantinean hoplites had on their shields a -trident, the symbol of their state god, Poseidon; the Thebans, a sphinx -in memory of Œdipus; while others were merely marked with an initial -letter, the Argives with an A., the Sikyonians with the Doric San. These -devices were on the outer surface: the inside of the shield was supplied -with a leather or metal strap across its middle through which the left -arm was passed, and one or two grips of cord or leather at the side and -end to give a firm hold; for this shield was a heavy implement, very -different from the light buckler, with which the cavalry and the -skirmishers were armed, and it required strong and well-trained muscles -to wield it effectively in the stress of battle. - -The race in armour, therefore, often called simply ‘The Shield,’ was not -only one of the most popular of gymnastic contests, but also had a very -practical value; although as a concession to human weakness the runners -were usually allowed to divest themselves of cuirass and greaves. The -picturesqueness of the race appealed especially to the vase-painters, -and we have many pictures of it, the best perhaps being those on a red -figured cup in the Museum at Berlin. On one side is a group of three -runners, the right-hand one bending ready to start, the left-hand one -turning the half-way post, and the central one hastening back on the -home stretch. On the other side are three runners one behind the other, -while in the interior of the vase is a single figure looking back, in -rather unsportsmanlike fashion, as he runs. - -So far for a hoplite’s body armour; but he had also to carry his weapons -of offence, his sword and his spear. The first was of many different -shapes and has many different names in Greek, but all its varieties -belong to three main types. - -In the first, dating from the earliest age, the blades are short and -heavy, made in one piece with the hilt. The guard is usually straight, -the pommel a round knob, the space between being filled with bone or -ivory to form a grip. This pattern, really a survival from the Bronze -Age, was transferred to the iron sword and is occasionally found even in -the classical period. - -But the ordinary Greek sword of the fifth century is of quite a -different shape. The hilt is round and the long thin blade swells from -the hilt towards the point, showing that it was meant for cutting rather -than thrusting. Flat scabbards, often highly ornamented with the -precious metals, were used and occasionally the spear would be discarded -for single combat and two swords employed, one in the hand, the other -hanging ready in its sheath, as we see it in the well-known vase -painting of the combat between Achilles and Memnon. This was the usual -infantry sword, but there was another cutlass shape, the ‘machaira,’ -which was especially suited to the cavalry soldier. Here the blade -curved and the whole weapon was heavier, with knife-like cutting edges. -The hilt was usually bent--often in the shape of a bird’s head--and gave -a secure grip, so that it was possible to deal heavy blows from above. - -The spear, however, rather than the sword, remained always the chief -item in a Greek soldier’s equipment, for the Mediterranean peoples, -unlike the northerners, have always preferred the thrust to the cut. In -Greek poetry the word for spear is used indifferently for any weapon and -includes sword, while on the drill-ground the commands--‘To the spear,’ -‘To the shield’--corresponded to our ‘Right’ and ‘Left Turn.’ In shape -there seems to have been but little variation. The iron head was -sometimes formed like a spike, with three or four blades tapering to a -point, but more commonly it was of the flat dagger type, with a raised -central rib and two cutting edges. The shaft, usually of stout ashen -wood, was about six feet long and the weapon was chiefly used for -thrusting at close quarters. Occasionally it was thrown from a distance, -but for this purpose the light cavalry lance of cornel wood was more -suitable. The spear, used like a pike, was too heavy for any but close -fighting, and there was a constant tendency to increase its length and -weight until the Macedonian sarissa reached an average of twelve feet -and required both hands for its effective use. - -Such was the accoutrement of the Greek citizen soldier, and the -character of his arms fixed the character of his fighting. It was not -stupidity and lack of judgment that led the Greeks to fight in the way -that Mardonius the Persian thought so foolish, but rather the fact that -a Greek fighting man was almost useless on rough ground. ‘These Greeks,’ -the old general told his young master, ‘when they have declared war upon -one another choose out the best and most level piece of ground they can -find, and there go down and fight so that the winners get off with the -maximum of loss: as to the beaten side I need not say anything; they are -completely wiped out. Speaking all the same language they ought to -settle their differences by any method rather than battle. But if in -spite of everything war becomes inevitable, then each side ought to -discover its strongest points and try to take advantage of them.’ The -passage is interesting, for it shows that total inability to comprehend -the psychology of any nation but one’s own, which is one of the most -pathetic things in history. Mardonius was among the wisest of the -Persians, but he could not understand that to the Greeks war was not -merely a business, but also the highest form of sport, and that it may -be carried on under rules of honourable conduct which rob it of most of -its worst features. In the great age, from causes partly physical, -partly moral, a Greek battle was fought on a system as formal and well -defined as the precepts of mediæval chivalry. The herald was an -important figure; due proclamation had to be made to the enemy; there -was a definite acknowledgment of defeat; and an elaborate ceremonial of -triumph and trophy. The battle once over, no bad blood was left: it was -a fair fight with equal weapons on the plain, and no attempt was made to -annihilate the enemy or to annex his territory. The losses in killed and -wounded were by no means as heavy as Mardonius believed, for these were -not big battalions directed by invisible generals, but citizen soldiers -who were sensible enough to know when they were beaten. The procedure -was fixed. The army marched out from the city at dawn until it found -itself face to face with the enemy on the traditional battle ground, one -of those alluvial plains, comparatively rare in Greece, upon which the -city depended for its supply of corn, the prize of victory being indeed -the ground on which the fighting took place. Then the generals on either -side would address their men with some final words of exhortation (there -was a special style of rhetoric held appropriate for such occasions) -and the two armies would advance to the attack. - -With waving plumes and glittering spears, the sun striking upon the gold -ornaments of breastplate and sword-belt, the hoplites pushed forward, -slowly at first but quickening their step as they approached the enemy, -and at last the two lines, moving now at the double, would meet with a -crash in the shock of battle. Then came the moment for which the Greek’s -whole life was one long preparation: swaying, struggling, heaving, with -every muscle tense and every limb engaged, the opposing masses strove to -hurl one another back. All the tricks of the wrestling school and the -boxing match were designed for use in this hour, and even courage was of -little avail unless it was supported by that perfection of physical -fitness which the ancient Greeks alone of all nations attained. Success -in an ancient battle depended upon the quality of the men engaged, and -the men derived little aid from external sources: cavalry, engineers and -artillery played no part. The issue was decided by the final shock of -two bodies of heavy armed infantry relying on solidity and weight, and -momentum in the attack was all important, for the ranks once broken -could seldom be reformed. Long training in the drill ground must have -been necessary for the orderly advance of formations so dense as these -(the average depth of men in the fifth century seems to have been about -eight, but at Delium in 421 the Bœtians massed their men in files of -twenty-five), and however good the marching there was a constant -tendency for the front line to slant as each man edged under his right -hand neighbour’s shield. A Greek hoplite like a modern Rugby forward -depended upon his formation, and without a comrade on either side of -him, and ranks of men behind or in front, he felt himself lost. His -formation broken, the natural impulse was to retire, and a withdrawal to -the city walls was the usual result of defeat. Once behind his ramparts -the citizen soldier was safe, for in the fifth century sieges were -costly, tedious, and usually indecisive. Open fighting was the cardinal -rule: cunning surprises and unforeseen attacks were as difficult for an -Athenian hoplite as they were for an English knight. Both, when encased -in their armour, were conspicuous figures incapable of any very nimble -movements, and needing an attendant squire to take charge of their war -panoply. With both physical conditions led to a moral code of ‘noblesse -oblige,’ and for a time war became almost a gentlemanly diversion. In -neither case it is true did these conditions last long: the moral -degeneration caused by the Peloponnesian War destroyed the one, and the -physical changes brought about by the invention of gunpowder put an end -to the other. - -Ancient as distinguished from modern warfare really ends with the fifth -century B.C., for the next age brought a revolution to Greece. War -ceased to be an art and became a science. The end of the Peloponnesian -War coincided with the spread of the Sophistic spirit; warfare was -subjected to the same sort of investigation and criticism as the other -departments of life; and specialization, with all its advantages and -disadvantages, began. - -The later years of the Peloponnesian War had shown the importance of -cavalry and its proper functions in the attack and support of infantry; -but the first great change came when Iphicrates the Athenian discovered -that a hoplite force was not invincible by light armed troops, if these -latter were properly handled. His defeat of a detachment of Spartan -heavy armed infantry was in itself an insignificant event, but it -created a revolution in military tactics comparable to that brought -about by the success of the English archers over the French knights at -Creçy. Up till that time the hoplite in popular estimation held much the -same position as a battleship does in modern sea warfare; it was -considered as hopeless for peltasts to engage hoplites as it would be -for a light cruiser to attack a Dreadnought. - -With the fall of the citizen soldier came the rise of the mercenary and -the professional fighting man. A Greek force ceased to be a homogeneous -unit and split up into the component elements of a modern army. ‘The -light armed men are the hands, the horse the feet, the infantry the -breast, and the general the head’; such was the saying of Iphicrates; -and the Theban tacticians, notably Epaminondas, followed him in -combining cavalry and light infantry with the heavy armed phalanx. -Philip of Macedon improved upon his Theban teacher’s example and soon a -standing army was established which disregarded all the old traditions -of chivalry. The Greeks had their first warning in the ruthless -destruction of Olynthus and the two systems met in final conflict at -Chæronea. The professional soldier won, and by the end of the fourth -century the ancient ideals had disappeared. - -But it is well still to remember them. The system of orderly combat in -the open remains the best for developing the manly virtues; and any -nation that relies over-much on the mechanical and the unseen in war -will inevitably fall away from those standards of conduct which we in -our half humorous, half depreciatory way call sportsmanlike, and to -which the Greeks gave the truer name of ‘Aidôs,’ the quality alike of -the sportsman and the gentleman. Aidôs is ‘ruth,’ and the man who has no -aidôs in him will be ready to employ all means to achieve his aims, and -in the end perhaps will even delight in ruthlessness for its own sake. - - - - -3 - -Physical Education - - -Education, mental and physical, falls into three sections, according as -it deals with the training of the child, the boy, and the man; the word -boy including girl, and the word man woman. Of these three stages the -second seems to us so much the most definite that it has almost -appropriated the word to itself. Education in common judgment does not -begin until the boy goes to his school, while it ceases when he leaves -his university. - -The Greeks, or rather the Athenians, looked at things differently. They -paid much less attention than we do to the training of young children, -and in this respect were distinctly inferior to most modern nations. -Even the second stage, that of boyhood, was not taken very seriously, -and the word for youthful education, Paideia, by the slightest of -changes gets the meaning of ‘a joke.’ - -Education at Athens began when the youth reached years of discretion, -and the true Greek word for education is neither Paideia nor Didaskalia -but rather Philosophia, love of knowledge. The real teacher was not the -Grammatistes but the Sophistes, the ‘sophist’ whose business it was to -train men in practical wisdom. Adult education in fact was the most, -not the least, important of the three stages. - -Furthermore, in the early stages of life the training of the body was -regarded as more essential than the training of the mind. When his -education was finished, the Athenian boy knew his elements, he could -wrestle and box, he could recite Homer and play the lyre, he could swim -and dance: but of ‘useful’ knowledge, so called, and especially of that -horrid travesty that we call ‘technical education,’ he possessed -nothing. In most of the qualities of discipline, as Plato complains, the -Athenian system was lacking; but it had one great practical virtue: it -kept the mean, and neither over-stimulated nor yet over-repressed a -boy’s natural attitude towards imparted knowledge. An Athenian, when he -emerged from boyhood and became a man, was neither a pedant nor a -barbarian. In the fifth century B.C. it was realized that with growing -animals the demands of the body must come before the demands of the -spirit. Physical perfection, if it is to be won at all, must be secured -in youth: the final training of the mind can be left to a later stage of -life. The method had its obvious defects, but at least it did not create -that distaste for all study which more perfect theories of education -have often produced. An Athenian till the end of his life was always -eager and ready to learn. - -There were two systems of education known to the Greek world, that of -Athens and that of Sparta; but in an Athenian, as in a Spartan, -household, the first six or seven years of a child’s life were spent at -home in the women’s quarter of the house. A Spartan mother, however, -only received her child to rear after it had been carefully examined by -the elders of the tribe to which the parents belonged: if its physical -condition was unsatisfactory it was exposed on Mount Taygetus, there to -die or be brought up by Helots. Consequently the Spartan women, who were -famed all over Greece for their skill as nurses, had only the best -material to work upon. - -In both states such education as the children received at this period of -life was almost entirely physical. They were taught how to stand, how to -sit, and how to walk correctly: on a vase painting in the British -Museum, for example, we see a small child moving unsteadily towards its -mother, who waits with open arms to receive it, while an instructor with -long wand stands in the background. Athenian mothers usually were -inclined to delegate the care of their children to a hired nurse, and -there is an implied reproof to their indifference in the elaborate -precepts that Plato gives in the _Republic_ for the proper management of -infants. For example, he combats the idea that a good child should be -quiet, and insists upon the importance of constant motion for the young -baby, who in an Athenian nursery was often closely bandaged in swaddling -clothes and then left to its own resources. - -‘The first principle,’ he says, ‘in relation both to the -body and the soul of very young creatures is that nursing and moving -about by day and night is good for them all, and that the younger they -are the more they will need it. Infants should live, if it were -possible, as if they were always rocking at sea. Exercise and motion in -the earliest years greatly contribute to create a part of virtue in the -soul: the child’s virtue is cheerfulness, and good nursing makes a -gentle and a cheerful child.’ - -Greek ears were very sensitive to sounds, and the noise of the -uncheerful infant protesting against life was doubtless very trying to -the father in the few hours that he spent at home. We have no -information of Plato’s practical experience of children, for, as far as -we know, he never married, but both he and Aristotle love to criticize -the customs of their native city. In the _Politics_, for example, as in -the _Republic_, the importance of the child is emphasized. - -‘Young children,’ says Aristotle, ‘should be kept healthy by -exposure: to accustom children to the cold is an excellent practice -which greatly conduces to health and hardens them for military service. -Children should be amused till they are five years old, but the -amusement should not be vulgar or tiring or riotous. Their sports should -be imitations of the occupations which they will hereafter pursue in -earnest. Crying and screaming should not be checked, for they contribute -to growth, and in a manner, exercise the body. The Directors of -Education must keep a careful eye even upon young children, who will -stay at home until they are seven; and they must see that they are left -as little as possible with slaves. Formal education will begin after -seven years; it will be the same for all, given in public, and directed -to promote the good of all. Nature requires that we should be able not -only to work well but to use leisure well. Work and leisure are both -necessary, but the latter is the more important; and it is the chief -function of education to teach us how to use our leisure rightly. -Gymnastics and music are the chief branches of education; but for -children gymnastic exercises should be of a light kind. Children should -not be brutalized, as they are at Sparta, by laborious toil. Music -should be studied both for its intellectual and its ethical virtue. -Children should be encouraged to sing and play, for it will keep them -out of mischief; but the flute should be forbidden as over-exciting, and -musical studies should cease at manhood.’ - -It will be seen that Aristotle recognizes the necessity of amusement, -and Greek children seem to have had most of the toys familiar to our -nurseries. Little girls played with their terra-cotta dolls, boys with -their hoops and balls, and with the knuckle bones that took the place of -our marbles. An Alexandrian epigram (_Anth. Pal._ VI, 309) records the -dedication to Hermes of one such playbox. - - ‘This noiseless ball and top so round, - This rattle with its lively sound, - These bones with which he loved to play, - Companions of his childhood’s day; - To Hermes, if the god they please, - An offering from Philocles.’ - -Of dance games too, which give exercise both to mind and body, they had -an abundant variety; some simple like ‘The Wine-skin and Hatchet,’ which -could be played upon the stomach of a complaisant guest, others more -elaborate in their dramatic ritual, such as ‘The Swallow’ procession, of -which our ‘Jack in the Green’ is a reminiscence. - -At the beginning of their lives then children were treated in much the -same way at Sparta and at Athens; but in the next stage of education, -after the period of early childhood was past, there was a sharp -divergence between Spartan and Athenian practice. At Sparta boys and -girls alike, over the age of seven years, were taken in hand by the -state, and given the most thorough of physical trainings. The girls -were allowed their meals at home, but otherwise were subjected to the -same discipline as the boys. They had to harden their bodies, so that -they might bear strong children, and among their sports were wrestling, -running, and swimming. They learned to throw the diskos and the javelin; -and wearing only the short Doric chiton engaged in contests of speed -with youths. The result we may see in the statue of the girl runner, a -copy of a fifth-century original, which is now in the Vatican at Rome, -and in the description of the Spartan woman envoy in Aristophanes’ play -_Lysistrata_, who looked ‘as though she could throttle a bull.’ The -boys, for their part, were organized in the strictest fashion into -‘packs’ of sixty-four and into divisions. Each pack fed together, slept -together on bundles of reeds for bedding, and played together. They had -to go barefoot always, wore only a single garment summer and winter, and -provided for their own wants. - -One boy in the pack was appointed as ‘Bouagor,’ or ‘Herd-leader,’ and -could give orders and inflict punishment. Over him was a young man, -above twenty years of age, of tried character and courage, the ‘Eiren’ -who was in charge of the pack’s organization and lived always with the -boys. In control of the whole system was the ‘Paidonomos,’ the minister -of education, an elderly citizen of rank and repute who had the ultimate -powers of discipline over boys and eirens alike. In the three ranks we -see something resembling the prefects, assistant masters, and Heads of -our schools: in manner of life there was a close approximation to the -boy-scout movement. - -This Spartan type of education in some respects was not unlike the -English public school system, as we owe it to Dr. Arnold, before it was -affected by the spread of competitive examinations and the demand for -utilitarian knowledge. The qualities that the Spartans wished to -cultivate were not intellectual acuteness or literary taste, but the -moral virtues of obedience, discipline, and endurance. To obtain these -the lads were kept under constant supervision by grown men, and the -weakness of the system was that individual initiative was not -sufficiently encouraged, and that the claims of the mind were too -persistently disregarded. Of book study there was practically none. -Hunting, scouting, and foraging for food took up most of the boys’ time. -Fighting, both in play and in earnest, was encouraged, together with -gymnastics of an unspecialized sort, especially the musical drill which -the Spartans called gymnopædia. Competitions between individuals and -divisions were very frequent, and in many of them girls met boys on -equal terms. Above all things, the idea of military efficiency was kept -before the children’s eyes, and a strict military discipline was -enforced. In fact, the Spartan system had all the strength and weakness -of an exclusively military regime. The young Spartans were brave, -healthy, modest, hardy and obedient: on the other hand, they were -stupid, quarrelsome, brutal, lacking in self-restraint, and inclined to -a gross immorality when once they were free from the close restraint of -Spartan law. As long as a Spartan lived in his own country he behaved -well, but the vices that the system produced showed themselves -unpleasantly in any dealings with others. To the rest of Greece the -vices seemed more than to counterbalance the virtues, and the Athenian -ideal of education became the model for most of the other Greek States. - -At Athens, everything was left to the individual parent and to the -private schoolmaster. The State recognized its responsibility for the -maintenance of children, and if a man died in battle his orphans were -reared at the public expense; but it did not recognize its -responsibility for their education. Some ancient laws, attributed to -Solon, did indeed enact that all free-born children should be sent to -school and there taught ‘letters and how to swim.’ Other regulations -fixed the school hours, and in the interests of morality forbade boys to -come home from school in the dark. But as regards the methods and the -subjects of education given to boys, the Athenian Government was -indifferent. The keeping of a school was a private speculation, and the -State required no evidence of moral or intellectual qualifications from -the schoolmaster. Accordingly, schools and the fees charged varied very -greatly. Poor folk sent their children to establishments where only the -elements of reading and writing were taught χαχὰ χαχῶς as the -sausage-seller in Aristophanes says. Richer parents not only gave their -children a better training in the early stages, but kept them at school -for a longer period. - -The schoolmaster himself was regarded with extreme contempt. The father -of Æschines belonged to the despised class, and Demosthenes draws a -scornful picture of his youthful rival helping to mix the ink, scrub the -forms, and sweep the schoolroom. The fees were due on the last day of -the month; but they were grudgingly paid and mean parents would keep -their children away from school in those months of the year when the -State festivals gave the schoolmaster an opportunity of granting his -pupils a holiday. Of long intervals from work, such as our summer and -winter vacations, we have no trace in Athens, and the precept of the -Roman poet ‘æstate pueri si valent satis discunt’ apparently went -unregarded. - -The school hours were arranged to suit the time of meals in the boys’ -homes. After the early breakfast, taken at sunrise, the boy sets off to -his teacher, with whom he remained till noon. Then came the midday -meal, followed by a siesta, and then afternoon school. Discipline was -lax. The schoolmaster certainly had a rod to assist him in maintaining -order, but his social inferiority deprived him of any real authority. -Children would bring their pet dogs to school and play with them under -the master’s chair. The master usually was sitting, a position which an -Athenian despised as unworthy of a free-born man, and we have the -typical schoolmaster pictured for us on a vase by Euphronios. He is a -small, ill-developed man, with a bald head and a prominent nose. His -body twisted, he leans forward with a threatening gesture, his -forefinger raised in warning. In his left hand there is a stylus, for a -writing-lesson is in progress; his stick with crooked handle and -formidable knobs lies convenient to his right. He is drawn by a -malicious hand with something of the caricaturist’s touch, but he is -thoroughly alive and evidently closely resembles a real original. We may -imagine that not unlike him even in bodily form was the schoolmaster in -the third mime of Herondas who beats his idle pupil with his bull’s tail -strap until he is ‘black and blue like a spotted snake.’ - -The ordinary system of elementary education at Athens, as followed by -boys from seven to fourteen, consisted of three parts: letters, music -and gymnastics, presided over by the grammatiste, kithariste, and -pædotribe respectively. The grammatiste taught reading, writing and -simple arithmetic, and his methods, on the evidence of the papyri and -ostraka which have recently been discovered in Egypt, were not very much -unlike those of a modern school. We have long lists of alphabets, and of -simple and difficult combinations of letters; passages for dictation and -recitation, the conjugation of verbs, and elementary grammatical rules. -The kithariste taught ‘music’; i.e. the words of the lyric poets and the -simple lyre accompaniment which went with the words. In general -estimation he ranked a little higher than the grammatiste, but they both -taught under the same conditions, and usually in the same building. The -pædotribe was a much more important person than the other two, and his -teaching, which directed the boy’s physical development upon scientific -lines, lasted usually till manhood. He taught the rules of health, -‘dancing’ in the Greek sense of the word, and especially the five -exercises of the pentathlon, which aimed at producing a perfect, -all-round athlete. The palæstra was his school-room, and he was always -sure of eager pupils and interested spectators. - -But upon the smaller boys no very arduous tasks were imposed. -Deportment, how to sit, stand, and walk gracefully, the correct manner -of salutation, a decorous and becoming carriage of the body; these with -some easy gymnastic exercises, together with a multitude of games and -an occasional cockfight, occupied most of a boy’s day. He spent much -more time at the palæstra than he did anywhere else, but the border-line -there between instruction and amusement was not very rigidly drawn. This -was the sort of education that seemed to Aristophanes ideal, and nowhere -is a better picture given of it than in the _Clouds_: - - ‘To hear then prepare of the Discipline rare which flourished in - Athens of yore, - When Honour and Truth were in fashion with youth and Sobriety bloomed - on our shore; - First of all, the old rule was preserved in our school that “boys should - be seen and not heard”: - And then to the home of the harpist would come, decorous in action - and word, - All the lads of one town, though the snow peppered down, in spite of - all wind and all weather; - And they sung an old song as they paced it along, not shambling with - thighs glued together... - But now must the lad from his boyhood be clad in a man’s all - enveloping cloke; - So that, oft as the Panathenæa returns, I feel myself ready to choke, - When the dancers go by with their shields to their thigh, not - caring for Pallas a jot. - You therefore, young man, choose me while you can; cast in with - my method your lot; - And then you shall learn the forum to spurn and from dissolute - baths to abstain, - And fashions impure and shameful abjure, and scorners repel - with disdain, - And rise from your chair if an elder be there, and respectfully - give him your place. - And with love and with fear your parents revere, and shrink - from the brand of disgrace... - Not learning to prate, as your idlers debate, with marvellous - prickly dispute, - Nor dragged into court day by day to make sport in some small - disagreeable suit: - But you will below to the Academe go, and under the olives - contend - With your chaplet of reed, in a contest of speed, with some - excellent rival and friend; - All fragrant with woodbine and peaceful content and the leaf - which the lime blossoms fling, - When the plane whispers love to the elm in the grove in the - beautiful season of spring.’ - (_Clouds_, 961-1008, Rogers’ translation.) - -Boyhood at Athens was a time of preparation; the real education of an -Athenian, in physical and in mental studies, began when ours too often -ceases, in the year when he reached manhood. Then, and not till then, -did the State step in and accept responsibility for his training. The -ephebe of eighteen enrolled, in his deme register, had first to take -the oath: - -‘I will not disgrace my sacred weapons nor desert the -comrade who is placed by my side. I will fight for things holy and -things profane, whether I am alone or with others. I will hand on my -fatherland greater and better than I found it. I will hearken to the -magistrates, and obey the existing laws and those hereafter established -by the people. I will not consent unto any that destroys or disobeys the -constitution, but will prevent him, whether I am alone or with others. I -will honour the temples and the religion which my forefathers -established. So help me Aglauros, Enyalios, Ares, Zeus, Thallo, Auxo, -Hegemone.’ - -Then under the direction of specially appointed magistrates, the -‘Sophronistai’ or ‘Moderators,’ a definite and thorough course of -gymnastics and military training began. The young recruits were first -taken round the temples and afterwards put into garrison at Munychia and -Piræus. They had masters and undermasters to teach them the use of the -hoplite’s accoutrement, and pædotribes for their gymnastic exercises. -Discipline was fairly strict, but there were plenty of amusements, and -many festivals in which the ephebes played a special part. When they -were not engaged in military drill they were usually to be found in the -gymnasia and palæstræ, and at the end of their first year of training -they were reviewed in the theatre during the celebration of the greater -Dionysia. After the ceremony they received a spear and shield as a gift -from the State and marched out of Athens, spending most of their final -year patrolling the country and garrisoning the outlying forts. Then, -this first initiation into the science of physical fitness achieved, -they returned to the city, and during the rest of their lives devoted a -large proportion of their time to perfecting their knowledge of the laws -of health and developing the strength of their body. - -The academies, where these studies in a Greek city were pursued by young -and old together, were of two kinds, and were called either ‘gymnasia’ -or ‘palæstræ.’ A gymnasium was an open space, with trees for shelter -from the sun and, if possible, near a stream of running water; and there -went on those sports that required plenty of room. The two chief -gymnasia at Athens were both outside the town walls, the Academy in the -sacred grove of the hero Academus and the Lyceum in the precinct of the -hero Lycus. They corresponded fairly closely to the playing fields about -our public schools, except that they belonged to the whole community and -were used by all classes and ages alike. If we could imagine Hyde Park -thronged every day and all day with men and boys running, jumping, -hurling quoits, and throwing javelins, - -[Illustration: INDOOR SPORTS (Athens)] - -we should get some idea, although of course on a very much larger scale, -of the appearance of the Lyceum in the time of Socrates. - -The palæstra, on the other hand, bore more resemblance to our school -gymnasium. It was a covered building used especially for the indoor -sports of boxing and wrestling. Built round a central court which in -fine weather was normally the scene of these competitions, it had also a -large hall opening on to the court and a number of smaller rooms used -for bathing, rubbing down and undressing. In the large hall the -spectators gathered, and a vivid picture of the impression made upon a -foreigner by the sight is given in Lucian’s dialogue _Anacharsis_. The -young Scythian speaks: - -‘Why do your young men behave like this, Solon? Some of them -grappling and tripping each other, some throttling, struggling, -intertwining in the clay like so many pigs wallowing. And yet their -first proceeding, after they have stripped--I noticed that--is to oil -and scrape each other quite amicably; but then I do not know what comes -over them--they put down their heads and begin to push, and crash their -foreheads together like a pair of rival rams. There, look! that one has -lifted the other right off his legs, and dropped him on the ground; now -he has fallen on top, and will not let him get his head up, but presses -it down into the clay; and to finish him off he twines his legs tight -round his belly, thrusts his elbow hard against his throat, and -throttles the wretched victim, who meanwhile is patting his shoulder; -that will be a form of supplication; he is asking not to be quite choked -to death.’ - - (Lucian, _Anacharsis_, I, Fowler’s translation.) - -There were only three gymnasia in all Athens, but there was a very large -number of palæstræ, some public, some private, some frequented by men, -some by boys, the majority used indifferently by men and boys together. -In the public establishments the instructors were provided and paid by -the State, and were probably at the head of their profession, for as the -oligarch who wrote the treatise on the Athenian Republic bitterly says: - -‘As for gymnasia and baths, some rich people have their own, -but the people also have built palæstræ for their own use, and the mob -now has far more advantages in this respect than the fortunate few.’ - -The popularity of a private palæstra, especially if it were intended -chiefly for the instruction of boys, depended largely on the personality -of the pædotribe who there gave instruction, and Athenian fathers were -as fond of expounding the merits of their own favourite teacher as -Englishmen are of singing the praises of their old school. The pædotribe -was usually assisted by subordinates--_gymnastæ_, who coached pupils in -special exercises and prepared them for competitions, and _aleiptæ_ who -undertook for boys the actual rubbing down and massaging which men and -youths performed for themselves; but he alone was the directing spirit -of the place. He required to have considerable medical knowledge, and -held a rank in popular estimation of equal importance with a physician. -His business was to prevent, the doctor’s only to cure, disease. He had -to know what exercises would suit what constitutions; he was called on -frequently to prescribe in matters of diet and sometimes must advise a -strengthening and sometimes a lowering regime. Besides giving his pupils -health, he was expected also to increase their beauty and their -strength. Finally, according to Plato, a good pædotribe was able to -produce by his teaching firmness of character and strength of will: -therefore he must know exactly how much training to administer to each -boy, for too much of these qualities is as bad as too little. It will be -seen that a successful pædotribe combined in his person most of the -capacities and duties which in our educational institutions are shared -among the headmaster, the games master, the school doctor, the drill -sergeant and the cricket professional; with the additional -responsibility of having frequently to teach both parents and children. - -But the larger palæstræ, as we have said, were usually public and free, -and it may be useful to give here a brief account of their -arrangements. On entering from the street the visitor passed down a -short passage into the _‘Apodyterion_,’ the undressing room, a large -hall with one side opening directly on to the cloisters which surrounded -the central court. His first business was to strip; for all the -exercises of the palæstra were performed naked; and then to anoint -himself all over, and carefully rub the oil into his skin. As Lucian -says again in the _Anacharsis_, speaking now through the mouth of the -great law-giver, Solon: - -‘When their first pithless tenderness is past, we strip our -youths and aim at hardening them to the temperature of the various -seasons till heat does not incommode them nor frost paralyse them. Then -we anoint them with oil by way of softening them into suppleness. It -would be absurd that leather, dead stuff as it is, should be made -tougher and more lasting by being softened with oil, and the living body -get no advantage from the same process.’ - -Another room, the ‘_Konisterion_,’ was set apart for athletes to powder -themselves with dust before exercise. The effects on the body of powder -were regarded as no less beneficial than those of oil. It closed the -pores of the skin, checked excessive perspiration, and kept the body -cool, thus protecting it from chills and rendering it less susceptible -to fatigue. Special sorts of powders were supposed to have special -virtues; those of a clayey nature were particularly cleansing, those -that were gritty stimulated perspiration if the skin was inclined to be -over-dry, the yellow earthy kind made the body supple and sleek, and -gave that glossy appearance which was the sign of good condition and -training. - -Yet another apartment was the ‘_Korykeion_,’ where the punch-balls hung; -some of them large skins filled with sand hanging about waist-level and -used by wrestlers who would try and check their rebound, others smaller -and lighter filled with fig seeds or meal, hanging as high as the -athlete’s head and used by boxers as a mark for their blows. - -And, lastly, there was the bathroom, a severely simple place with a -large stone basin on a stand as its chief feature. Bathing -establishments with hot and vapour baths existed in Athens, but they -were discouraged by manly folk as corrupting athletic vigour and -considered only truly suitable for the old and feeble. In the palæstra -cold water was used alone, and the bath was either taken direct from the -basin or else the athlete stood while a friend swilled him down from a -bucket. Before the actual washing a flesh scraper was used to remove the -dust and dirt from the skin, and a sort of lye obtained from wood ashes -took the place of soap. - -All this at Athens, as befits a true democracy, was open without -restriction and without payment to every citizen. In the palæstra rich -and poor met on equal terms without regard for rank or position. A -strigil and an oil flask were the only implements that were needed, and -on occasions the State even supplied the oil. We have scarcely anything -like it in modern days; perhaps a racecourse, in its mingling together -of all classes for sport, is the nearest equivalent. But our racecourses -have some peculiar features that need not now be specified, from which -the Greek palæstra was free. - - - - -4 - -Health and Bodily Exercise - - -For the attainment of the perfect health which is one of the highest -goals of human endeavour, the Greeks of the fifth century B.C. in -comparison with ourselves were placed under some disadvantages. Firstly, -their racial stock, a difficult blend of the old Mediterranean people -with central European immigrants, was not so good, for purposes of -active strength, as our mixture of Saxon, Norman and Dane: the -inhabitants of Attica claimed with some reason to be autochthonous, but -in historical times they were already showing plain signs of race decay. -Secondly, their climate on the whole was inferior to ours, the summer -too hot and enervating, the winter dank and depressing rather than sharp -and bracing: Attica in this respect also was more favoured than many -states, and Athenian authors are very fond of contrasting the clear -brilliance of their native air with the heavy dullness of the Bœotian -plain. Thirdly, they lacked most of those sanitary appliances without -which life in our cities now would seem almost impossible, and their -doctors and surgeons had not that wealth of drugs and instruments which -we possess. - -On the other hand the Greeks, or at least the Athenians, had some points -in their favour. Of all the people that we know the citizens of Attica -did the highest thinking on the lowest feeding. They were naturally -temperate both in food and drink, and a very great contrast both to the -Romans and such other Greeks as the Bœotians and Thessalians. In this, -at any rate, they were feminists; like most women they did not pay much -regard to their stomachs, and made their meals not the most important -but the least important thing in their lives, so that a Greek banquet -was a very simple affair, compared with an English or a Roman repast, -and its chief attraction was the music and conversation which followed -the mere eating and drinking. The ordinary diet of the Athenians -consisted almost entirely of cereals; porridge and bread were the -staples, and although sometimes a little salt fish, cheese, honey or -olives might serve as a relish, yet porridge in various forms was the -staff of life. Their drink was usually water; a good supply was brought -in to the city by pipes dating apparently from the time of Pisistratus, -and the big fountain of the nine springs is mentioned by Thucydides. -They realized all the benefits that come from a copious use of nature’s -chief medicine: ‘best of all things is water’--such is the motto on the -entrance portal to the great temple of Pindar’s poems, and the -Athenians, knowing the truth, acted on their knowledge. Wine, of course, -they drank and enjoyed--there were teetotalers amongst them, -Demosthenes, for example, and they were regarded as crabbed, unpleasant -fellows--but they enjoyed in moderation, and always diluted their wine -copiously with water. To drink wine neat was to be a barbarian, and the -story of the Spartan king who was driven mad by his unmixed potations -was often repeated at Athens. The typical citizen was a thin wiry -person, active and restless, and the highest praise you could give to an -Athenian was to call him εὐτράπελος, ready to turn his hand to anything. -As Aristophanes says, the Athenians were wasplike, thin-waisted and -ready to sting--while one of commonest terms of political approbrium was -παχύς--‘fat’--the word applied by the democrats to the idle rich. - -Again, as we have said, the Athenians were autochthonous--such was their -favourite boast--sprung from the land, born from the actual womb of -mother Attica. Without examining too closely the exact truth of their -claim, or accepting the origin of their grasshopper king, we may regard -it as an historical fact that the Athenian stock remained undisturbed -and without admixture for a very long period in Attica. They had -therefore all the advantages which are derived from a pure and an old -race; they were thoroughly suited to their environment, and had -developed strong special characteristics. They were fully conscious of -this themselves, never admitted aliens to Athenian citizenship, and took -the most careful precautions to see that all citizens on the roll should -be of pure Athenian parentage. In its relation to general health this -steady continuity of race and domicile is more important than is often -recognized. Only long centuries of undisturbed habitation can bring man -into real harmony with nature, and this is one reason why the English -peasant is so much finer a man, physically and intellectually, than the -mixed breed of a great town. Half the diseases of our time are of -nervous origin, caused ultimately by a feverish attempt to adapt oneself -too rapidly to a new environment. - -Moreover, the chief means whereby we stave off for the moment the -results of this strain, drugs and stimulants of every kind, were unknown -to the Greeks, and they were all the better for their ignorance. Tea, -coffee, tobacco, opium; all these poisons are among the blessings of -modern civilization, and in the fifth century B.C. were as unfamiliar to -the Greeks as the countries from which they come. Here again the Greeks -were closer to nature than we are. When they needed a stimulant--and -stimulants are on occasion a real necessity--they took wine, the natural -product of their own country, not something only to be found among -totally different conditions. They knew nothing of the poisons of -tropical countries, and nothing of the diseases which we have imported -from the tropics. Asiatic fever, smallpox, cholera, syphilis, typhus -were diseases of which the Greeks had neither knowledge nor experience, -and even from our milder infectious complaints, such as measles and -scarlatina, they were immune. Until the advent of malaria during the -Peloponnesian War their most common malady seems to have been ophthalmia -in its various forms, and consumption was their only serious scourge. - -This would seem to be a fair statement of our respective advantages and -disadvantages; and on the whole perhaps the balance of the account is in -our favour. But all these considerations are counterbalanced and more -than counterbalanced by one fact: an ancient Greek took a lively and -intelligent interest in his own physical condition, and devoted most of -his time, not to making money, or reading books or playing cards, but to -what is a more remunerative investment than any of these, to the care of -his health. - -The most precious thing that a Greek possessed was not his soul, the -existence of which he doubted, but his body. He took an interest in his -body; he was not afraid of it in any of its parts, and he was not always -trying to cover it up as something of which he was ashamed. He had none -of those curious and morbid feelings that still linger on amongst us as -an inheritance from Syrian conventicles and Egyptian monasteries. He -stripped himself freely and often, in public as in private, and he -allowed the sunlight, the fresh air, and the running water to reach -every limb. Dirt was not to a Greek a proof of holiness, nor neglect of -one’s person the sure sign of a love of learning. Cleanliness was not -merely next to godliness; it was godliness itself. To be χαθαρός--clean, -pure, free from defilement--was the ideal, and an ideal generally -attained. - -A Greek concentrated his attention on the care of his skin by means of -baths, massage, and external applications. Bathing with the Greeks of -the classical period was not the elaborate function that it became with -the Romans, who used it indeed, as we use drugs, to correct the results -of their own follies and self-indulgence; but it was thorough and it was -constant. Moreover they knew the value of sun and air baths, a thing -almost unattainable in England, and their dress allowed the free-play of -air round the body. Hats, stockings, and gloves were practically -unknown, and the feet were usually bare. - -Of massage, both by the hand and by the instrument, which they called a -‘strigil,’ great use was made. The ‘rubber’ was as important for -purposes of health as the ‘doctor,’ and an Athenian put aside a certain -proportion of his time every day for his duties in this respect. In -connection with rubbing comes the universal use of olive oil as an -external application; the oil flask--_lecythus_--was as indispensable to -a Greek as an umbrella is to an Englishman; and as a consequence the -Athenians seem to have been seldom troubled with those coughs and colds -which so harass modern men. Under the stimulus of the bath and frequent -massage the skin performed its natural cleansing functions, and the oil -served as an invisible protection against sudden chills, while from one -of our greatest dangers, the hot polluted air of a crowded room followed -by the cold dampness of a raw February evening, the Greeks were free, -for artificial heating and lighting were little used and all gatherings -of people took place in the open. By constant exposure to sun and air, -by massage, by regulated exercises, and by rubbing with oil the Greek -gained an elasticity of skin which meant health, vigour and beauty. A -large proportion of our community take an interest in their complexions -and spend a considerable amount of effort in trying to produce an -artificial softness of face tissue, but to the far more important task -of stimulating and strengthening the skin of the body and larger limbs -they give scarcely any time at all. A delicate skin is not the -essential, either from the point of view of health or real beauty; for -though it may render details visible in an elegant fashion, only a skin -that is well knit to the subjacent tissues shows the true configuration -to advantage. This firm elasticity cannot be obtained except by -attention, and in this respect we are inferior, not only to the Greeks, -but to such different and widely separated modern peoples as the Red -Indians of North America, the Malays of the Eastern Archipelago, and the -Kanakas of the South Seas. A very large number of our minor maladies and -disabilities come to us from our closed pores and our flabby epidermis, -and from all these the Greeks escaped, owing to the care they gave to -the outer surface of the body. - -In the day-time a Greek was usually to be found upon his feet. Of the -value of walking as the best of all the more gentle forms of exercise he -was well aware, and he normally took a brisk walk in the early morning, -another before the mid-day meal, another in the late afternoon, and -another before he went to bed. Fortunately for him cycles and motor-cars -were not yet invented. When he was not walking he usually stood, for the -sitting position was regarded as more appropriate to slaves than to free -men, and in any case he knew that sitting tends rather to cramp than to -invigorate the body. If he wanted to relieve his leg muscles for a -moment, which he seldom did, he dropped down easily into the squatting -position, which those other scientific gymnasts, the Japanese, now use, -a mode of resting especially valuable for women, as it strengthens all -the muscles about the pelvis and gives vigour to the most vital portions -of the female anatomy. When the time for a complete rest came he lay -down, either propped upon one elbow or at full length, and allowed all -his muscles to relax. If ever it was necessary to sit--in the theatre of -Dionysus, for example, where an audience sat attentive in the open air -for hours together--he sat on a plain flat seat without a back, his legs -straight down in front of him, his feet resting on the floor. He did not -loll or lounge, and when he was sitting he did not have that -round-shouldered appearance, which is now so noticeable in a room full -of people: he kept his diaphragm firm with the upper part of his body -correctly balanced, the centre of gravity being exactly over the base of -the spine; and in this position he was able to remain for long periods -without effort or fatigue. - -But as we have said sitting to a Greek was not a matter of choice, and -was for him the exception rather than the rule; he preferred an erect -position. The chief reason for this very considerable difference between -his custom and ours is to be found in a simple fact: he was taught in -childhood how to stand and how to walk _properly_, so that both actions -were to him a pleasure and not a labour. - -It may seem strange at first sight, but as an actual fact the operations -of standing erect and walking straight are not in the strict sense of -the word ‘natural’ to creatures like ourselves who have painfully -evolved from a lower form of life. The awkward hesitations of the baby -learning to walk are natural; the supple activity of the athlete is the -result of art. To stand gracefully and easily is an accomplishment that -must be acquired; it does not come to us of itself. - -If a man stand erect, firmly planted on both feet at the same time, -exerting as little muscular effort as possible, the hip joint is always -a little overextended; the body would fall backward were it not for the -ilio-femoral ligament which suspends the body to the hip joint. On the -length and strength of this ligament depends both the position of the -pelvis in relation to the thigh and also eventually the graceful -carriage of the whole body. A lack of strength in this ligament and in -the muscles of the abdomen means that the pelvis is too much inclined, -the abdomen projects forward, and in the back there is a deep hollow: -results unsightly and unhealthy enough, but unfortunately with us far -too common, for we do not take means, as did the Greeks by a scientific -system of gymnastics, to strengthen all these body muscles in early -youth. Jumping with dumb-bells (performed in squads to music), throwing -the diskos, and casting the javelin were exercises expressly designed -for this purpose, and combined with daily practice in the wrestling -school they gave the ancient Greek a different and a superior body to -ours, a body which in outward contour and muscular development was much -further removed from the ancestral ape than is that of the ordinary -middle-aged citizen of to-day. A Greek could ‘stand at ease’ without any -difficulty: the attempts that may be seen on any drill ground now when -recruits attempt to carry out the order would be ludicrous if they were -not so painful. - -In order to stand correctly the legs and feet must be of a proper shape; -a man must not be knock-kneed or splay-footed. When the legs and feet -are close together, the two legs should be in contact at four points: at -the upper part of the thigh, between the knees, at the point where the -calves come furthest inwards, and at the inner ankle bones. The body -muscles also must be well developed and under control, and the stander -should know exactly where the centre of his body’s gravity is and how to -obtain correct poise. Our drill-book advises that the weight of the body -be balanced on both feet and evenly distributed between the fore part of -the feet and the heels. With our present type of boot this represents -probably the best position possible, but it should be remembered that it -is not the best that can be devised. The perfect position for standing -is this: the heels should just touch the ground, but there must be no -weight on them; the feet should be close together so that the heels and -the whole of the inside line of the feet are touching; the whole weight -of the body should be got well forward _over the ball of the foot_. - -Right standing is as essential to beauty as is the care of the skin, but -most women now, like most men, stand wrongly. The head is not held in -its right position by the neck muscles but hangs negligently forward, so -that eventually the beauty of the nape of the neck is destroyed. The -back muscles of the neck, thus overstretched, cause the large chest -muscle, on which the breast is supported, to sink, and then the abdomen -is forced upward and forward. Body poise is thus completely lost, the -weight of the upper trunk is left to be supported by the legs alone, and -all the conditions of unnecessary fatigue, weariness, and lack of vigour -come into existence. The whole art of standing consists in the knowledge -of body poise, and this has to be learned. - -Even when we have acquired that knowledge we are still at a -disadvantage. We stand upon our feet, and under modern conditions our -feet do not have a fair chance. Sculptors know that it is possible to -get living models for other parts of the body, even though those models -rarely approximate to perfection; but for the foot the only safe method -is to copy direct from the antique. The Greek sandal was in every way -superior to our boot: it protected from injury and yet did not hinder -movement: it was easily taken off and when in use left all the top part -of the foot exposed to the light and air. Our feet, imprisoned from -early childhood in closely fitting socks and in boots that impede the -play of the toe muscles, can hardly be said to be alive. The great toe -is usually twisted towards the median line, and the joint consequently -has an ugly knotted appearance: all five toes are crushed together, and -lose their natural shape, while the last, and often the last but one, is -altogether distorted and deformed. Nor is the mischief confined to the -toes: the whole foot, so seldom exposed to the open air, has a dry, -lean, ill-nourished look. It shows itself the starved captive that it -really is, and, as our modern schools of dancing and eurhythmic have -discovered, the first condition of beauty and of graceful movement is -that the foot should be free. - -The Greeks were too sensible and too well aware of the importance of -securing true body poise to deprive of its vitality that part of the -body which is the chief factor in balance, as being the main point of -contact between ourselves and the solid ground. As a result the Greek -foot was in some important respects differently shaped from ours. The -first three toes were longer and were thin and nervous like fingers; the -second toe was often the longest of the three; the fourth and fifth toes -were little used and were usually off the ground, being thus raised by a -pad of firm fleshy tissue, spreading under the foot, on which all -movement centred. The instep was not quite so high as with us, but the -tendon Achilles was finer, the heel considerably smaller and much less -used, for a Greek child was trained to dispense with it as a security -for balance and to keep the centre of gravity over the forward part of -the foot. - -All these points of difference are perfectly well known to modern -artists and can be observed in most ancient statues. It rests with -ourselves, if we wish it, to recover the combination of beauty and -strength which the Greek foot possessed; and if the attempt be made it -will be found that it is not impossible even for us soon to approach -with some closeness to that desirable ideal. - -Let us suppose then for a moment that our feet are sensibly shod and -that their muscles are properly exercised: let us suppose also that we -have learned enough of the principles of body poise and balance to be -able to ‘stand at ease.’ With the next order ‘Quick march!’ a new series -of difficulties will begin. Correct walking requires that the centre of -gravity of a moving weight should be kept constant over its base, and to -do this the muscles must be in a state of elastic tension. If the -diaphragm is not doing its work, the act of passing the weight of the -body from one foot to another results in an effort to feel forward for a -new base, and movement proceeds in jerks. The way to avoid this jerky -movement is to carry the whole weight forward at the same time as the -advancing foot, and this can only be done if mind and muscle work -together. The essential difference between a soldier’s march, if it be -properly performed, and the civilian’s walk, degenerating into a slouch, -is that the first calls for a definite mental effort; the second is mere -mechanical habit. As soon as men march mechanically they cease to march, -and that is the value of a regimental band: it stimulates the connection -between mind and muscle that centres round our diaphragm. - -Unfortunately, very few men know where their diaphragm is, or what -purpose it serves. They think they know the position of their heart and -their liver (although experience on the drill ground shows that they are -generally wrong), but as regards their diaphragm, their ignorance is -even as the night. As they plaintively remark, ‘How should they know? -They have never been taught.’ And that is really the mischief. As -children they were laboriously instructed in the anatomy of the world: -they knew what a promontory and a peninsula were, and could tell you the -names of the principal rivers from China to Peru. But as for the anatomy -of their body they were left in almost complete darkness. Many people -cannot even spell the word diaphragm correctly; the ancient Greeks were -so convinced of the influence of the diaphragm on mental and physical -conditions that in their language the same word ‘phrenes’ stood for -diaphragm and mind. It is a fact that if the diaphragm muscles are -flabby and loose (as with undrilled men they almost invariably are), the -whole mental system becomes infected with the resultant slackness. An -alert mind is only secured by an alert body, and the call, ‘Attention!’ -is, in fact, a stimulus to the abdomen muscles, which spring up -vigorously and raise the weight of the body from the centre. A -heightening of vitality and a sense of spiritual power follow as surely -as it did on the ancient hymn--‘Sursum corda’--‘We lift up our hearts -unto the Lord.’ - -Walking is of all forms of exercise the best for women; but it loses its -value if a woman’s gait is radically wrong. Instead of walking from the -hips, most women walk from the knees: the result is a strut, a shuffle, -a stamp, a shamble, a waddle, or a hobble, never a true walk. To walk -correctly, feet, legs and body must be under control. The feet must be -allowed to keep their proper shape and position, and while the inside -of the foot is used the toes should be planted in a straight line with -the heel, never turned outwards. Uncertain balance produces bent knees, -and one of the first results of a true walk is an increase of beauty in -all the leg muscles, an increase of strength in the knees and in the -deep-set muscles of the lower back. A woman’s knees, which nature meant -to be strong and elastic, are now, with the abdomen, the weakest part of -the female frame. There is nothing that women fear so much as a jump, -and this timidity is purely the result of knee weakness, and the -consequent inability to distribute body weight correctly. In the -interests of health, beauty and comfort, correct walking is essential -for women, and yet not one woman in a thousand would satisfy an expert. - -To walk properly, then, the diaphragm must be on the alert, and a lifted -diaphragm in a state of muscular tension cannot exist side by side with -a large flabby abdomen. If a man’s body is to be beautiful, and if the -man himself is to be in perfect physical condition, the abdomen must be -reduced to the smallest possible dimensions and not overloaded with fat. -The size of the abdomen is increased by the absorption of large masses -of food, especially if they are of a gaseous and indigestible nature; it -is decreased if the amount of food taken is reduced and if the food -itself is rich in nutriment so that less bulk is required. Above all, -if the muscles of the abdomen and back are strengthened by a -carefully-designed system of exercises, they will take their share in -bearing the weight of the upper part of the body and will prevent it -from settling down, an inert mass, in the socket of the pelvis. As -things are now, our hip muscles have usually too much work to do and are -exaggeratedly developed, and an examination of any Greek athlete -statue--the Diadumenos will serve as one example of many--will show that -the Greek hip was much finer and slimmer than ours: it was more behind -the body than under it and a far greater freedom of movement was thereby -made possible. - -An even more striking change will be seen in the muscles of the abdomen. -With us a young, well-proportioned man has usually a depression just -above the iliac ridge, and the iliac line descending from the hips to -the top of the legs makes only a slight inward curve. In the Greek body -we see a firm roll of flesh lying just above the iliac crest, the iliac -line running beneath it for a short distance inwards in a horizontal -direction, and then bending downwards at an obtuse or sometimes almost a -right-angle. - -Of this plain fact two explanations are possible. Either the ancient -sculptors wilfully falsified their models’ contours in the interests of -ideal beauty, or else this difference between the ancient and modern -abdomen really did exist. The first explanation is highly improbable -considering the Greeks’ artistic conscience, and furthermore in their -statues of women no trace of this horizontal iliac line is ever -apparent. The only reasonable inference is that these muscles, which -with us are so undeveloped as to be invisible, were the result of the -constant physical training to which the Greek man, but not the Greek -woman, was habituated. - -In an artistic sense there can be no doubt as to the excellent effect -which the ancient line produces. It gives proportion and an air of -solidity and greatly diminishes the superficial area of the abdomen. And -that it represented a real condition rather than an artistic ideal is a -very probable fact, for the statues of Greek athletes often represent -positions which for us with our weak abdomens are almost impossible of -attainment. One of the most perfect of all, Myron’s Diskobolos--the -young athlete throwing the diskos--seemed to Herbert Spencer ‘an -impossible contortion’; and after a close examination of its poise he -declared that at the next moment--if the action were continued--it would -fall upon its nose. It is quite possible that such a regrettable -accident would have been the result if our revered philosopher had -attempted to perform the movement, but the muscles of the Greek body, -properly trained and hardened, found in it no insuperable difficulty. - -The movement that Myron represents is the swing back of the diskos. The -athlete has already taken his stance, and with left foot forward has -extended the diskos horizontally to the front in his right hand. Then -comes the decisive action: the whole weight of the body is transferred -to the right foot, whose toes grip the ground at full tension; the left -foot trails back, offering no resistance either to the pause or the -coming momentum; the body swings round upon the fixed pivot of the right -foot. The diskos held in the right hand comes downwards and backwards; -head and body turn with it; the next moment the body will swing round -again with a forward lift and the diskos will fly from the extended -hand. Whether the force of the throw relies entirely upon the lift of -the thighs and the swing of the body, or upon the arm alone, swinging -rapidly in a free shoulder socket, will depend upon the weight of the -diskos used. In either case it is the pause at the end of the backward -swing that the sculptor has fixed in the bronze. - -Only in imagination can we see the actions by which the body has got -into this position and by which it will again recover its equilibrium. -It illustrates one of Lessing’s sayings in the _Laocoön_: ‘Of ever -changing nature the artist can use only a single moment and this from a -single point of view. And as his work is meant to be looked at not for -an instant but with long consideration, he must choose the most fruitful -moment, and the most fruitful point of view, that, to wit, which leaves -the power of imagination free.’ - -One of the greatest benefits that the ancient Greeks have bestowed upon -the modern world, if only we like to make use of it, is the standard of -bodily perfection they have bequeathed to us in the remains of their -sculpture. Just as Greek literature is eternally precious, not only for -itself but as a criterion of beauty, so Greek statuary supplies us with -visible proof of the power and grace to which the human body with proper -care and training can attain. Besides the Diskobolos we have an -admirable example of slender vigour in the Hermes of Praxiteles, of -athletic strength in the Hagias of Lysippus, of grave dignity in the -Charioteer of Delphi, of poise and balance in the Archers of the Ægina -pediment, and of what the Greeks considered perfect proportion in the -various copies--all unfortunately rather late and lifeless--of the -Doryphoros of Polycleitus, from which the sculptor himself worked out -his ideal canon. - -Of examples of female beauty we have an equal wealth, and almost every -movement of the body may be illustrated from some extant statue. For -walking, we have the Victory of Pæonius, stepping freely forward with -her light linen robe blowing back against her girlish limbs, and the -more mature figure of the Victory of Samothrace. To some modern critics -both statues seem to be flying through the air, but the appearance of -winged motion is in reality simply due to the fact that they are walking -_correctly_, using about half the effort, and covering at each pace -nearly double the ground that a modern woman would traverse. - -As types of the standing position there are the three great statues of -Venus in Paris, Rome, and Florence. The Venus de Milo, more beautiful -than any modern body with her mingled charm of grace and vigour, the -tapering waist line and fine hips giving grace, the strength and -development of the abdominal muscles promising the perfect fulfilment of -woman’s noblest task; the Venus of Cnidus, where again the line of -beauty is the line of the hips, as the goddess stands with left knee -bent resting the weight of her body on the right flank; the Venus de -Medici, less vigorous at first sight than the other two, but revealing -on a closer view a subtle complexity of sinew and muscle about the waist -line, where the modern corset leaves unsightly rolls of fat and muscles -atrophied. - -For sitting, there is the group known usually as ‘The Three Fates,’ from -the east pediment of the Parthenon; the figures resting, but resting -with knowledge, the shoulders square and thorax high - -[Illustration: THE VICTORY OF PAIONIOS (Olympia)] - -arched, the body not allowed to collapse in an inert mass, but ready at -need to spring again at once into active life. Another example is the -crouching Venus of the Vatican, set in a position of modest grace which -a modern woman would find almost impossible of attainment. With us the -cartilages of the breast bone are practically useless and the thorax is -left unsupported; Greek women were able to move the entire thorax -sideways, a capacity we have lost, and when lowering their bodies they -kept them, as does the goddess here, with the longitudinal axis of the -torso remaining as far as possible in the vertical plane. - -If we need types of more active motion, there is the Amazon from the -pediment at Epidaurus, her body perfectly poised as her thigh muscles -press the horse’s side; or the Athena of the Æginetan pediment showing -us how with proper control of the muscles it is possible to turn the -body through three-quarters of a circle without moving the feet; and the -exquisite bronze Fortune at Naples, a perfect example of muscular -balance--‘drawn up on the extreme points of her toes, she looks as -though hovering over the world, light as thistledown, and yet in her -tense immobility the very essence of Force.’ - -It has often been said that the marvellous achievements of Greek -sculptors were a result of their daily opportunities of seeing the nude -form; but nudity alone does not suffice. The greatest sculptor of our -time tried the experiment of studying his nude models as they walked to -and fro at their ease in his great room at the Hotel Biron. We saw the -result: critics accused him of a love for the grotesque and the uncouth, -while Rodin himself was reduced to the theory that for the artist -nothing is ugly. The truth is that the naked body of a modern grown man -is not beautiful, and therefore a faithful transcription such as Rodin -gives cannot be beautiful. But the Greek models were beautiful, because -beauty of body had been developed by a system of gymnastics universally -applied. - -With their statues to guide us, it will be our own fault if we do not -again reach the standard of physical perfection which the Greeks -attained; for it is a curious and inspiriting fact that the human form -almost immediately responds to any opportunity that is given it, and -that with each child the race begins anew. What we need is a national -training, carefully planned by experts and adapted alike for children, -youths and grown men. And with it we need a fuller realization of the -duty that every one owes to himself, and a deeper determination to make -each part of our body as beautiful as nature allows. Listen to the words -of the wisest of philosophers: - -‘It is a shameful thing to grow old in neglect, without having realized -to the utmost such strength and beauty as your body is capable of. -Strength and beauty will not come of themselves: the man who takes no -care for them will never possess them.’ - - - - -5 - -Galen’s Treatise on the Small Ball - - -Ball games, as we know from Homer, were from the earliest times popular -among the Greeks, being especially esteemed for the grace of body which -the act of throwing and catching gives. The central incident of the -_Odyssey_ is connected with such a game, for it was a lost ball that -roused Odysseus from his sleep in the bush and led to his discovery by -Nausicaa. At Athens in the fifth century they were, for men, rather -overshadowed by the gymnastic exercises already described, but youths -found in them a favourite diversion, and the poet Sophocles in his -tragedy of the _Nausicaa_ won particular praise in the title-rôle--a -non-speaking part--because of his dexterous skill. Those who played, as -Athenæus tells us, always paid great attention to elegance of attitude, -and he quotes from the comic poet Demoxenus: - - ‘A youth I saw was playing ball, - Seventeen years of age and tall; - From Cos he came, and well I wot - The gods look kindly on that spot. - For when he took the ball or threw it, - So pleased were all of us to view it, - We all cried out; so great his grace - Such frank good humour in his face, - That every time he spoke or moved, - All felt as if that youth they loved. - Sure ne’er before had these eyes seen, - Nor ever since, so fair a mien: - Had I stayed long, most sad my plight - Had been, to lose my wits outright, - And even now the recollection - Disturbs my senses’ calm reflection.’ - -Of the actual details of these ball games we have very few accounts in -literature or representations in art. One of the most recent -archæological discoveries has, however, thrown light on one point. Up -till lately we had no instance of implements being used; but in -February, 1922, while the foundations of a shop were being constructed -at Athens, sections of the Themistoclean circuit wall were brought to -light. Built into them were three quadrangular bases of Pentelic marble -with sculptured reliefs on their sides and one of these reliefs shows -clearly the details of a hockey match. The ball is on the ground in the -exact middle: two youths with sticks are engaged in a ‘bully’ for it -precisely in the modern fashion: on either side of them stand two other -pairs of youths, with sticks, representing, it may be presumed, the rest -of the two competing teams. - -Another of the six reliefs, equally interesting, shows probably the -beginning of the most popular and the most energetic of all forms of -ball games, the Phæninda, played with a small hard ball stuffed with -hair, the Harpastum. The game bore some resemblance to our Rugby, except -that the ball was always thrown and never kicked. The scene on the -relief represents a throw-in from the touchline; one youth is preparing -to throw, the rest are waiting either to seize the ball in the air or to -tackle the next possessor. A passage from the comedian Antiphanes, -quoted by Athenæus (Bk. I, ch. 26), gives a lively picture: - - ‘The player takes the ball elate, - And gives it safely to his mate, - Avoids the blows of the other side - And shouts to see them hitting wide. - List to the cries, “Hit here,” “hit here,” - “Too far,” “too high,” “that is not fair”-- - See every man with ardour burns - To make good strokes and quick returns.’ - -Another sort of game, less rough in character and more akin to our -lacrosse, was possibly played with a lighter feather stuffed ball, in -Greek, _sphaira_, the Latin _follis_. Here, tackling was not allowed, -and the ball was thrown from hand to hand while the players were running -at full speed. - -In playing with the _harpastum_ or the _follis_ the main object was to -drive your opponents to retreat behind their base line, and in both -styles there - -[Illustration: THE THROW-IN AT THE SMALL BALL GAME (Athens)] - -was a good deal of running. The third type of game, played with the -_trigon_, required less exertion. The players here were only three in -number, and stood at the three-corners of a triangle, throwing balls -quickly one at the other: both hands were used and caddies supplied the -players with missiles. - -All three games were Greek inventions; but they reached the height of -their popularity under the Roman Empire. Seneca, writing on the brevity -of mortal life, complains that there are many people who have no other -occupation but to play ball from morning till night. Martial frequently -mentions the dusty _harpastum_, the warming _trigon_, and the feathered -_follis_, and in one of his epigrams praises a young student for taking -his exercise in the form of a long run rather than waste his time on the -‘busy idleness’ of a ball game. To this period also belongs the one -serious account that we have in Greek of any game, Galen’s treatise on -exercise with the small ball. - -Claudius Galenus, born at Pergamum in the reign of Hadrian, 131 A.D., is -one of the most notable figures of a notable age. Courtier-physician, -scholar-diplomat, the friend of princes and the trainer of gladiators, -he recalls the versatility of the great sophists of the fifth century -B.C., and he equals them in the breadth and profundity of his knowledge. -His writings embrace four distinct fields: medicine in all its aspects, -philosophy, rhetoric, and grammatical logic; and although he is best -known as a physician his commentaries on Hippocrates may claim to be the -beginning of truly scientific scholarship. - -His long life was spent in acquiring and imparting knowledge. A thorough -education, conducted under his father’s eye, rendered him apt for every -art. His wealth enabled him to travel and study at his leisure, and in -early manhood he made the ‘grand tour’ of the ancient world, living for -a time at Smyrna, Alexandria, and Rome before he returned to his native -town. We have now 118 genuine extant works from his pen, which -translated from the Greek into Arabic and thence again into Latin, were -the chief text-books in all the mediæval universities. Editions were -innumerable, and even to-day the name of Galen occupies more than fifty -pages in the British Museum Catalogue. In a production so immense we -must not expect consummate grace of language, but his own maxim, ‘the -first merit of style is clearness’ is well exemplified in the ‘Small -ball,’ which is short enough to be translated here in its entirety. - -‘How great an advantage for health gymnastic exercises are -and what an important part they play in questions of diet has been -sufficiently explained by the best of our ancient philosophers and -physicians. But how superior to all other exercise is the use of the -small ball has never been adequately set forth by any of my -predecessors. It is only right then for me to put forward my ideas for -your criticism, Epigenes, since you have the very best practical -experience of the athletic art, in the further hope that they may be -useful also to all those to whom you communicate your knowledge. - -‘The best forms of gymnastic, I think, are those which are -able not only to work the body but also to delight the mind. Those men -were true philosophers who invented coursing and the other varieties of -the chase, tempering the labour they involve with pleasure, exultation -and rivalry, and they had an accurate knowledge of human nature. So -powerful an effect has mental emotion upon the stuff of which we are -made that many people have been cured of ailments merely by the effect -of joy, while many others have fallen ill from sorrow. Indeed, of all -the affections that are rooted in the body none is strong enough to -master those others that have the mind for their sphere. So it is wrong -to neglect the character of our mental emotions; we ought for every -reason to give more attention to them than to the condition of our body, -especially as the mind is more important than the body can be. This care -is the common function of all gymnastic exercises that have an element -of pleasure in them, but there are other special points in small ball -play which I will now describe. - -‘Firstly, it is easy. If you consider what time and trouble -all the business of hunting involves, especially coursing, you will -clearly see that no one who is engaged in public service or who follows -an art or trade can take part in these forms of exercise; they require -abundant wealth and a person who enjoys considerable leisure. But ball -play is different. It is so democratic that even the poorest can spare -the necessary trouble. It needs no nets, nor weapons, nor horses, nor -hounds: all it requires is one small ball. Moreover, it suits itself so -well to a man’s other pursuits, that it does not compel him to neglect -any of them for its sake. What could be easier than a sport which allows -any form of human occupation or condition? As regards the exercise that -hunting gives, it is out of our power to enjoy it easily: it requires -money to provide an elaborate equipment and freedom from occupation to -wait for a suitable opportunity. But with ball play even the poorest -have no difficulty in getting the implements; it will wait for us, and -quite busy people find opportunity to enjoy it. Its accessibility is a -very great advantage. - -‘If you consider the effect and nature of each of the other -kinds of exercise, you will see clearly that ball play is the most -satisfactory of them all. You will find that the others are either over -violent or not violent enough; that they give disproportionate exercise -to the lower or to the upper part of the body or to one part at the -expense of the others; the loins, the head, the arms, the chest. -Something which keeps all parts of the body moving alike and admits -either of the most violent strain or the gentlest relaxation, this can -be found in no exercise except the small ball. The game can be sharp or -slow, soft or violent just according to your own inclination, as your -body seems to need it. You can exercise all parts of the body at the -same time, if that appears best, or if it should seem preferable, some -parts rather than others. When the players form sides and try to stop -their opponents midway and rob them of the ball, the exercise is very -severe and violent. You often have to grip your man in wrestling fashion -or else collar him; the latter method giving plenty of work for head and -neck, the former exercising ribs, chest and stomach, as you fasten your -own grip or escape from your opponent’s. Sometimes you make your mark, -sometimes you use one of the holds that are taught in the wrestling -schools; and this means a very considerable strain on the loins and the -legs. And so for this sport a man must be a strong runner: he will have -to swerve and leap sideways as well as run straight forward and this is -hard exercise for the legs. Indeed, to speak the truth, it is the only -sport that properly exercises the legs in all their parts. When you run -forward one set of sinews and muscles comes into play; when you jump -backwards others have more work to do, and others again when you change -direction sideways. In track-running on the contrary, only one sort of -movement is necessary and the exercise is unequal, not affecting all -parts of the legs alike. - -‘And as with the legs so also with the arms, the exercise is -very fairly apportioned, for the players are accustomed to catch the -ball in every kind of attitude. This variety of attitude inevitably -exercises different muscles at different times in different degrees of -intensity. Every muscle has its turn of work and an equal share of rest: -they are now active, now quiescent; none remains altogether idle, none -is overcome with weariness by working alone. As for the training that -the eye receives you may realize this by remembering that unless a man -anticipates exactly the flight of the ball and its direction, he must -inevitably fail to make his catch. Moreover, the wits are sharpened by -the game: you have to think carefully how best to stop your opponent, -and not drop the ball yourself. Thought by itself makes a man thin; but -when it is combined with exercise and the pleasant rivalry of a sport it -is of the very greatest benefit. The body improves in health, the mind -is turned to practical knowledge. When exercise can render service both -to body and mind, each in its own special form of excellence, it is a -blessing indeed. - -[Illustration: A HOCKEY MATCH (Statue base discovered at Athens, -1922)] - -‘It is easy too to see that ball games can give men practice -in two most important forms of training, those two which the royal -ordinance of law bids our generals most sedulously to pursue. The -functions of a good general are these: to attack at the proper time and -to seize quickly each opportunity for action: to secure the property of -the enemy either by force or by an unexpected assault, and to keep safe -any possessions already acquired. In short, a general should be an -expert guardian and an expert thief: that is the sum of his trade. - -‘Now, can any exercise but ball games train a man so well -how to keep what he has got, to recover what he has lost, and to -anticipate his opponent’s plans? I should be surprised, if you could -tell me of one. Most forms of exercise have the opposite effect: they -make men lazy, slow-witted and fond of sleep. The competitions of the -wrestling school tend to make people corpulent rather than to train them -in virtue. Many wrestlers become so fat that they have difficulty in -breathing, and such folk could never be good generals in time of war or -good administrators either in a royal or a republican state: you might -sooner trust pigs than them. - -‘Perhaps you may think that I approve of running and any -other form of exercise that reduces fat. I do not. I disapprove of -excess in all matters, and I think that every art should aim at -symmetry. If a thing lacks measure, it is in so far bad. So I cannot -approve of track athletics, for they reduce a man’s physical condition -and give him no training in manliness. Victory does not come to those -who run quickly but to those who are able to hold their own in a close -fight, and the Spartans owed their greatness not to their speed of foot -but to their stubborn courage. Even if you considered it purely on -grounds of health, a sport is not healthy in so far as it exercises the -parts of the body unequally. Inevitably, some parts are overstrained, -some left quite idle. Neither of these conditions are good: both foster -the seeds of illness and produce a weak state of health. - -‘The exercise I approve of most is one that can give health -of body, symmetry of limbs and excellence of mind: and all these virtues -are found in the small ball. It can benefit the mind in all kinds of -ways; it exercises every part of the body alike--and this is of the -greatest importance for health--for it produces a regular state of -constitution; and it does not lead either to undue corpulence or -excessive thinness: it is competent to perform such acts as require -strength, it is suitable also for those that need quickness. - -‘Now if we consider ball games in their most violent form -they are inferior in no respect to any sort of athletics. But we must -also look at them in their milder aspect, for sometimes we need gentle -exercise. We may be either too old or not old enough to stand a severe -strain; we may wish to relax our efforts or be recovering from illness. -I think that in this respect also the small ball has a great advantage, -for no game is quite so gentle, if you wish to take it gently. Should -you need moderate exercise and desire to avoid excess, you will -sometimes step softly forward, sometimes stand quite still: you need not -make any violent effort and you can add to the effect by a warm bath or -a gentle rub down with oil. Of all exercise this is the most gentle: it -is most suitable for one who needs useful recreation, it can revive -failing strength, it is most suitable for old and young alike. There -are, however, some stronger sorts of exercise which can be obtained by -the use of the small ball, although they are milder than the most -intense form of the game, and these must now be considered if we really -wish to treat the subject completely. If ever some unavoidable task, -such as often falls to many a man’s lot, has caused an excessive strain -to all the upper or all the lower parts of the body, or to the arms -alone or to the feet, by the help of the small ball you can rest those -parts that have been overstrained and give the same amount of exercise -to those other parts that were then left quite idle. To stand a fair -distance apart and throw the ball vigorously, without using the legs -hardly at all, rests the lower limbs and gives a somewhat violent -exercise to the upper parts of the body. On the other hand, if you run -most of the way at a good speed keeping a wide distance and seldom throw -the ball, the lower limbs have more work to do. The quickness of action -and the speed required, involve no great muscular strain but they -exercise the lungs, while the vigorous effort, as you grasp the ball and -catch and throw it, although it needs no speed of foot, yet braces and -strengthens the body. If the ball is thrown both vigorously and at full -speed there will be a considerable strain on the body and on the lungs: -it will be indeed the most violent form of exercise possible. But how -far this strain should be relaxed or intensified, as circumstances -require, it is impossible to set down in writing--exact quantities -should never be stated; in actual practice it is easy enough to discover -the proper limit and to instruct others. On actual experience all -depends. The quality of a thing is useless if it is spoilt by a wrong -quantity, and this will be the business of your trainer, who will act as -guide in all matters of exercise. - -‘But I must bring my subject to an end. In addition to all -the other advantages, which, as I have said, the small ball possesses, -there is one more which I should not like to omit. It is free from all -the risks to which most other athletic exercises are liable. Before -to-day many a man has died of a broken blood-vessel after a violent -race: and so also the practice of loud and furious shouting, if pursued -without intermission for some time, has often proved the cause of very -serious mischief. Continuous horse-riding ruptures the parts about the -kidneys and often injures the chest, besides in some cases doing harm to -the generative organs. I say nothing of the mistakes that horses make, -whereby frequently their riders have been unseated and killed on the -spot. Many men have also been hurt while jumping, or throwing the -discus, or turning somersaults. As for the frequenters of the wrestling -school, what need I say of them? They are all scarred more shamefully -than the Curse-hags of whom Homer tells us. The great poet describes -them: “Lame and wrinkled and with eyes askance.” And so with the -wrestling master’s pupils, you will find them lame, distorted, battered, -and maimed in some part at least of their body. Since then, in addition -to the other advantages, this freedom from danger is the particular -attribute of small ball games, they must be regarded as the best of all -inventions, so far as actual utility is concerned.’ - -There are many striking points in the little essay; the importance that -Galen assigns to athletics as part of military training; his insistence -on the moral and intellectual virtue of games and their value in -producing a cheerful frame of mind; his depreciation, on social and -physical grounds, of track-running. It is written obviously from the -standpoint of a physician and not of an athlete or a sportsman. The -athlete might well wish for fuller details of the three different games -of ‘harpastum,’ ‘trigon,’ and ‘follis,’ which are here mentioned rather -than described. The sportsman would probably object to the strictures on -hunting and riding, and reply that a spice of danger gives an additional -zest to exercise. It is noticeable also that in discussing the moral -virtue of games Galen makes no mention of that which we consider their -most important feature, the ‘team-spirit,’ the working not for yourself -but for your side. - -Criticisms such as these, however, are ungracious. The ‘small ball’ is a -delightful example of the work of a great practical genius who devoted -his whole life to the service of his fellow-men. In spirit, moreover, -and in method it follows the true Greek tradition, and regards athletics -not as a mere diversion but as the best practical preparation for the -strenuous business of life. - - - - -SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY - - - _E. N. Gardiner_: Greek Athletic Sports and Festivals. Macmillan, - 1910. - - _K. J. Freeman_: Schools of Hellas. Macmillan, 1907. - - _W. W. Hyde_: Olympic Victor Monuments. Washington, U.S.A., 1921. - - _Walter Pater_: Greek Studies. Macmillan, 1895. - - _J. B. Bury_: The Nemean Odes of Pindar. Macmillan, 1891. - - _E. Bruecke_: The Human Figure. Grevel, 1900. - - _D. Watts_: The Renaissance of the Greek Ideal. Heinemann, 1914. - - _E. Jaques-Dalcroze_: Rhythm, Music and Education. Chatto and - Windus, 1921. - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[A] _The Arts in Greece._ By F. A. Wright. Longmans, 1923. - -[B] E. Myers: _Odes of Pindar_. - - - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GREEK ATHLETICS *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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A. Wright</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Greek Athletics</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: F. A. Wright</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: June 7, 2021 [eBook #65554]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Al Haines, Chuck Greif & the online Distributed Proofreaders Canada team at https://www.pgdpcanada.net</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GREEK ATHLETICS ***</div> - - -<p><br /><br /><br /><br /></p> - - -<hr class="full" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" height="550" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_2" id="page_2">{2}</a></span> </p> - -<div class="figcenter"><p><a name="ill_001" id="ill_001"></a></p> -<a href="images/img-front.jpg"> -<img src="images/img-front.jpg" height="550" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE AGIAS OF LYSIPPUS (Delphi)</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_3" id="page_3">{3}</a></span> </p> - -<h1>Greek Athletics</h1> - -<p class="cb"><i>by</i> F. A. Wright<br /><br /><br /> -<br /><br /><br /> -London<br /> -Jonathan Cape Ltd</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_4" id="page_4">{4}</a></span> </p> - -<p class="c">FIRST PUBLISHED IN MCMXXV<br /> -MADE & PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN<br /> -BY BUTLER & TANNER LTD<br /> -FROME AND<br /> -LONDON -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_5" id="page_5">{5}</a></span> </p> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="3" summary=""> -<tr><td> </td><td valign="top"><a href="#PREFACE">PREFACE</a> </td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_9">9</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#I">1.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#I">ATHLETICS AND ATHLETIC FESTIVALS</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_13">13</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#II">2.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#II">GYMNASTICS AND MILITARY TRAINING</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_28">28</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#III">3.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#III">PHYSICAL EDUCATION</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_61">61</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#IV">4.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#IV">HEALTH AND BODILY EXERCISE</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_83">83</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#V">5.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#V">GALEN’S TREATISE ON THE SMALL BALL</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_108">108</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td><td valign="top" ><a href="#SELECT_BIBLIOGRAPHY">SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_123">123</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_6" id="page_6">{6}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_7" id="page_7">{7}</a></span> </p> - -<h2><a name="ILLUSTRATIONS" id="ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="3" summary=""> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#ill_001">THE AGIAS OF LYSIPPUS (<i>Delphi</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#ill_001"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#ill_002">THE WRESTLERS (<i>Uffizi Gallery, Florence</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_30">30</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#ill_003">A WRESTLING CONTEST (<i>Athens</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_36">36</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#ill_004">THE DISKOBOLOS OF MYRON</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_40">40</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#ill_005">INDOOR SPORTS (<i>Athens</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_76">76</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#ill_006">THE VICTORY OF PAIONIOS (<i>Olympia</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_104">104</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#ill_007">THE THROW-IN AT THE SMALL BALL GAME (<i>Athens</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_110">110</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#ill_008">A HOCKEY MATCH (<i>Statue base discovered at Athens</i>, 1922)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_116">116</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_8" id="page_8">{8}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_9" id="page_9">{9}</a></span> </p> - -<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span>N a previous volume<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> an attempt was made to set out the principles -followed by the Greeks in the three sister arts of acting, music, and -painting; and to show how in some respects we have failed to improve -upon their practice. It is perhaps doubtful whether the mass of our -countrymen will ever take a very deep interest in the laws that govern -the right use of colour, sound, and gesture; and even if our inferiority -in art were proved, it is probable that the position would be regarded -with equanimity.</p> - -<p>But as regards athletics the case is different; and it is with some -hesitation that in this book, after giving a brief account of Greek -gymnastics and physical training, I have ventured to raise the question -whether Greek systems of bodily culture were not in some ways superior -to ours, and whether on the whole the Athenians of the fifth century -<span class="smcap">b.c.</span> were not a finer and a healthier people than are the Englishmen of -to-day.</p> - -<p>Before the year 1914 such doubts might never have presented themselves. -But one of the many unpleasant truths that the War revealed was that the -physical condition of our average middle-aged citizen was very far from -being what it should be. Indeed, anyone whose business it was then to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_10" id="page_10">{10}</a></span> -examine recruits, if he was at all familiar with the work of Greek -sculptors, must often have noticed with positive pain the difference -that was apparent between the figure of the typical Greek athlete and -the figure of the typical English town-dweller.</p> - -<p>The reasons for this poverty of physique were manifold—city life, -alcohol, nicotine, sedentary occupations, unsuitable food among the most -frequent—but there was one that overshadowed all the rest, a complete -ignorance of the structure and functions of the human body. Accompanying -this ignorance nearly always came an utter lack of acquaintance with the -elementary principles of gymnastics. There were very few men who did not -take a passionate interest in the progress of some football team, and -there were equally few who had ever given any intelligent thought to -their own physical condition.</p> - -<p>Games have certainly been of immense value to modern England, and we -have succeeded in making of them a real instrument of moral education. -On the cricket and the football field our national qualities of -individual initiative and cheerful obedience have been developed, the -virtues of courage, endurance, and self-control fostered. But the -average man to-day is inclined to take games too seriously, and to the -competitive element in them he attaches an altogether absurd<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_11" id="page_11">{11}</a></span> -importance. In cricket, football, or tennis it really makes little -difference which side wins, as long as all the participants get their -due share of exercise. The true object of a game is not to secure runs -or points or goals, but rather to develop and increase the strength of -every part of our body.</p> - -<p>On the other hand, gymnastics, in their widest sense, are not taken -seriously enough. It is the duty, and it should be the pleasure, of -every man and woman amongst us to make themselves as healthy and as -beautiful as Nature meant them to be. For this purpose the playing—not -of course the mere watching—of games has a definite value, but it does -not take the place of a properly devised system of gymnastic exercises. -Knowledge of the right methods is here of the first importance, and I -therefore dedicate this book to our real experts in physical science, -the gymnastic instructors of His Majesty’s Army.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_12" id="page_12">{12}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_13" id="page_13">{13}</a></span> </p> - -<h2><a name="I" id="I"></a>1<br /><br /> -Athletics and Athletic Festivals</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">A</span>THLETICS, whether ancient or modern, is a wide term covering a large -field of bodily activities, while the boundaries between sport and -athletics are often hard to fix. But we may safely distinguish four main -branches of physical energy.</p> - -<p>1. Athletics proper, where the essential feature is the competition with -its almost invariable concomitant the prize,—athlon; the two things -going so closely together that, as in the ‘Grand Prix,’ the same word is -used for race and reward.</p> - -<p>2. Gymnastics, the training of the body by a system of exercises in -which the naked limbs are allowed free play. Competition is here often -replaced by united action, and there is a close connexion with the -sister arts of music and medicine.</p> - -<p>3. Drill, the particular form of bodily training which is necessary to -fit a man for the duties of a soldier. It includes all the varieties of -military exercise and practice with arms, and differs from athletics and -gymnastics in that its formal purpose is purely utilitarian.</p> - -<p>4. Games of various kinds, played either singly or in company, and -usually requiring some sort of implement, a ball, a stick, or a hoop. -The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_14" id="page_14">{14}</a></span> elements of competition and united effort are usually present, but -a prize is not essential.</p> - -<p>The history of organized athletics in Greece is a very long one, and -extends for some twelve hundred years. The Olympic register of winners -in the foot-race begins 776 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, this year being taken as the first -Olympiad when, in the third century <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, the Olympic register came into -use as the recognized method of reckoning dates. From 776 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> to <span class="smcap">a.d.</span> -217 the list, as drawn up by Julius Africanus, has been preserved intact -for us by Eusebius. In the third century of our era the Roman Empire, -attacked by Goths, was forced to call in the Greeks to fight once more -for their native land, and even when the invading hordes were repulsed -the effects of their ravages were still felt. The Olympic games, as a -permanent institution, apparently ceased after the Gothic invasion, and -the policy of Constantine hastened the process of decay. Christianity, -now the official religion, looked with little favour on the ancient -festivals, and finally Theodosius I, probably on the advice of St. -Ambrose, in <span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 393 abolished the games by imperial edict, the last -Olympic victor known to history being a certain Armenian knight, a man -of gigantic strength, named Varaztad.</p> - -<p>There is hardly any other Greek institution which had so long a career. -Through the cen<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_15" id="page_15">{15}</a></span>turies, from the age of the tyrants to the great era of -the free States; from the rise of Macedonia to supremacy, through the -troubled years of the Achæan and Ætolian Leagues; while Greece lay -crushed under the rule of the Roman Senate and while it had its brief -revival of prosperity under the Roman Empire; in spite of every -vicissitude of fortune, year by year the Olympic games took place. There -is something impressive in this continuity which links together periods -otherwise so different, and historians have laid full stress on the -services that Olympia rendered in emphasizing the sense of national -unity and goodwill. But exaggeration is very possible here, and no one -can say that these athletic festivals created or maintained an -atmosphere of peace among the constantly warring Greek States, any more -than that their recent revival as an international event has succeeded -in bringing harmony to our modern empires. The chief benefit of all -these gatherings is the stimulus they afford to local and national -patriotism; but whether the dangers of such competitions are not greater -than the advantages is a question still undecided, and it may be useful -to remember that in Greece, despite the general popularity of athletics, -the two leading States, Athens and Sparta, during the greatest period of -their history held somewhat aloof. The reasons that actuated them were -different: for Athens,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_16" id="page_16">{16}</a></span> athletics were too specialized; for Sparta, they -were not specialized enough. But the fact remains that the two cities -which give to us most of what is valuable in Greek culture took but -little interest in this particular organization.</p> - -<p>The Athenian, in his indifference, was influenced probably by various -currents of thought. There was the old Ionian vein of softness, which -made the arduous straining of the athlete distasteful and led to the -formation of the adjective <i>athlios</i>, ‘distressful,’ from the noun -<i>athlon</i>; the spirit that regarded work as a ‘plaguy nuisance,’ the -carrying of burdens as ‘vulgar,’ and any form of manual labour as -beneath the dignity of a gentleman. There was also the finer feeling -that the excessive pursuit of athletics tended to coarsen rather than to -refine the human body by developing particular muscles at the expense of -general grace, and thus destroying that <i>eutrapelia</i>, the ready -nimbleness of mind and limb, which the Athenian valued most. Lastly, -there was the just belief that athletics in themselves are but a means -to an end, the health of the body, and that although that end is a -desirable one, a healthy mind is even more important. This is the point -of view that Xenophanes of Colophon (576-480 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>) represents when he -says:</p> - -<p>‘It is not right to prefer strength to the blessings of wisdom: our -wisdom is better than the strength of men and horses. It is not speed of -foot that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_17" id="page_17">{17}</a></span> gives a city good government; nor does it bring fatness into -the dark places of a land.’</p> - -<p>In the next century Euripides repeats the complaint, and in more bitter -language:</p> - -<p class="nind">‘Of all the countless evils in Greece, none is worse than -the athlete tribe. Slaves of their belly, they know neither how to make -money nor to bear poverty. In early manhood they seem fine fellows and -strut about, the darlings of the town; but when old age comes, like -worn-out cloaks they are flung aside.’</p> - -<p>And for all this mischief the athletic gatherings, with their crowds of -useless spectators, are chiefly responsible. The principle of valuation -is wrong, for</p> - -<p class="nind">‘Who by skill in wrestling, or by lifting the diskos, or by -a shrewd blow on the jaw ever helped his native land, even though he won -the prize? Will men fight the foe holding a diskos in both hands, or -will they get home with one fist through the foemen’s shield? No one -thinks of such folly when he is standing near cold steel.’</p> - -<p>These last lines, though written by an Athenian poet, represent the -Spartan reasons for withdrawal from Olympia. In the early days of the -festival—from 720 to 576 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>—the number of Spartan victors in the -list is very large, and shows, indeed, an undisputed Spartan supremacy. -After 576 they cease almost entirely, and the disappearance of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_18" id="page_18">{18}</a></span> Sparta -coincides with the specialization of athletics which then began. At -Delphi, Corinth, and Nemea small local games were changed into national -festivals which hoped to rival Olympia. Besides the four great -festivals, there were countless smaller competitions established—at -Athens, for example, at Argos and at Pellene, and the first result was a -distinct rise in the standard of athletic performances, so that definite -training became necessary to win success. Secondly, people began to -attend the meetings purely as spectators, and additional -competitions—in music, poetry, even in beauty—were introduced to -please an idle audience, with the result that at last these gatherings -presented almost as many attractions as a mediæval fair. It was against -this combination of international merrymaking and individual -prize-winning that the Spartan system was a protest. ‘Sparta for the -Spartans’ was the ruling principle of the Spartan State, and aliens who -tried to establish themselves at Lacedæmon were removed by somewhat -drastic methods. In a State where all personal initiative was -discouraged, the international athlete, honoured by poets and sculptors -for his mere personal prowess, could have no place. Moreover, athletics, -which the Spartans were prepared to support as a useful recreation -tending to produce that which alone in their judgment was of importance -to a State, good<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_19" id="page_19">{19}</a></span> soldiers, had in the sixth century before Christ -become an end in themselves, and the gulf between the specialized -athlete and the soldier very quickly began to widen. The athlete soon -became a professional in fact if not in name, with little time for -anything else but training. A class of professional instructors came -into existence, and Sparta, after first excluding the trainers, finally -forbade her citizens to take part in such competitions. She saw that the -spirit of the professional athlete was at enmity with the military -ardour which she made it her business to create, and so after about the -middle of the sixth century she practically withdrew from active -participation in the Olympic festival.</p> - -<p>The withdrawal of Sparta, however, had also its political reasons, and -was only part of her general disapproval of the Tyrants. While she, the -Dorian ox, represented the principle of individual isolation, the -tyrannis, the Ionian horse, was the champion of expansion and national -unity. Athletic festivals were to the tyrants one of several means -whereby the commercial and social intercourse of all the Greek States, -on the mainland or across the seas, might be encouraged, and the period -of the tyrants’ prosperity was also the period when most of the -Panhellenic Games were instituted. Periander, tyrant of Corinth, founded -the Isthmia about 586 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>: Cleisthenes, tyrant of Sicyon, about the -same time helped the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_20" id="page_20">{20}</a></span> Amphictyons to establish the Pythia: the Nemea, -which began in 573, almost certainly owed their importance to one of the -tyrants of Argos who succeeded Phidon. As for Phidon himself, it is -probable that he should be regarded as the second founder of the Olympic -Games, and that his was the influence which changed a local festival -into a national gathering where East and West could meet. We know that -the chief object of his policy was to promote free intercourse with -South Italy and Sicily, and the geographical position of Elis, looking -across the western sea, was probably an important factor in his plans.</p> - -<p>But however this may be, and we know too little of Phidon to be -dogmatic, it is a certain fact that the Olympic games were reorganized -by the managers at Elis some time in the early part of the sixth century -<span class="smcap">b.c.</span> The festival, which had been for one day only, was now enlarged and -the chief competitions became races for chariots and single horses, -these taking the place of importance given formerly to the simple -running and wrestling matches of which alone the Spartans approved. -Chariot races, except in so far as they improve the breed of horses, -have no military value, and they also require a considerable expenditure -of money, time and trouble, things of which Sparta thought better use -might be made; but they exactly suited the merchant princes of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_21" id="page_21">{21}</a></span> the -West, and after 550 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> we find the Greeks of Italy and Sicily playing -always a very prominent part at Olympia. Of the ten treasure-houses -there that have been identified five belonged to them, and possessing -those material resources which the home-staying Greeks so painfully -lacked they were able both very frequently to win the chariot race and -also to commission Pindar to celebrate their victories. Among other -places that were especially successful in the athletic contests we find -the great African colony of Cyrene, the island of Rhodes, whence came -the famous athlete Dorieus, and, curiously enough, the little State of -Ægina for whose citizens Pindar wrote no fewer than eleven of the -forty-four epinikian odes we now possess. Athens was occasionally -represented, Sparta never.</p> - -<p>At the beginning of the fifth century the four great games were all -firmly established. The Olympic took place in the first year of each -Olympiad; the Nemean and the Isthmian came in the second year, the -Pythian in the third, and the Nemean and the Isthmian again in the -fourth. Every year therefore the Greek athlete had one competition open -to him and in alternate years two. Of the four, the Nemean games were -the most purely athletic, as befitted a festival where the old -Peloponnesian traditions still maintained some of their vitality. The -Pythians gave<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_22" id="page_22">{22}</a></span> rather more importance to literary and musical -competitions than did the others; one of the chief events was a recital -of the ‘Hymn to Apollo’ and there were also contests in flute playing. -The Isthmians, which were the most frequented by the Athenians, catered -especially for sightseers and there was a large number of side shows of -every kind. But the Olympic festival, the first of the four to be -established, always maintained its premier place, having furthermore the -distinct advantage of a site especially designed and reserved for this -one great occasion. The games were to the ruling families of Elis what -the oracle was to the ruling families of Delphi, a source of honour, -profit and wealth, and every effort was made to glorify and embellish -the precinct of Olympian Zeus.</p> - -<p>Of that precinct, the Altis, we have a very full description by the old -Greek traveller Pausanias, who visited it in the second century of our -era. Following his indications German archæologists, assisted by their -Government, excavated the greater part of the site with the most careful -thoroughness between the years 1875-1881, and discovered there, <i>inter -alia</i>, nearly all the exterior temple sculptures, the Hermes of -Praxiteles, and the Victory of Pæonius, although they failed to find any -trace of the greatest treasure of all, the sitting figure of Zeus by -Pheidias.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_23" id="page_23">{23}</a></span></p> - -<p>The Altis is a quadrilateral space, where goats now feed, about 750 feet -long by 570 feet broad, lying between the river Alpheus on the south and -a low but steep hill, thickly wooded with pine trees, the ancient Mount -of Cronos, which rises to the north. Immediately to the west, the river -Cladeus flows between high sandy banks into the Alpheus, which now in -the summer is only a trickle of muddy water running over a broad -gravelly bed, but in old times was a navigable stream.</p> - -<p>In the precinct itself stood the Temple of Zeus, built by the architect -Libon, about 460 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, to house the statue of the god; the Temple of -Hera, one of the oldest of Greek shrines, dating back perhaps to the -tenth century <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>; the Treasuries of the various states; and the -Council House. The stadion, some 230 by 32 yards, where the athletic -contests took place, was just outside the precinct at the north-east -corner, the spectators being accommodated on raised embankments of earth -which may have contained as many as forty-five thousand people standing.</p> - -<p>The festival took place at the time of one of the summer full moons, and -as soon as the sacred truce was proclaimed, sightseers began to flock in -by sea and land from all parts of the Greek world. The first day of the -five, to which the games in 472 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> were extended, was spent in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_24" id="page_24">{24}</a></span> -sacrifices and general festivity, while the competitors and the judges, -the Hellanodicæ, took the oath of fair dealing. On the second morning at -daybreak the judges, in purple robes, were conducted to the special -seats reserved for them, the herald proclaimed the names of competitors, -and the day was spent in chariot and horse races and in the pentathlon -competition for men; the crown of wild olive, which was the only prize, -being presented by the judges to the victors at the conclusion of each -event. The boys’ contests came on the third day; the men’s foot-races, -wrestling, boxing and pankration on the fourth; and the last event of -all was the race for men in armour. On the fifth day there were -sacrifices again, and in the evening a ceremonial banquet at which the -victors were entertained. This was the beginning of that athletic -glorification to which Sparta so strongly objected, and their homecoming -was usually made the occasion of the most elaborate celebrations. -Exainetos of Agrigentum, for example, who won the foot-race in 416 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, -was brought into the city in a chariot to which his fellow townsmen -harnessed themselves and was escorted by three hundred cars drawn by -white horses. In the western states especially they sometimes received -almost divine worship: their exploits were recorded on stone monuments, -and songs composed in their honour were sung by bands of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_25" id="page_25">{25}</a></span> youths and -maidens, while for the rest of their lives they had the privilege of a -front seat at all public festivals, and often also the right of taking -their meals free in the town hall.</p> - -<p>All this was part of the exaggerated pomp with which the festival itself -in all its details was conducted; its processions, feastings, -proclamations, and sacrifices, where each state vied with the others in -making a show of gold and silver plate and displaying all the wealth -they possessed. Ostentation was not a common fault in Greece, but it had -full scope at Olympia. The two worst defects of the Greek character were -also prominent there—a contempt for women which forbade any female even -to be present, and an exaggerated idea of racial purity which shut out -all competitors except those of undisputed Greek descent. But the -spectacle must have been a splendid one, and it undoubtedly inspired -some of the finest works of Greek art. The erection of a statue in the -Altis was one of the honours given to victorious athletes to glorify -their triumph, and if the victor was unable himself to meet the expense -of setting up such a monument, the cost was often borne for him by his -native city. ‘In the courts of Olympia,’ as Walter Pater says, ‘a whole -population in marble and bronze gathered quickly,—a world of portraits -out of which, as the purged and perfected essence, the ideal soul, of -them,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_26" id="page_26">{26}</a></span> emerged the <i>Diadumenus</i> and the <i>Discobolus</i>.’ Pausanias gives -us a list of some of the great sculptors whose works were still standing -there in his time—Hagelaidas, Pythagoras, Kalamis, Myron, Polycleitus, -Lysippus, and possibly Pheidias—and these nude figures established a -canon of bodily perfection which had no little influence in actual life.</p> - -<p>Poets also vied with sculptors in glorifying the Olympic victor. -Simonides of Keos and Bacchylides sang his praise, and in the Epinikian -Odes of Pindar we have the greatest of all memorials to the athletic -spirit—‘Verse that is all of gold and wine and flowers, and is itself -avowedly a flower, or “liquid nectar,” or “the sweet fruit of his soul, -to men that are winners in the games.” “As when from a wealthy hand one -lifting a cup, made glad within with the dew of the vine, maketh gift to -a youth”: the keynote of Pindar’s verse is there.’ With a choral music -unsurpassed in any language, with wealth of legend and myth, with -accumulation of epithet and metaphor, Pindar bears his witness to the -pride of physical perfection. And with all the grandeur of his odes it -is significant that he lacks conspicuously both the Spartan virtue of -simplicity and the Athenian desire for economy of effort.</p> - -<p class="nind">‘His soul rejoiced in splendour—splendour of stately palace -halls where the columns were of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_27" id="page_27">{27}</a></span> marble and the entablature of wrought -gold; splendour of temples of the gods, where the sculptor’s waxing art -had brought the very deities to dwell with man; splendour of the -white-pillared cities that glittered across the Ægean and Sicilian seas; -splendour of the holy Panhellenic games, of whirlwind chariots and the -fiery grace of thoroughbreds, of the naked shapely limbs of the athlete, -man and boy.’<a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a></p> - -<p>Splendour was the ideal alike of the Achæan chieftain, the Corinthian -tyrant, and the Olympic judge. But the stern lesson of the Persian Wars -led the Greek people in the fifth century to higher things, and the true -spirit of athletics passed from the magnificent precinct of Olympian -Zeus to the simple exercising grounds which every town possessed. -Olympia and its prizes fell into the hands of professionals; but -gymnastics remained an essential part of national education.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_28" id="page_28">{28}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="II" id="II"></a>2<br /><br /> -Gymnastics and Military Training</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE various athletic exercises, which are here for convenience classed -together under the word ‘gymnastics,’ fall into three main classes, -depending respectively on strength of body, of leg, and of arm. To the -first class belong boxing and wrestling, to the second running and -jumping, to the third throwing the diskos and the javelin. The last five -of these six sports—boxing being excluded—formed the Pentathlon, a -combined competition of five events arranged to suit the all-round -military athlete, for whom Greek athletic training at its best was -especially designed. In such a competition the foot-race probably came -first and the wrestling last; the three middle events—the field events, -as we should call them, jumping, throwing the javelin, and hurling the -diskos—being those that were particularly identified with the -five-sport system which aimed at producing, not a specialized athlete, -but a man who combined strength with agility and skill. Victory in the -Pentathlon depended, not on success in all events, but on a system of -marks; victory in three of the competitions was sufficient in itself, -but if no competitor won three times, and two competitors tied with two -victories each, it is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_29" id="page_29">{29}</a></span> highly probable that account was taken of second -and third places.</p> - -<p>Of the separate exercises, wrestling perhaps was the favourite. It was -the oldest of all sports, and to the Greeks one of the most important. -To them it was both a science and an art. Theseus, its inventor, was, -according to the myth, taught the rules by Athena herself. Victory alone -was not sufficient; the winner must win gracefully and according to the -precepts of the schools. It was from wrestling that the palæstra took -its name, and the Greek language is full of metaphors and expressions -borrowed from the technical phraseology of the ring. The contests -between Heracles and Antæus, and between Atalanta and Peleus, are two of -the best known and most frequently depicted episodes of the heroic saga, -and wrestling was one of the sports in which women were allowed by some -States—by Sparta and Chios, for example—to take part, competing even -against men. Instruction was given in the school; there were separate -rules for men and boys, and the different movements, grips, and throws -were taught on a system of progressive difficulty; textbooks were used, -and fragments of such a manual have recently been found on an Egyptian -papyrus. There were two principal styles, the upright wrestling, in -which the object was to throw one’s opponent to the ground, three falls -being necessary for victory,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_30" id="page_30">{30}</a></span> and the ground wrestling, in which the -struggle was continued even after a fall until one of the combatants -yielded. The first style, however, was the only one regarded as strictly -legitimate, the second being merely part of the pankration. The attitude -of a Greek before coming to grips was very similar to that of modern -wrestlers, and is beautifully illustrated in the pair of boy statues -from Naples which may be seen in the Embankment gardens. Standing square -to one another, they endeavoured to get a hold from the front or the -side. The defence was often a grip on the opponent’s wrist, which might -lead to the offensive if his elbow could also be seized and the throw we -call ‘the flying mare’ be then executed. Of front body-holds, the most -effective was gained by catching the waist with both hands and then -lifting the opponent off his feet, such a hold as Heracles used against -Antæus. Of side-throws the best known was ‘the heave,’ usually ascribed -to Theseus, where one hand was passed round the opponent’s back and the -other hand slipped underneath him. Another favourite hold was by the -neck—a strong neck was essential for a wrestler—and when this was -secured a sudden turn of the body would lead to the throw that we call a -‘cross-buttock.’ In all wrestling tripping played an important part, and -there are a very large number of technical terms in Greek for the -different trips that are</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><p><a name="ill_002" id="ill_002"></a></p> -<a href="images/img-030.jpg"> -<img src="images/img-030.jpg" width="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE WRESTLERS (Uffizi Gallery, Florence)</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_31" id="page_31">{31}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">employed. Every district in Greece had a style of its own, and these -diversities of method helped to keep active an interest in wrestling and -to preserve it from the disease of professionalism, so that even when -other sports had been ruined the wrestling ring still remained a useful -and a popular institution.</p> - -<p>It is this popularity in actual life that accounts for the frequency of -descriptions of wrestling matches in Greek literature. Two of them at -least are worth quoting; the first from the <i>Iliad</i>, Book XXIII, the -contest between Ajax and Odysseus at the funeral games of Patroclus:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">He said; and straight uprose the giant form<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of Ajax Telamon: with him uprose<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ulysses, skilled in every crafty wile.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Girt with the belt, within the ring they stood,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And each, with stalwart grasp, laid hold on each;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">As stand two rafters of a lofty house,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Each propping each, by skilful architect<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Designed the tempest’s fury to withstand.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Creaked their backbones beneath the tug and strain<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of those strong arms; their sweat poured down like rain;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And bloody weals of livid purple hue<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Their sides and shoulders streaked, as sternly they<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For victory and the well-wrought tripod strove.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Nor could Ulysses Ajax overthrow,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_32" id="page_32">{32}</a></span><br /></span> -<span class="i0">Nor Ajax bring Ulysses to the ground,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">So stubbornly he stood; but when the Greeks<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Were weary of the long protracted strife,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thus to Ulysses mighty Ajax spoke:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">‘Ulysses sage, Laertes’ godlike son,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Or lift thou me, or I will thee uplift:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The issue of our struggle rests with Jove.’<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He said, and raised Ulysses from the ground;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Nor he his ancient craft remembered not,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But locked his leg around, and striking sharp<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Upon the hollow of the knee, the joint<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Gave way; the giant Ajax backwards fell,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ulysses on his breast; the people saw,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And marvelled. Then in turn Ulysses strove<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ajax to lift; a little way he moved,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But failed to lift him fairly from the ground;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Yet crooked his knee, that both together fell,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And side by side, defiled with dust, they lay.<br /></span> -<span class="i7">(Homer: <i>Iliad</i>, XXIII, 820-851,<br /></span> -<span class="i11">Derby’s translation.)<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The second description is separated from Homer by some twelve centuries, -but it is equally vigorous. In the tenth book of <i>The Æthiopian History</i> -of Heliodorus, the hero Theagenes, as his last trial before winning his -beloved Chariclea, is matched against a stalwart Æthiopian, and in -Underdowne’s quaint Elizabethan version the passage thus appears:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_33" id="page_33">{33}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">‘Then hee tooke dust, and cast it upon his armes and -shoulders, and stretched foorth his hands, and tooke some footing, and -bent his legges a little, and stouped lowe, at a word all partes of his -body were ready, so that he stoode, and with great desire awayted for -the advantage at the close. The Æthiopian seeing this laughed irefully, -and triumphed scornefully upon him: and ranne suddenly upon him, and -with his elbowe hit Theagenes in the necke, as sore as if he had -stricken him with a leaver, and then drewe backe, and laughed againe at -his owne foolish conceite. But Theagenes like a man alway from his -cradle brought up in wrastling, and throughly instructed in Mercuries -arte, thought it good to geve place at first, and take some triall of -his adversaries strength, and not to withstand so rude a violence, but -with arte to delude the same. Therefore he stouped lower, and made -semblance as though he had beene very sorrowfull, and layde his other -side to receive his other blowe. And when the Æthiopian came upon him -againe, he made as though hee would have fallen flat upon his face; but -as soon as the Æthiopian began to despise him, and was incouraged well, -and came unadvisedly the third time, and lyfted up his arme againe to -take holde of him, putting his right arme under his left side, by -lifting up his hande he overthrew him in a heape, and casting himselfe -under his arme pittes gryped his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_34" id="page_34">{34}</a></span> gorbelly with much a doo, and forced -him with his heeles to fall on his knees, and then leapt on his backe, -and clasping his feete about his privie parts made him stretch out his -legges, wherewith he did stay up himselfe, and pulled his armes over his -head behinde him, and laide his bellie flatte upon the earth.’</p> - -<p>Boxing also, like wrestling, always retained its attractiveness, and in -its ancient form offers some varieties from the modern mode. There were -three stages in its history, depending largely upon the instruments of -fighting used. Down to the beginning of the fourth century <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> it was -customary to wind soft strips of leather—<i>meilichai</i>—round the hands -and arms, which served, like our light gloves, to protect the knuckles -and so increased the power of attack, but did not in themselves add to -the severity of the blow. Early in the fourth century the <i>meilichai</i> -were superseded by gloves—<i>sphairai</i>—made of hard pieces of leather -with projecting and cutting edges, real weapons of offence, like our -knuckle-dusters. From these the Roman <i>cæstus</i> was developed, where the -glove was weighted with pieces of iron and metal spikes placed in -position over the knuckles.</p> - -<p>In Greek boxing there was no ring and therefore little close fighting, -there were no rounds and therefore the pace was slow, for rushing -tactics marked the untrained man; lastly, there was no<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_35" id="page_35">{35}</a></span> classification -by weight; the heavier the man the greater his chance of success, so -that a meat diet for boxers was almost compulsory, and boxing became -practically the monopoly of the heavy-weights. As thongs or gloves were -always used on the hands, wrestling was impossible, and in later times -at least the defence was all-important. It seems fairly well established -that body-hitting was not practised, and in the Hellenistic age a fight -was usually decided by a knock-out blow on the jaw. But in the best -period the Greek boxer used both his hands freely, was active on his -feet, and had a considerable variety of attack. The introduction of -heavy gloves vitiated the art, and boxers began to rely merely on their -weight and defensive powers.</p> - -<p>Of all these stages we have plentiful evidence both in art and -literature, for boxing and its preliminaries are among the favourite -subjects of vase painters, while in poetry, beside the account of the -fight between Odysseus and the beggar Irus in the <i>Odyssey</i> and between -Entellus and Dares in the <i>Æneid</i>, we have a really enthusiastic and -expert description by Theocritus of the great struggle between Amycus -and Polydeuces. The battle is as vividly described as the epic contest -in the Dell between Lavengro and the Flaming Tinman, and the poet, by -making it a fight between the old school of scientific activity and the -new method of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_36" id="page_36">{36}</a></span> stolid strength, ingeniously enlists our sympathies from -the first upon the side of skill against brute force.</p> - -<p>‘Then Amycus came on furiously, making play with both hands; but Pollux -smote him on the point of the chin as he charged, maddening him the -more, and the giant confused the fighting, laying on with all his might, -and going in with head down.... But the son of Zeus stepped now this -side, now that, and hit him with both fists in turn, and checked his -onslaught, for all his monstrous strength. Like a drunken man he reeled -beneath the hero’s blows, and spat out the red blood, while all the -princes shouted together, as they marked the ugly bruises about his -mouth and jaws, and saw his eyes half closed by puffy flesh. Next Pollux -began to tease him, feinting on every side, and at last, seeing that he -was now quite bewildered, he got in a smashing blow just above the -middle of the nose beneath the eyebrows, and laid the bone of his -forehead bare. Stretched on his back the giant fell amid the flowers; -but he rose again, and the fighting went on fiercely. They mauled each -other hard, laying on with the weighted thongs; but the giant was always -busy with his fists on the other’s chest and outside his neck, while -Pollux, the invincible, kept on smashing his opponent’s face with cruel -blows.’ (Theocritus: <i>Idyll</i>, XXII, 87-111.)</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><p><a name="ill_003" id="ill_003"></a></p> -<a href="images/img-036.jpg"> -<img src="images/img-036.jpg" width="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>A WRESTLING CONTEST (Athens)</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_37" id="page_37">{37}</a></span></p> - -<p>Boxing and wrestling were combined in the pankration and allied with -many other devices, such as kicking, strangling, twisting, etc.; it was -a versatile performance, the joint invention of Heracles and Theseus, -and considered both by Pindar and Philostratus as ‘the fairest of all -contests.’ There was an element of danger, but it was no more brutal -than is the almost similar method of jujitsu; moreover, strict rules -were enforced by umpires who closely watched the combatants. Biting and -gouging were strictly forbidden, although frequently attempted, as for -example by Alcibiades. ‘You bite like a woman,’ cried his opponent. -‘No,’ said the young Athenian, ‘like a lion.’ Of gouging we have a -picture on a cup in the British Museum, where one figure has inserted -his finger into his opponent’s eye, while the umpire hurries forward -with uplifted rod. But nearly every manœuvre of hands, feet, and body -was permissible. You might catch your opponent by his foot and throw him -backwards; you might seize his heel or ankle, and then, if you could, -twist his foot out of its socket; you might kick him violently in the -stomach; you might plant your foot against the other man’s waist and -throw him over your shoulder; you might even stand on your own head, if -that position seemed expedient. All these tricks were used in the -standing position, but the issue of the combat was usually decided on -the ground. There you<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_38" id="page_38">{38}</a></span> might twist arm or hand, break fingers, and -strangle. All neck holds were allowed, but the favourite method of -strangling was known as the ‘ladder grip,’ in which you mounted your -opponent’s back and wound your legs round his stomach and your arms -round his neck. Ground wrestling was indeed the distinctive feature of -the pankration, and the well-known group in the Uffizi Palace at -Florence represents one of the last stages in such a contest.</p> - -<p>Of running and jumping little need be said, for it is very possible that -in neither sport had the Greeks much to teach modern athletes. They were -a short-legged people, and although they may have had some advantages in -long-distance races they probably would be much inferior to our -specialized sprint runners: length of leg must tell, and as in -horse-racing ‘a good big ’un’ is better than ‘a good little ’un,’ so in -a short-distance race length of stride ensures victory. But running was -very popular in Greece, and of the eight events in the early Olympic -games no less than four were foot-races, three for men—at 200 yards, -400 yards, and three miles—and one for boys. The running course—the -stade—was a straight 200 yards; for the diaulos of 400 yards the -runners turned at a post and came back to the starting-point. The start -was marked by two parallel lines, for a Greek runner began in a somewhat -cramped position,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_39" id="page_39">{39}</a></span> with the feet close together. The runners ran naked, -their bodies carefully oiled, and for each man there was a post at the -starting and at the finishing point to which he ran; there were no -dividing strings, nor was there any tape. Vase paintings of runners are -very frequent and plainly show the difference of style between the -sprinter and the long-distance man; in the early vases a short, thickset -type is common, in the later the thin sprinter is preferred. The most -famous names are those of long-distance runners—e.g. Pheidippides and -Ladas, whose statue by Myron was even more admired than the same -master’s Diskobolos,—and in these races the Cretans and Arcadians -especially excelled, while the Athenians were better at short distances. -Beside races proper there were various running contests; for example, -the race in armour, which was introduced at Olympia towards the close of -the sixth century and was the final event of the games, the competitors -running in full panoply of shield, helmet, and greaves. Other similar -events were the Oschophoria, where youths ran in women’s clothes, and -the Lampadophoria, in which a lighted torch was carried by single -runners or by teams. These latter were very popular at Athens, and they -illustrate the difference between the ancient and modern view of -running. They were not serious and specialized enough for a modern -athletic meeting, where<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_40" id="page_40">{40}</a></span> everything is a matter of record and a fifth of -a second is of vital importance.</p> - -<p>Jumping, also, was comparatively simple and restricted in its scope. Of -high jumping and pole jumping the Greeks had none, for athletics were -always practical, and as there were no hedges in Greece for soldiers to -jump over it was unnecessary to practise high jumping in the school. -Their long jump differed from ours in that it was always performed with -the help of jumping weights—<i>halteres</i>—things much like our dumb-bells -and used in a very similar fashion. With these implements a class of -pupils would practise together to the music of the flute. Both standing -and running jumps were performed from a take-off into a -pit—<i>skamma</i>—and jumps of over twenty feet were common; the fifty-five -feet ascribed to Phayllus is an impossible exaggeration.</p> - -<p>But if in running and jumping we have little to learn, it is very -different in regard to the ‘field events,’ the throwing of the javelin -and the diskos. Here the Greek system of body poise and muscular -development gave their athletes an enormous advantage and enabled them -easily to perform movements which to our modern bodies seem almost -impossible. Both exercises were especially popular at Athens, and were -there regarded as part of gymnastics rather than athletics: i.e. they -were designed, not as</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><p><a name="ill_004" id="ill_004"></a></p> -<a href="images/img-040.jpg"> -<img src="images/img-040.jpg" height="550" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE DISKOBOLOS OF MYRON</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_41" id="page_41">{41}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">competitive sports, but as means to improve bodily efficiency.</p> - -<p>The javelin was a light stick of wood, usually pointless. Distance -throwing was far more usual than throwing at a mark, and for this -purpose a thong—<i>amentum</i>—was used, fastened near the centre of the -javelin shaft. Such a thong practically quadruples the range of throw, -but the process needs long practice and is of course highly artificial -in comparison with the natural use of the spear in hunting or in war. -Greek athletics had a definite purpose, and we may be sure that it was -not the actual throw but the movements necessary for the throw that gave -its value to the exercise. These movements, the short, quick steps -before the cast and the sharp turn of the body to the right, are -illustrated frequently on the vases; the throw itself is seldom -represented, and then with very poor results. The diskos was a flat and -fairly heavy circle of bronze. It was thrown from behind a line and in a -restricted space, a throw of 100 feet being exceptionally good.</p> - -<p>II</p> - -<p>Such is a brief account of the gymnastic sports and exercises which -formed so important a part of a Greek’s everyday round. Each one of them -had its own special value in developing the strength of some particular -part of the body, and taken<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_42" id="page_42">{42}</a></span> together they formed a complete and -adequate training for what was to an ancient citizen the chief business -of life—war.</p> - -<p>To us, whose civilization is based on the habits of peace and to whom -war means the negation of all the humanities, it may seem illogical to -think of fighting as a business. But it was not so in Greece. Warfare -was <i>the</i> art of life, so far surpassing all the other arts that it was -regarded not so much as an accidental state but rather as a vital -function, as necessary to existence as breathing, sleeping, eating, and -drinking. It would accept what help the other arts could give: athletics -made a soldier nimble and supple; medicine kept him in health; the music -of the flute was useful in marching; the lyric poet and the dramatist -could foster and elevate the martial spirit; but all these were -subservient to the one engrossing purpose. Men fought to live and lived -to fight.</p> - -<p>For the Greeks it was war, not peace, that seemed the natural state of -an organized community. War was part of their civilization: they liked -fighting and they fought like gentlemen. The Romans, on the other hand, -had no love for fighting in itself and fought without much regard to the -rules of the game. And yet the Romans were more successful in the -conduct of war, for, as our English general says, Courage, Common Sense -and Cunning are the essentials of victory, and if by courage<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_43" id="page_43">{43}</a></span> we mean -endurance all three were Roman rather than Greek qualities. The Romans -were always anxious to win and get finished with it, and for this -purpose they were willing to fight on year after year in order that at -last they might inflict a crushing defeat on the enemy and then return -home to their flesh-pots. The Greeks were satisfied with one indecisive -success and never tried to annihilate their opponents; for then the -sport would have come to an end. To the Romans, in spite of their many -campaigns, war was an unpleasant interruption of their usual way of -life; to the Greeks, it was simply an exciting but somewhat dangerous -diversion, which was, however, an integral part of the citizen’s service -to the state.</p> - -<p>The Greek attitude may be easily understood if we consider their -history. They were never, like the Romans, a pastoral or agricultural -community. Their culture was cradled on the battle-field and the more -intense the fighting the more intense the literary and artistic effort -of the nation. The constant stress of battle wore the race out -eventually, but it never hurt their civilization. From the earliest days -peace was unknown in the land. The raids of sea pirates, the forced -migrations of peoples, tribal wars, trade wars, dynastic wars: such is -the history of Greece in its first, middle, and concluding stages. If -war is a curse that can only bring evil, then the Greeks were the most -unhappy<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_44" id="page_44">{44}</a></span> of nations, for the noise of battle was seldom hushed, and -instead of declaring war they thought themselves fortunate if -occasionally they could declare peace.</p> - -<p>This constant presence of the martial spirit is visible in all that -remains to us of their art and literature. Upon the silver ware of -Mycenæ we see the Minoans fighting naked, crouching with bow and arrow -behind their shields. The statues from Ægina are all of men arrayed for -battle with lance, shield, and sword. Even Pallas Athene, the goddess of -wisdom and the household arts, is usually represented wearing the -panoply of war, and the decorations of her temple are mostly pictures of -battle or of preparation for the fray, the combats between Centaurs and -Lapithæ and the marshalling of the mounted soldiers for her solemn -procession. Painters, like sculptors, found their chief subjects in war, -either in the ancient combats of the epic lays or in the actual life of -the parade-ground and the guard-room. The Attic vases of the sixth and -fifth centuries, the best example we possess of truly popular art, -repeat the warrior motif almost to satiety, and they did so because the -potter knew that of this subject at least his clients would never be -weary.</p> - -<p>It is the same in Greek literature, from first to last. In the Homeric -poems fighting is the normal business of man. There are fairy-lands, the -poet<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_45" id="page_45">{45}</a></span> can imagine, where fighting is not the common rule of life, the -land of the lotus-eaters, the orchards of the Phæacians, the island -realms of Circe and Calypso: but these are all uncanny magic places -where decent everyday rules do not hold good. In Homer it is a man’s -function to fight, by sea and land, in a chariot or on foot, to use -spear and sword, to attack and plunder, or to defend himself from the -enemy’s raids. So also with the lyric poets of the next era, from -Archilochus downwards; they are men of battle first and men of letters -afterwards, squires of the War god, as Archilochus cries:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">‘My spear is bread, white kneaded bread,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">My spear’s Ismarian wine,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">My spear is food and drink and bed,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">With it the world is mine.’<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>We get the same refrain in Hybrias the Cretan, the verses known to -English musicians by Campbell’s translation:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">‘My wealth’s a burly spear and brand<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And a right good shield of hides untanned<br /></span> -<span class="i3">Which on my arm I buckle.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">With these I plough, I reap, I sow,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">With these I make the sweet vintage flow<br /></span> -<span class="i3">And all around me truckle.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_46" id="page_46">{46}</a></span><br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">But your wights that take no pride to wield<br /></span> -<span class="i1">A massy spear and well made shield,<br /></span> -<span class="i3">Nor joy to draw the sword,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Oh I bring those heartless hapless drones<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Down in a trice on their marrow bones<br /></span> -<span class="i3">To call me king and lord.’<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">‘King and lord’—they are the only words that the lyrists -have for the soldier, and the elegiac poets repeat the idea in the more -serious fashion appropriate to their poetical form. Tyrtæus, for -example, the lame schoolmaster lent by Athens to Sparta, in those poems -which the Spartans regarded as one of the chief causes of their military -success, emphasizes the supreme importance of martial valour:</p> - -<p class="nind">‘I would never remember a man nor hold him of any account -because of his speed of foot, or skill in wrestling, his bigness, or his -strength, his beauty, or his wealth. He might be more kingly than -Pelops, more eloquent than Adrastus; but all his fame would avail him -naught unless he were a man of mettle in fight. This is the supreme -virtue, the best sport, the highest prize that a young man can win.’</p> - -<p>Tyrtæus, as we see in his verses, regarded the art of poetry as -ancillary to the art of war, and the greatest of the Athenian dramatists -shared his views. The real gravamen of Æschylus’ attack<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_47" id="page_47">{47}</a></span> upon Euripides -in the <i>Frogs</i> is that the latter did not sufficiently exalt the martial -spirit among a nation, of whom the old poet says:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">‘Their life was in shafts of ash and of elm, in bright plumes fluttering wide,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">In lance and greaves and corslet and helm and heart of seven bulls hide.’<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Prose literature gives us the same evidence as poetry. Thucydides and -Xenophon look upon history chiefly as a succession of battles and -campaigns. Of the social history of their time they tell us scarcely -anything, but they will dilate with the most intense interest on the -smallest details of a skirmish. To them, as to most of their -contemporaries, war was the one thing that mattered, the great business -and the great sport of life, and our historians have only in -comparatively recent times escaped from their point of view.</p> - -<p>It is probable indeed that many of those Athenians, whom we think of -only as men of letters, were viewed by their contemporaries in rather a -different light. Æschylus was perhaps better known as one of the heroes -of Salamis than as a dramatist. Sophocles was an admiral in charge of -the Athenian fleet the year after the performance of the <i>Antigone</i>, and -the anecdote that his military position was due to his literary skill is -probably a literary invention. Thucydides had been<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_48" id="page_48">{48}</a></span> appointed to the -command of the Athenian troops in Thrace long before he set to work on -his history. The stubborn courage of Socrates was proved upon the field -of Delium, and Euripides, that keenest critic of the war spirit, served -his forty years in the Athenian army when fighting was at its fiercest. -We generally imagine Pericles and Nicias as being civilian ministers, -men holding the same sort of position as Pitt and Walpole: in reality -through most of their lives they were soldiers on active service, and -Cleon, who was almost a professional politician, was ready and willing -at a moment’s notice to take command of a difficult and dangerous -military expedition and, what is more, had enough technical knowledge to -bring it to a successful termination.</p> - -<p>As every Athenian citizen was a soldier serving under equal conditions, -there was no military caste and no military discipline as we know it. -The cavalry, once the preserve of the richer classes, was in the fifth -century <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> confined to decorative peace functions. The higher officers -of the army were elected by their fellows, walked in the ranks, and had -no distinguishing badges.</p> - -<p>The Athenian, who supplied his own elaborate equipment and was trained -to a particular kind of fighting, refused to become part of a military -machine. A general was forced to adapt his tactics to the temper of his -men, and the personal element<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_49" id="page_49">{49}</a></span> entered very largely into all questions -of army organization. The accoutrement of the hoplite was the deciding -factor in strategy and tactics, and the character of fifth-century -fighting can only be realized by considering first the weapons with -which the citizen soldier was armed and the fashion in which he was -accustomed to use them.</p> - -<p>If a citizen were to play his part properly in the great war game, long -and constant bodily training was necessary. At Sparta, the complete type -of a militarist state, everything was made subservient to physical -fitness, and even at Athens the claims of the body came before the -claims of the mind, so that when Socrates wanted patients for his -dialectic he had to go to the gymnasia to find them. And this was -reasonable, for only a man in perfect condition could fight under the -conditions imposed upon a Greek heavy-armed soldier. The mere weight of -a hoplite’s accoutrement would astonish a modern infantryman. His -defensive armour consisted of four pieces: helmet, cuirass, greaves, and -shield; and even the first of these, especially if it were of the -Corinthian type, was a considerable burden and involved a severe strain -on the neck muscles. It was very heavy, twice as heavy as any of the -mediæval helmets that we possess, was made usually of thick iron and -completely covered the head and neck. Holes were left for eyes and -mouth, the nose was protected by a vertical strip<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_50" id="page_50">{50}</a></span> of metal, and a -lining of felt or leather was sewn inside to save the skin from -abrasion. After the fifth century, it is true, the Corinthian type began -to go out of use, and the Attic shape became more common. This was -considerably lighter and in appearance resembled a metal cap with extra -pieces protecting neck, cheeks and nose, which could be detached at -will. It was graceful both in its proportions and its adornment: a -crest, and often a triple crest, was usually worn with it, the three -plumes being carried in elaborately modelled supports.</p> - -<p>The cuirass in its first form consisted of two bronze plates, roughly -carved to fit the body and fastened on the sides and shoulders. The -bottom edge was turned up to leave the hips free and the lower parts of -the body were thus dangerously exposed. Moreover, the rigid metal -seriously hampered all movement, and this type was generally superseded -by the cuirass proper, a garment worn much in the fashion of a modern -corset, but made of leather plated with bronze and buckled down upon the -breast by means of shoulder straps. The bronze plating was mostly in the -form of round scales sewn on to the leather with wire and overlapping so -as to present three thicknesses of metal.</p> - -<p>The greaves were thin sheets of bronze shaped to fit the leg, which they -clasped and held by their own elasticity. They were often adorned with -em<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_51" id="page_51">{51}</a></span>bossed work and the fittings were sometimes of tin or ivory. Their -length varied; some went only to the knee, others covered part of the -thigh and an ankle pad was worn to keep the bottom edge from chafing the -foot. They were a protection against minor hurts, scratches, bruises, -etc., rather than a defence against spear thrusts, but their general -adoption is synchronous with the disappearance of the oblong covering -shield in favour of the smaller oval, carried on the left arm.</p> - -<p>The Homeric shield, ‘great as a tower,’ and large enough to cover a man -from head to foot, had in the fifth century gone completely out of use. -In art we have no representation that corresponds to the descriptions in -the <i>Iliad</i>, and the heroes whose combats are pictured on the Attic -vases are armed either with a round shield which protects their body -only, or else with the oval shield about three feet long which after 500 -<span class="smcap">b.c.</span> had become the normal type in Greece. These shields bore usually -the blazon of their owner and often served to identify his body: man and -shield were inseparable and the fighter who threw his shield away -revealed himself as destitute of knightly honour. The character of the -blazonry varied as much as our heraldic designs. Sometimes it was -decorative and depended on individual caprice; Capaneus, in Æschylus’ -play, carries as his device a naked man with a torch; beneath, the words -‘I will burn your<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_52" id="page_52">{52}</a></span> city’; Alcibiades had merely a little Cupid with a -toy thunderbolt. In other cases it was the city or a god who supplied -the design: for example, the Mantinean hoplites had on their shields a -trident, the symbol of their state god, Poseidon; the Thebans, a sphinx -in memory of Œdipus; while others were merely marked with an initial -letter, the Argives with an A., the Sikyonians with the Doric San. These -devices were on the outer surface: the inside of the shield was supplied -with a leather or metal strap across its middle through which the left -arm was passed, and one or two grips of cord or leather at the side and -end to give a firm hold; for this shield was a heavy implement, very -different from the light buckler, with which the cavalry and the -skirmishers were armed, and it required strong and well-trained muscles -to wield it effectively in the stress of battle.</p> - -<p>The race in armour, therefore, often called simply ‘The Shield,’ was not -only one of the most popular of gymnastic contests, but also had a very -practical value; although as a concession to human weakness the runners -were usually allowed to divest themselves of cuirass and greaves. The -picturesqueness of the race appealed especially to the vase-painters, -and we have many pictures of it, the best perhaps being those on a red -figured cup in the Museum at Berlin. On one side is a group of three -runners, the right-hand one bending ready<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_53" id="page_53">{53}</a></span> to start, the left-hand one -turning the half-way post, and the central one hastening back on the -home stretch. On the other side are three runners one behind the other, -while in the interior of the vase is a single figure looking back, in -rather unsportsmanlike fashion, as he runs.</p> - -<p>So far for a hoplite’s body armour; but he had also to carry his weapons -of offence, his sword and his spear. The first was of many different -shapes and has many different names in Greek, but all its varieties -belong to three main types.</p> - -<p>In the first, dating from the earliest age, the blades are short and -heavy, made in one piece with the hilt. The guard is usually straight, -the pommel a round knob, the space between being filled with bone or -ivory to form a grip. This pattern, really a survival from the Bronze -Age, was transferred to the iron sword and is occasionally found even in -the classical period.</p> - -<p>But the ordinary Greek sword of the fifth century is of quite a -different shape. The hilt is round and the long thin blade swells from -the hilt towards the point, showing that it was meant for cutting rather -than thrusting. Flat scabbards, often highly ornamented with the -precious metals, were used and occasionally the spear would be discarded -for single combat and two swords employed, one in the hand, the other -hanging ready in its sheath, as we see it in the well-known vase<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_54" id="page_54">{54}</a></span> -painting of the combat between Achilles and Memnon. This was the usual -infantry sword, but there was another cutlass shape, the ‘machaira,’ -which was especially suited to the cavalry soldier. Here the blade -curved and the whole weapon was heavier, with knife-like cutting edges. -The hilt was usually bent—often in the shape of a bird’s head—and gave -a secure grip, so that it was possible to deal heavy blows from above.</p> - -<p>The spear, however, rather than the sword, remained always the chief -item in a Greek soldier’s equipment, for the Mediterranean peoples, -unlike the northerners, have always preferred the thrust to the cut. In -Greek poetry the word for spear is used indifferently for any weapon and -includes sword, while on the drill-ground the commands—‘To the spear,’ -‘To the shield’—corresponded to our ‘Right’ and ‘Left Turn.’ In shape -there seems to have been but little variation. The iron head was -sometimes formed like a spike, with three or four blades tapering to a -point, but more commonly it was of the flat dagger type, with a raised -central rib and two cutting edges. The shaft, usually of stout ashen -wood, was about six feet long and the weapon was chiefly used for -thrusting at close quarters. Occasionally it was thrown from a distance, -but for this purpose the light cavalry lance of cornel wood was more -suitable. The spear, used like a pike, was too heavy for any<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_55" id="page_55">{55}</a></span> but close -fighting, and there was a constant tendency to increase its length and -weight until the Macedonian sarissa reached an average of twelve feet -and required both hands for its effective use.</p> - -<p>Such was the accoutrement of the Greek citizen soldier, and the -character of his arms fixed the character of his fighting. It was not -stupidity and lack of judgment that led the Greeks to fight in the way -that Mardonius the Persian thought so foolish, but rather the fact that -a Greek fighting man was almost useless on rough ground. ‘These Greeks,’ -the old general told his young master, ‘when they have declared war upon -one another choose out the best and most level piece of ground they can -find, and there go down and fight so that the winners get off with the -maximum of loss: as to the beaten side I need not say anything; they are -completely wiped out. Speaking all the same language they ought to -settle their differences by any method rather than battle. But if in -spite of everything war becomes inevitable, then each side ought to -discover its strongest points and try to take advantage of them.’ The -passage is interesting, for it shows that total inability to comprehend -the psychology of any nation but one’s own, which is one of the most -pathetic things in history. Mardonius was among the wisest of the -Persians, but he could not understand<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_56" id="page_56">{56}</a></span> that to the Greeks war was not -merely a business, but also the highest form of sport, and that it may -be carried on under rules of honourable conduct which rob it of most of -its worst features. In the great age, from causes partly physical, -partly moral, a Greek battle was fought on a system as formal and well -defined as the precepts of mediæval chivalry. The herald was an -important figure; due proclamation had to be made to the enemy; there -was a definite acknowledgment of defeat; and an elaborate ceremonial of -triumph and trophy. The battle once over, no bad blood was left: it was -a fair fight with equal weapons on the plain, and no attempt was made to -annihilate the enemy or to annex his territory. The losses in killed and -wounded were by no means as heavy as Mardonius believed, for these were -not big battalions directed by invisible generals, but citizen soldiers -who were sensible enough to know when they were beaten. The procedure -was fixed. The army marched out from the city at dawn until it found -itself face to face with the enemy on the traditional battle ground, one -of those alluvial plains, comparatively rare in Greece, upon which the -city depended for its supply of corn, the prize of victory being indeed -the ground on which the fighting took place. Then the generals on either -side would address their men with some final words of exhortation (there -was a special style of rhetoric<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_57" id="page_57">{57}</a></span> held appropriate for such occasions) -and the two armies would advance to the attack.</p> - -<p>With waving plumes and glittering spears, the sun striking upon the gold -ornaments of breastplate and sword-belt, the hoplites pushed forward, -slowly at first but quickening their step as they approached the enemy, -and at last the two lines, moving now at the double, would meet with a -crash in the shock of battle. Then came the moment for which the Greek’s -whole life was one long preparation: swaying, struggling, heaving, with -every muscle tense and every limb engaged, the opposing masses strove to -hurl one another back. All the tricks of the wrestling school and the -boxing match were designed for use in this hour, and even courage was of -little avail unless it was supported by that perfection of physical -fitness which the ancient Greeks alone of all nations attained. Success -in an ancient battle depended upon the quality of the men engaged, and -the men derived little aid from external sources: cavalry, engineers and -artillery played no part. The issue was decided by the final shock of -two bodies of heavy armed infantry relying on solidity and weight, and -momentum in the attack was all important, for the ranks once broken -could seldom be reformed. Long training in the drill ground must have -been necessary for the orderly advance of formations so dense as these -(the average depth<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_58" id="page_58">{58}</a></span> of men in the fifth century seems to have been about -eight, but at Delium in 421 the Bœtians massed their men in files of -twenty-five), and however good the marching there was a constant -tendency for the front line to slant as each man edged under his right -hand neighbour’s shield. A Greek hoplite like a modern Rugby forward -depended upon his formation, and without a comrade on either side of -him, and ranks of men behind or in front, he felt himself lost. His -formation broken, the natural impulse was to retire, and a withdrawal to -the city walls was the usual result of defeat. Once behind his ramparts -the citizen soldier was safe, for in the fifth century sieges were -costly, tedious, and usually indecisive. Open fighting was the cardinal -rule: cunning surprises and unforeseen attacks were as difficult for an -Athenian hoplite as they were for an English knight. Both, when encased -in their armour, were conspicuous figures incapable of any very nimble -movements, and needing an attendant squire to take charge of their war -panoply. With both physical conditions led to a moral code of ‘noblesse -oblige,’ and for a time war became almost a gentlemanly diversion. In -neither case it is true did these conditions last long: the moral -degeneration caused by the Peloponnesian War destroyed the one, and the -physical changes brought about by the invention of gunpowder put an end -to the other.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_59" id="page_59">{59}</a></span></p> - -<p>Ancient as distinguished from modern warfare really ends with the fifth -century <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, for the next age brought a revolution to Greece. War -ceased to be an art and became a science. The end of the Peloponnesian -War coincided with the spread of the Sophistic spirit; warfare was -subjected to the same sort of investigation and criticism as the other -departments of life; and specialization, with all its advantages and -disadvantages, began.</p> - -<p>The later years of the Peloponnesian War had shown the importance of -cavalry and its proper functions in the attack and support of infantry; -but the first great change came when Iphicrates the Athenian discovered -that a hoplite force was not invincible by light armed troops, if these -latter were properly handled. His defeat of a detachment of Spartan -heavy armed infantry was in itself an insignificant event, but it -created a revolution in military tactics comparable to that brought -about by the success of the English archers over the French knights at -Creçy. Up till that time the hoplite in popular estimation held much the -same position as a battleship does in modern sea warfare; it was -considered as hopeless for peltasts to engage hoplites as it would be -for a light cruiser to attack a Dreadnought.</p> - -<p>With the fall of the citizen soldier came the rise of the mercenary and -the professional fighting man. A Greek force ceased to be a homogeneous<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_60" id="page_60">{60}</a></span> -unit and split up into the component elements of a modern army. ‘The -light armed men are the hands, the horse the feet, the infantry the -breast, and the general the head’; such was the saying of Iphicrates; -and the Theban tacticians, notably Epaminondas, followed him in -combining cavalry and light infantry with the heavy armed phalanx. -Philip of Macedon improved upon his Theban teacher’s example and soon a -standing army was established which disregarded all the old traditions -of chivalry. The Greeks had their first warning in the ruthless -destruction of Olynthus and the two systems met in final conflict at -Chæronea. The professional soldier won, and by the end of the fourth -century the ancient ideals had disappeared.</p> - -<p>But it is well still to remember them. The system of orderly combat in -the open remains the best for developing the manly virtues; and any -nation that relies over-much on the mechanical and the unseen in war -will inevitably fall away from those standards of conduct which we in -our half humorous, half depreciatory way call sportsmanlike, and to -which the Greeks gave the truer name of ‘Aidôs,’ the quality alike of -the sportsman and the gentleman. Aidôs is ‘ruth,’ and the man who has no -aidôs in him will be ready to employ all means to achieve his aims, and -in the end perhaps will even delight in ruthlessness for its own sake.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_61" id="page_61">{61}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="III" id="III"></a>3<br /><br /> -Physical Education</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">E</span>DUCATION, mental and physical, falls into three sections, according as -it deals with the training of the child, the boy, and the man; the word -boy including girl, and the word man woman. Of these three stages the -second seems to us so much the most definite that it has almost -appropriated the word to itself. Education in common judgment does not -begin until the boy goes to his school, while it ceases when he leaves -his university.</p> - -<p>The Greeks, or rather the Athenians, looked at things differently. They -paid much less attention than we do to the training of young children, -and in this respect were distinctly inferior to most modern nations. -Even the second stage, that of boyhood, was not taken very seriously, -and the word for youthful education, Paideia, by the slightest of -changes gets the meaning of ‘a joke.’</p> - -<p>Education at Athens began when the youth reached years of discretion, -and the true Greek word for education is neither Paideia nor Didaskalia -but rather Philosophia, love of knowledge. The real teacher was not the -Grammatistes but the Sophistes, the ‘sophist’ whose business it was to -train men in practical wisdom. Adult education in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_62" id="page_62">{62}</a></span> fact was the most, -not the least, important of the three stages.</p> - -<p>Furthermore, in the early stages of life the training of the body was -regarded as more essential than the training of the mind. When his -education was finished, the Athenian boy knew his elements, he could -wrestle and box, he could recite Homer and play the lyre, he could swim -and dance: but of ‘useful’ knowledge, so called, and especially of that -horrid travesty that we call ‘technical education,’ he possessed -nothing. In most of the qualities of discipline, as Plato complains, the -Athenian system was lacking; but it had one great practical virtue: it -kept the mean, and neither over-stimulated nor yet over-repressed a -boy’s natural attitude towards imparted knowledge. An Athenian, when he -emerged from boyhood and became a man, was neither a pedant nor a -barbarian. In the fifth century <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> it was realized that with growing -animals the demands of the body must come before the demands of the -spirit. Physical perfection, if it is to be won at all, must be secured -in youth: the final training of the mind can be left to a later stage of -life. The method had its obvious defects, but at least it did not create -that distaste for all study which more perfect theories of education -have often produced. An Athenian till the end of his life was always -eager and ready to learn.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_63" id="page_63">{63}</a></span></p> - -<p>There were two systems of education known to the Greek world, that of -Athens and that of Sparta; but in an Athenian, as in a Spartan, -household, the first six or seven years of a child’s life were spent at -home in the women’s quarter of the house. A Spartan mother, however, -only received her child to rear after it had been carefully examined by -the elders of the tribe to which the parents belonged: if its physical -condition was unsatisfactory it was exposed on Mount Taygetus, there to -die or be brought up by Helots. Consequently the Spartan women, who were -famed all over Greece for their skill as nurses, had only the best -material to work upon.</p> - -<p>In both states such education as the children received at this period of -life was almost entirely physical. They were taught how to stand, how to -sit, and how to walk correctly: on a vase painting in the British -Museum, for example, we see a small child moving unsteadily towards its -mother, who waits with open arms to receive it, while an instructor with -long wand stands in the background. Athenian mothers usually were -inclined to delegate the care of their children to a hired nurse, and -there is an implied reproof to their indifference in the elaborate -precepts that Plato gives in the <i>Republic</i> for the proper management of -infants. For example, he combats the idea that a good child should be -quiet, and insists upon the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_64" id="page_64">{64}</a></span> importance of constant motion for the young -baby, who in an Athenian nursery was often closely bandaged in swaddling -clothes and then left to its own resources.</p> - -<p class="nind">‘The first principle,’ he says, ‘in relation both to the -body and the soul of very young creatures is that nursing and moving -about by day and night is good for them all, and that the younger they -are the more they will need it. Infants should live, if it were -possible, as if they were always rocking at sea. Exercise and motion in -the earliest years greatly contribute to create a part of virtue in the -soul: the child’s virtue is cheerfulness, and good nursing makes a -gentle and a cheerful child.’</p> - -<p>Greek ears were very sensitive to sounds, and the noise of the -uncheerful infant protesting against life was doubtless very trying to -the father in the few hours that he spent at home. We have no -information of Plato’s practical experience of children, for, as far as -we know, he never married, but both he and Aristotle love to criticize -the customs of their native city. In the <i>Politics</i>, for example, as in -the <i>Republic</i>, the importance of the child is emphasized.</p> - -<p class="nind">‘Young children,’ says Aristotle, ‘should be kept healthy by -exposure: to accustom children to the cold is an excellent practice -which greatly conduces to health and hardens them for military service. -Children should be amused till they are five years<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_65" id="page_65">{65}</a></span> old, but the -amusement should not be vulgar or tiring or riotous. Their sports should -be imitations of the occupations which they will hereafter pursue in -earnest. Crying and screaming should not be checked, for they contribute -to growth, and in a manner, exercise the body. The Directors of -Education must keep a careful eye even upon young children, who will -stay at home until they are seven; and they must see that they are left -as little as possible with slaves. Formal education will begin after -seven years; it will be the same for all, given in public, and directed -to promote the good of all. Nature requires that we should be able not -only to work well but to use leisure well. Work and leisure are both -necessary, but the latter is the more important; and it is the chief -function of education to teach us how to use our leisure rightly. -Gymnastics and music are the chief branches of education; but for -children gymnastic exercises should be of a light kind. Children should -not be brutalized, as they are at Sparta, by laborious toil. Music -should be studied both for its intellectual and its ethical virtue. -Children should be encouraged to sing and play, for it will keep them -out of mischief; but the flute should be forbidden as over-exciting, and -musical studies should cease at manhood.’</p> - -<p>It will be seen that Aristotle recognizes the necessity of amusement, -and Greek children seem to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_66" id="page_66">{66}</a></span> have had most of the toys familiar to our -nurseries. Little girls played with their terra-cotta dolls, boys with -their hoops and balls, and with the knuckle bones that took the place of -our marbles. An Alexandrian epigram (<i>Anth. Pal.</i> VI, 309) records the -dedication to Hermes of one such playbox.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">‘This noiseless ball and top so round,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">This rattle with its lively sound,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">These bones with which he loved to play,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Companions of his childhood’s day;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To Hermes, if the god they please,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">An offering from Philocles.’<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Of dance games too, which give exercise both to mind and body, they had -an abundant variety; some simple like ‘The Wine-skin and Hatchet,’ which -could be played upon the stomach of a complaisant guest, others more -elaborate in their dramatic ritual, such as ‘The Swallow’ procession, of -which our ‘Jack in the Green’ is a reminiscence.</p> - -<p>At the beginning of their lives then children were treated in much the -same way at Sparta and at Athens; but in the next stage of education, -after the period of early childhood was past, there was a sharp -divergence between Spartan and Athenian practice. At Sparta boys and -girls alike, over the age of seven years, were taken in hand by the -state, and given the most thorough of physical<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_67" id="page_67">{67}</a></span> trainings. The girls -were allowed their meals at home, but otherwise were subjected to the -same discipline as the boys. They had to harden their bodies, so that -they might bear strong children, and among their sports were wrestling, -running, and swimming. They learned to throw the diskos and the javelin; -and wearing only the short Doric chiton engaged in contests of speed -with youths. The result we may see in the statue of the girl runner, a -copy of a fifth-century original, which is now in the Vatican at Rome, -and in the description of the Spartan woman envoy in Aristophanes’ play -<i>Lysistrata</i>, who looked ‘as though she could throttle a bull.’ The -boys, for their part, were organized in the strictest fashion into -‘packs’ of sixty-four and into divisions. Each pack fed together, slept -together on bundles of reeds for bedding, and played together. They had -to go barefoot always, wore only a single garment summer and winter, and -provided for their own wants.</p> - -<p>One boy in the pack was appointed as ‘Bouagor,’ or ‘Herd-leader,’ and -could give orders and inflict punishment. Over him was a young man, -above twenty years of age, of tried character and courage, the ‘Eiren’ -who was in charge of the pack’s organization and lived always with the -boys. In control of the whole system was the ‘Paidonomos,’ the minister -of education, an elderly citizen of rank and repute who had the ultimate -powers of dis<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_68" id="page_68">{68}</a></span>cipline over boys and eirens alike. In the three ranks we -see something resembling the prefects, assistant masters, and Heads of -our schools: in manner of life there was a close approximation to the -boy-scout movement.</p> - -<p>This Spartan type of education in some respects was not unlike the -English public school system, as we owe it to Dr. Arnold, before it was -affected by the spread of competitive examinations and the demand for -utilitarian knowledge. The qualities that the Spartans wished to -cultivate were not intellectual acuteness or literary taste, but the -moral virtues of obedience, discipline, and endurance. To obtain these -the lads were kept under constant supervision by grown men, and the -weakness of the system was that individual initiative was not -sufficiently encouraged, and that the claims of the mind were too -persistently disregarded. Of book study there was practically none. -Hunting, scouting, and foraging for food took up most of the boys’ time. -Fighting, both in play and in earnest, was encouraged, together with -gymnastics of an unspecialized sort, especially the musical drill which -the Spartans called gymnopædia. Competitions between individuals and -divisions were very frequent, and in many of them girls met boys on -equal terms. Above all things, the idea of military efficiency was kept -before the children’s eyes, and a strict military discipline was -enforced. In fact,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_69" id="page_69">{69}</a></span> the Spartan system had all the strength and weakness -of an exclusively military regime. The young Spartans were brave, -healthy, modest, hardy and obedient: on the other hand, they were -stupid, quarrelsome, brutal, lacking in self-restraint, and inclined to -a gross immorality when once they were free from the close restraint of -Spartan law. As long as a Spartan lived in his own country he behaved -well, but the vices that the system produced showed themselves -unpleasantly in any dealings with others. To the rest of Greece the -vices seemed more than to counterbalance the virtues, and the Athenian -ideal of education became the model for most of the other Greek States.</p> - -<p>At Athens, everything was left to the individual parent and to the -private schoolmaster. The State recognized its responsibility for the -maintenance of children, and if a man died in battle his orphans were -reared at the public expense; but it did not recognize its -responsibility for their education. Some ancient laws, attributed to -Solon, did indeed enact that all free-born children should be sent to -school and there taught ‘letters and how to swim.’ Other regulations -fixed the school hours, and in the interests of morality forbade boys to -come home from school in the dark. But as regards the methods and the -subjects of education given to boys, the Athenian Government was -indifferent. The keeping of a school was a private speculation,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_70" id="page_70">{70}</a></span> and the -State required no evidence of moral or intellectual qualifications from -the schoolmaster. Accordingly, schools and the fees charged varied very -greatly. Poor folk sent their children to establishments where only the -elements of reading and writing were taught χαχὰ χαχῶς as the -sausage-seller in Aristophanes says. Richer parents not only gave their -children a better training in the early stages, but kept them at school -for a longer period.</p> - -<p>The schoolmaster himself was regarded with extreme contempt. The father -of Æschines belonged to the despised class, and Demosthenes draws a -scornful picture of his youthful rival helping to mix the ink, scrub the -forms, and sweep the schoolroom. The fees were due on the last day of -the month; but they were grudgingly paid and mean parents would keep -their children away from school in those months of the year when the -State festivals gave the schoolmaster an opportunity of granting his -pupils a holiday. Of long intervals from work, such as our summer and -winter vacations, we have no trace in Athens, and the precept of the -Roman poet ‘æstate pueri si valent satis discunt’ apparently went -unregarded.</p> - -<p>The school hours were arranged to suit the time of meals in the boys’ -homes. After the early breakfast, taken at sunrise, the boy sets off to -his teacher, with whom he remained till noon. Then came the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_71" id="page_71">{71}</a></span> midday -meal, followed by a siesta, and then afternoon school. Discipline was -lax. The schoolmaster certainly had a rod to assist him in maintaining -order, but his social inferiority deprived him of any real authority. -Children would bring their pet dogs to school and play with them under -the master’s chair. The master usually was sitting, a position which an -Athenian despised as unworthy of a free-born man, and we have the -typical schoolmaster pictured for us on a vase by Euphronios. He is a -small, ill-developed man, with a bald head and a prominent nose. His -body twisted, he leans forward with a threatening gesture, his -forefinger raised in warning. In his left hand there is a stylus, for a -writing-lesson is in progress; his stick with crooked handle and -formidable knobs lies convenient to his right. He is drawn by a -malicious hand with something of the caricaturist’s touch, but he is -thoroughly alive and evidently closely resembles a real original. We may -imagine that not unlike him even in bodily form was the schoolmaster in -the third mime of Herondas who beats his idle pupil with his bull’s tail -strap until he is ‘black and blue like a spotted snake.’</p> - -<p>The ordinary system of elementary education at Athens, as followed by -boys from seven to fourteen, consisted of three parts: letters, music -and gymnastics, presided over by the grammatiste, kithariste, and -pædotribe respectively. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_72" id="page_72">{72}</a></span> grammatiste taught reading, writing and -simple arithmetic, and his methods, on the evidence of the papyri and -ostraka which have recently been discovered in Egypt, were not very much -unlike those of a modern school. We have long lists of alphabets, and of -simple and difficult combinations of letters; passages for dictation and -recitation, the conjugation of verbs, and elementary grammatical rules. -The kithariste taught ‘music’; i.e. the words of the lyric poets and the -simple lyre accompaniment which went with the words. In general -estimation he ranked a little higher than the grammatiste, but they both -taught under the same conditions, and usually in the same building. The -pædotribe was a much more important person than the other two, and his -teaching, which directed the boy’s physical development upon scientific -lines, lasted usually till manhood. He taught the rules of health, -‘dancing’ in the Greek sense of the word, and especially the five -exercises of the pentathlon, which aimed at producing a perfect, -all-round athlete. The palæstra was his school-room, and he was always -sure of eager pupils and interested spectators.</p> - -<p>But upon the smaller boys no very arduous tasks were imposed. -Deportment, how to sit, stand, and walk gracefully, the correct manner -of salutation, a decorous and becoming carriage of the body; these with -some easy gymnastic exercises, together<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_73" id="page_73">{73}</a></span> with a multitude of games and -an occasional cockfight, occupied most of a boy’s day. He spent much -more time at the palæstra than he did anywhere else, but the border-line -there between instruction and amusement was not very rigidly drawn. This -was the sort of education that seemed to Aristophanes ideal, and nowhere -is a better picture given of it than in the <i>Clouds</i>:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">‘To hear then prepare of the Discipline rare which flourished in Athens of yore,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">When Honour and Truth were in fashion with youth and Sobriety bloomed on our shore;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">First of all, the old rule was preserved in our school that “boys should be seen and not heard”:<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And then to the home of the harpist would come, decorous in action and word,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">All the lads of one town, though the snow peppered down, in spite of all wind and all weather;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And they sung an old song as they paced it along, not shambling with thighs glued together ...<br /></span> -<span class="i1">But now must the lad from his boyhood be clad in a man’s all enveloping cloke;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">So that, oft as the Panathenæa returns, I feel myself ready to choke,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">When the dancers go by with their shields to their thigh, not caring for Pallas a jot.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">You therefore, young man, choose me while you can; cast in with my method your lot;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_74" id="page_74">{74}</a></span><br /></span> -<span class="i1">And then you shall learn the forum to spurn and from dissolute baths to abstain,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And fashions impure and shameful abjure, and scorners repel with disdain,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And rise from your chair if an elder be there, and respectfully give him your place.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And with love and with fear your parents revere, and shrink from the brand of disgrace ...<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Not learning to prate, as your idlers debate, with marvellous prickly dispute,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Nor dragged into court day by day to make sport in some small disagreeable suit:<br /></span> -<span class="i1">But you will below to the Academe go, and under the olives contend<br /></span> -<span class="i1">With your chaplet of reed, in a contest of speed, with some excellent rival and friend;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">All fragrant with woodbine and peaceful content and the leaf which the lime blossoms fling,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">When the plane whispers love to the elm in the grove in the beautiful season of spring.’<br /></span> -<span class="i6">(<i>Clouds</i>, 961-1008, Rogers’ translation.)<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Boyhood at Athens was a time of preparation; the real education of an -Athenian, in physical and in mental studies, began when ours too often -ceases, in the year when he reached manhood. Then, and not till then, -did the State step in and accept responsibility for his training. The -ephebe<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_75" id="page_75">{75}</a></span> of eighteen enrolled, in his deme register, had first to take -the oath:</p> - -<p class="nind">‘I will not disgrace my sacred weapons nor desert the -comrade who is placed by my side. I will fight for things holy and -things profane, whether I am alone or with others. I will hand on my -fatherland greater and better than I found it. I will hearken to the -magistrates, and obey the existing laws and those hereafter established -by the people. I will not consent unto any that destroys or disobeys the -constitution, but will prevent him, whether I am alone or with others. I -will honour the temples and the religion which my forefathers -established. So help me Aglauros, Enyalios, Ares, Zeus, Thallo, Auxo, -Hegemone.’</p> - -<p>Then under the direction of specially appointed magistrates, the -‘Sophronistai’ or ‘Moderators,’ a definite and thorough course of -gymnastics and military training began. The young recruits were first -taken round the temples and afterwards put into garrison at Munychia and -Piræus. They had masters and undermasters to teach them the use of the -hoplite’s accoutrement, and pædotribes for their gymnastic exercises. -Discipline was fairly strict, but there were plenty of amusements, and -many festivals in which the ephebes played a special part. When they -were not engaged in military drill they were usually to be found in the -gymnasia and palæstræ, and at the end of their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_76" id="page_76">{76}</a></span> first year of training -they were reviewed in the theatre during the celebration of the greater -Dionysia. After the ceremony they received a spear and shield as a gift -from the State and marched out of Athens, spending most of their final -year patrolling the country and garrisoning the outlying forts. Then, -this first initiation into the science of physical fitness achieved, -they returned to the city, and during the rest of their lives devoted a -large proportion of their time to perfecting their knowledge of the laws -of health and developing the strength of their body.</p> - -<p>The academies, where these studies in a Greek city were pursued by young -and old together, were of two kinds, and were called either ‘gymnasia’ -or ‘palæstræ.’ A gymnasium was an open space, with trees for shelter -from the sun and, if possible, near a stream of running water; and there -went on those sports that required plenty of room. The two chief -gymnasia at Athens were both outside the town walls, the Academy in the -sacred grove of the hero Academus and the Lyceum in the precinct of the -hero Lycus. They corresponded fairly closely to the playing fields about -our public schools, except that they belonged to the whole community and -were used by all classes and ages alike. If we could imagine Hyde Park -thronged every day and all day with men and boys running, jumping, -hurling quoits, and throwing javelins,</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><p><a name="ill_005" id="ill_005"></a></p> -<a href="images/img-076.jpg"> -<img src="images/img-076.jpg" width="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>INDOOR SPORTS (Athens)</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_77" id="page_77">{77}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">we should get some idea, although of course on a very much larger scale, -of the appearance of the Lyceum in the time of Socrates.</p> - -<p>The palæstra, on the other hand, bore more resemblance to our school -gymnasium. It was a covered building used especially for the indoor -sports of boxing and wrestling. Built round a central court which in -fine weather was normally the scene of these competitions, it had also a -large hall opening on to the court and a number of smaller rooms used -for bathing, rubbing down and undressing. In the large hall the -spectators gathered, and a vivid picture of the impression made upon a -foreigner by the sight is given in Lucian’s dialogue <i>Anacharsis</i>. The -young Scythian speaks:</p> - -<p class="nind">‘Why do your young men behave like this, Solon? Some of them -grappling and tripping each other, some throttling, struggling, -intertwining in the clay like so many pigs wallowing. And yet their -first proceeding, after they have stripped—I noticed that—is to oil -and scrape each other quite amicably; but then I do not know what comes -over them—they put down their heads and begin to push, and crash their -foreheads together like a pair of rival rams. There, look! that one has -lifted the other right off his legs, and dropped him on the ground; now -he has fallen on top, and will not let him get his head up, but presses -it down into the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_78" id="page_78">{78}</a></span> clay; and to finish him off he twines his legs tight -round his belly, thrusts his elbow hard against his throat, and -throttles the wretched victim, who meanwhile is patting his shoulder; -that will be a form of supplication; he is asking not to be quite choked -to death.’</p> - -<p class="c"> -(Lucian, <i>Anacharsis</i>, I, Fowler’s translation.)<br /> -</p> - -<p>There were only three gymnasia in all Athens, but there was a very large -number of palæstræ, some public, some private, some frequented by men, -some by boys, the majority used indifferently by men and boys together. -In the public establishments the instructors were provided and paid by -the State, and were probably at the head of their profession, for as the -oligarch who wrote the treatise on the Athenian Republic bitterly says:</p> - -<p class="nind">‘As for gymnasia and baths, some rich people have their own, -but the people also have built palæstræ for their own use, and the mob -now has far more advantages in this respect than the fortunate few.’</p> - -<p>The popularity of a private palæstra, especially if it were intended -chiefly for the instruction of boys, depended largely on the personality -of the pædotribe who there gave instruction, and Athenian fathers were -as fond of expounding the merits of their own favourite teacher as -Englishmen are of singing the praises of their old school. The pædotribe -was usually assisted by subordinates—<i>gymnastæ</i>, who coached pupils in -special exercises and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_79" id="page_79">{79}</a></span> prepared them for competitions, and <i>aleiptæ</i> who -undertook for boys the actual rubbing down and massaging which men and -youths performed for themselves; but he alone was the directing spirit -of the place. He required to have considerable medical knowledge, and -held a rank in popular estimation of equal importance with a physician. -His business was to prevent, the doctor’s only to cure, disease. He had -to know what exercises would suit what constitutions; he was called on -frequently to prescribe in matters of diet and sometimes must advise a -strengthening and sometimes a lowering regime. Besides giving his pupils -health, he was expected also to increase their beauty and their -strength. Finally, according to Plato, a good pædotribe was able to -produce by his teaching firmness of character and strength of will: -therefore he must know exactly how much training to administer to each -boy, for too much of these qualities is as bad as too little. It will be -seen that a successful pædotribe combined in his person most of the -capacities and duties which in our educational institutions are shared -among the headmaster, the games master, the school doctor, the drill -sergeant and the cricket professional; with the additional -responsibility of having frequently to teach both parents and children.</p> - -<p>But the larger palæstræ, as we have said, were usually public and free, -and it may be useful to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_80" id="page_80">{80}</a></span> give here a brief account of their -arrangements. On entering from the street the visitor passed down a -short passage into the <i>‘Apodyterion</i>,’ the undressing room, a large -hall with one side opening directly on to the cloisters which surrounded -the central court. His first business was to strip; for all the -exercises of the palæstra were performed naked; and then to anoint -himself all over, and carefully rub the oil into his skin. As Lucian -says again in the <i>Anacharsis</i>, speaking now through the mouth of the -great law-giver, Solon:</p> - -<p class="nind">‘When their first pithless tenderness is past, we strip our -youths and aim at hardening them to the temperature of the various -seasons till heat does not incommode them nor frost paralyse them. Then -we anoint them with oil by way of softening them into suppleness. It -would be absurd that leather, dead stuff as it is, should be made -tougher and more lasting by being softened with oil, and the living body -get no advantage from the same process.’</p> - -<p>Another room, the ‘<i>Konisterion</i>,’ was set apart for athletes to powder -themselves with dust before exercise. The effects on the body of powder -were regarded as no less beneficial than those of oil. It closed the -pores of the skin, checked excessive perspiration, and kept the body -cool, thus protecting it from chills and rendering it less susceptible -to fatigue. Special sorts of powders were<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_81" id="page_81">{81}</a></span> supposed to have special -virtues; those of a clayey nature were particularly cleansing, those -that were gritty stimulated perspiration if the skin was inclined to be -over-dry, the yellow earthy kind made the body supple and sleek, and -gave that glossy appearance which was the sign of good condition and -training.</p> - -<p>Yet another apartment was the ‘<i>Korykeion</i>,’ where the punch-balls hung; -some of them large skins filled with sand hanging about waist-level and -used by wrestlers who would try and check their rebound, others smaller -and lighter filled with fig seeds or meal, hanging as high as the -athlete’s head and used by boxers as a mark for their blows.</p> - -<p>And, lastly, there was the bathroom, a severely simple place with a -large stone basin on a stand as its chief feature. Bathing -establishments with hot and vapour baths existed in Athens, but they -were discouraged by manly folk as corrupting athletic vigour and -considered only truly suitable for the old and feeble. In the palæstra -cold water was used alone, and the bath was either taken direct from the -basin or else the athlete stood while a friend swilled him down from a -bucket. Before the actual washing a flesh scraper was used to remove the -dust and dirt from the skin, and a sort of lye obtained from wood ashes -took the place of soap.</p> - -<p>All this at Athens, as befits a true democracy, was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_82" id="page_82">{82}</a></span> open without -restriction and without payment to every citizen. In the palæstra rich -and poor met on equal terms without regard for rank or position. A -strigil and an oil flask were the only implements that were needed, and -on occasions the State even supplied the oil. We have scarcely anything -like it in modern days; perhaps a racecourse, in its mingling together -of all classes for sport, is the nearest equivalent. But our racecourses -have some peculiar features that need not now be specified, from which -the Greek palæstra was free.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_83" id="page_83">{83}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="IV" id="IV"></a>4<br /><br /> -Health and Bodily Exercise</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">F</span>OR the attainment of the perfect health which is one of the highest -goals of human endeavour, the Greeks of the fifth century <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> in -comparison with ourselves were placed under some disadvantages. Firstly, -their racial stock, a difficult blend of the old Mediterranean people -with central European immigrants, was not so good, for purposes of -active strength, as our mixture of Saxon, Norman and Dane: the -inhabitants of Attica claimed with some reason to be autochthonous, but -in historical times they were already showing plain signs of race decay. -Secondly, their climate on the whole was inferior to ours, the summer -too hot and enervating, the winter dank and depressing rather than sharp -and bracing: Attica in this respect also was more favoured than many -states, and Athenian authors are very fond of contrasting the clear -brilliance of their native air with the heavy dullness of the Bœotian -plain. Thirdly, they lacked most of those sanitary appliances without -which life in our cities now would seem almost impossible, and their -doctors and surgeons had not that wealth of drugs and instruments which -we possess.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_84" id="page_84">{84}</a></span></p> - -<p>On the other hand the Greeks, or at least the Athenians, had some points -in their favour. Of all the people that we know the citizens of Attica -did the highest thinking on the lowest feeding. They were naturally -temperate both in food and drink, and a very great contrast both to the -Romans and such other Greeks as the Bœotians and Thessalians. In this, -at any rate, they were feminists; like most women they did not pay much -regard to their stomachs, and made their meals not the most important -but the least important thing in their lives, so that a Greek banquet -was a very simple affair, compared with an English or a Roman repast, -and its chief attraction was the music and conversation which followed -the mere eating and drinking. The ordinary diet of the Athenians -consisted almost entirely of cereals; porridge and bread were the -staples, and although sometimes a little salt fish, cheese, honey or -olives might serve as a relish, yet porridge in various forms was the -staff of life. Their drink was usually water; a good supply was brought -in to the city by pipes dating apparently from the time of Pisistratus, -and the big fountain of the nine springs is mentioned by Thucydides. -They realized all the benefits that come from a copious use of nature’s -chief medicine: ‘best of all things is water’—such is the motto on the -entrance portal<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_85" id="page_85">{85}</a></span> to the great temple of Pindar’s poems, and the -Athenians, knowing the truth, acted on their knowledge. Wine, of course, -they drank and enjoyed—there were teetotalers amongst them, -Demosthenes, for example, and they were regarded as crabbed, unpleasant -fellows—but they enjoyed in moderation, and always diluted their wine -copiously with water. To drink wine neat was to be a barbarian, and the -story of the Spartan king who was driven mad by his unmixed potations -was often repeated at Athens. The typical citizen was a thin wiry -person, active and restless, and the highest praise you could give to an -Athenian was to call him εὐτράπελος, ready to turn his hand to anything. -As Aristophanes says, the Athenians were wasplike, thin-waisted and -ready to sting—while one of commonest terms of political approbrium was -παχύς—‘fat’—the word applied by the democrats to the idle rich.</p> - -<p>Again, as we have said, the Athenians were autochthonous—such was their -favourite boast—sprung from the land, born from the actual womb of -mother Attica. Without examining too closely the exact truth of their -claim, or accepting the origin of their grasshopper king, we may regard -it as an historical fact that the Athenian stock remained undisturbed -and without admixture for a very long period in Attica. They had -therefore all the advantages which are derived from a pure and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_86" id="page_86">{86}</a></span> an old -race; they were thoroughly suited to their environment, and had -developed strong special characteristics. They were fully conscious of -this themselves, never admitted aliens to Athenian citizenship, and took -the most careful precautions to see that all citizens on the roll should -be of pure Athenian parentage. In its relation to general health this -steady continuity of race and domicile is more important than is often -recognized. Only long centuries of undisturbed habitation can bring man -into real harmony with nature, and this is one reason why the English -peasant is so much finer a man, physically and intellectually, than the -mixed breed of a great town. Half the diseases of our time are of -nervous origin, caused ultimately by a feverish attempt to adapt oneself -too rapidly to a new environment.</p> - -<p>Moreover, the chief means whereby we stave off for the moment the -results of this strain, drugs and stimulants of every kind, were unknown -to the Greeks, and they were all the better for their ignorance. Tea, -coffee, tobacco, opium; all these poisons are among the blessings of -modern civilization, and in the fifth century <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> were as unfamiliar to -the Greeks as the countries from which they come. Here again the Greeks -were closer to nature than we are. When they needed a stimulant—and -stimulants are on occasion a real necessity—they took wine, the natural -product of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_87" id="page_87">{87}</a></span> their own country, not something only to be found among -totally different conditions. They knew nothing of the poisons of -tropical countries, and nothing of the diseases which we have imported -from the tropics. Asiatic fever, smallpox, cholera, syphilis, typhus -were diseases of which the Greeks had neither knowledge nor experience, -and even from our milder infectious complaints, such as measles and -scarlatina, they were immune. Until the advent of malaria during the -Peloponnesian War their most common malady seems to have been ophthalmia -in its various forms, and consumption was their only serious scourge.</p> - -<p>This would seem to be a fair statement of our respective advantages and -disadvantages; and on the whole perhaps the balance of the account is in -our favour. But all these considerations are counterbalanced and more -than counterbalanced by one fact: an ancient Greek took a lively and -intelligent interest in his own physical condition, and devoted most of -his time, not to making money, or reading books or playing cards, but to -what is a more remunerative investment than any of these, to the care of -his health.</p> - -<p>The most precious thing that a Greek possessed was not his soul, the -existence of which he doubted, but his body. He took an interest in his -body; he was not afraid of it in any of its parts, and he was not always -trying to cover it up as some<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_88" id="page_88">{88}</a></span>thing of which he was ashamed. He had none -of those curious and morbid feelings that still linger on amongst us as -an inheritance from Syrian conventicles and Egyptian monasteries. He -stripped himself freely and often, in public as in private, and he -allowed the sunlight, the fresh air, and the running water to reach -every limb. Dirt was not to a Greek a proof of holiness, nor neglect of -one’s person the sure sign of a love of learning. Cleanliness was not -merely next to godliness; it was godliness itself. To be χαθαρός—clean, -pure, free from defilement—was the ideal, and an ideal generally -attained.</p> - -<p>A Greek concentrated his attention on the care of his skin by means of -baths, massage, and external applications. Bathing with the Greeks of -the classical period was not the elaborate function that it became with -the Romans, who used it indeed, as we use drugs, to correct the results -of their own follies and self-indulgence; but it was thorough and it was -constant. Moreover they knew the value of sun and air baths, a thing -almost unattainable in England, and their dress allowed the free-play of -air round the body. Hats, stockings, and gloves were practically -unknown, and the feet were usually bare.</p> - -<p>Of massage, both by the hand and by the instrument, which they called a -‘strigil,’ great use was made. The ‘rubber’ was as important for -purposes<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_89" id="page_89">{89}</a></span> of health as the ‘doctor,’ and an Athenian put aside a certain -proportion of his time every day for his duties in this respect. In -connection with rubbing comes the universal use of olive oil as an -external application; the oil flask—<i>lecythus</i>—was as indispensable to -a Greek as an umbrella is to an Englishman; and as a consequence the -Athenians seem to have been seldom troubled with those coughs and colds -which so harass modern men. Under the stimulus of the bath and frequent -massage the skin performed its natural cleansing functions, and the oil -served as an invisible protection against sudden chills, while from one -of our greatest dangers, the hot polluted air of a crowded room followed -by the cold dampness of a raw February evening, the Greeks were free, -for artificial heating and lighting were little used and all gatherings -of people took place in the open. By constant exposure to sun and air, -by massage, by regulated exercises, and by rubbing with oil the Greek -gained an elasticity of skin which meant health, vigour and beauty. A -large proportion of our community take an interest in their complexions -and spend a considerable amount of effort in trying to produce an -artificial softness of face tissue, but to the far more important task -of stimulating and strengthening the skin of the body and larger limbs -they give scarcely any time at all. A delicate skin is not the -essential, either<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_90" id="page_90">{90}</a></span> from the point of view of health or real beauty; for -though it may render details visible in an elegant fashion, only a skin -that is well knit to the subjacent tissues shows the true configuration -to advantage. This firm elasticity cannot be obtained except by -attention, and in this respect we are inferior, not only to the Greeks, -but to such different and widely separated modern peoples as the Red -Indians of North America, the Malays of the Eastern Archipelago, and the -Kanakas of the South Seas. A very large number of our minor maladies and -disabilities come to us from our closed pores and our flabby epidermis, -and from all these the Greeks escaped, owing to the care they gave to -the outer surface of the body.</p> - -<p>In the day-time a Greek was usually to be found upon his feet. Of the -value of walking as the best of all the more gentle forms of exercise he -was well aware, and he normally took a brisk walk in the early morning, -another before the mid-day meal, another in the late afternoon, and -another before he went to bed. Fortunately for him cycles and motor-cars -were not yet invented. When he was not walking he usually stood, for the -sitting position was regarded as more appropriate to slaves than to free -men, and in any case he knew that sitting tends rather to cramp than to -invigorate the body. If he wanted to relieve his leg muscles for a -moment, which he seldom did, he dropped down<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_91" id="page_91">{91}</a></span> easily into the squatting -position, which those other scientific gymnasts, the Japanese, now use, -a mode of resting especially valuable for women, as it strengthens all -the muscles about the pelvis and gives vigour to the most vital portions -of the female anatomy. When the time for a complete rest came he lay -down, either propped upon one elbow or at full length, and allowed all -his muscles to relax. If ever it was necessary to sit—in the theatre of -Dionysus, for example, where an audience sat attentive in the open air -for hours together—he sat on a plain flat seat without a back, his legs -straight down in front of him, his feet resting on the floor. He did not -loll or lounge, and when he was sitting he did not have that -round-shouldered appearance, which is now so noticeable in a room full -of people: he kept his diaphragm firm with the upper part of his body -correctly balanced, the centre of gravity being exactly over the base of -the spine; and in this position he was able to remain for long periods -without effort or fatigue.</p> - -<p>But as we have said sitting to a Greek was not a matter of choice, and -was for him the exception rather than the rule; he preferred an erect -position. The chief reason for this very considerable difference between -his custom and ours is to be found in a simple fact: he was taught in -childhood how to stand and how to walk <i>properly</i>, so that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_92" id="page_92">{92}</a></span> both actions -were to him a pleasure and not a labour.</p> - -<p>It may seem strange at first sight, but as an actual fact the operations -of standing erect and walking straight are not in the strict sense of -the word ‘natural’ to creatures like ourselves who have painfully -evolved from a lower form of life. The awkward hesitations of the baby -learning to walk are natural; the supple activity of the athlete is the -result of art. To stand gracefully and easily is an accomplishment that -must be acquired; it does not come to us of itself.</p> - -<p>If a man stand erect, firmly planted on both feet at the same time, -exerting as little muscular effort as possible, the hip joint is always -a little overextended; the body would fall backward were it not for the -ilio-femoral ligament which suspends the body to the hip joint. On the -length and strength of this ligament depends both the position of the -pelvis in relation to the thigh and also eventually the graceful -carriage of the whole body. A lack of strength in this ligament and in -the muscles of the abdomen means that the pelvis is too much inclined, -the abdomen projects forward, and in the back there is a deep hollow: -results unsightly and unhealthy enough, but unfortunately with us far -too common, for we do not take means, as did the Greeks by a scientific -system of gymnastics, to strengthen all these body muscles in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_93" id="page_93">{93}</a></span> early -youth. Jumping with dumb-bells (performed in squads to music), throwing -the diskos, and casting the javelin were exercises expressly designed -for this purpose, and combined with daily practice in the wrestling -school they gave the ancient Greek a different and a superior body to -ours, a body which in outward contour and muscular development was much -further removed from the ancestral ape than is that of the ordinary -middle-aged citizen of to-day. A Greek could ‘stand at ease’ without any -difficulty: the attempts that may be seen on any drill ground now when -recruits attempt to carry out the order would be ludicrous if they were -not so painful.</p> - -<p>In order to stand correctly the legs and feet must be of a proper shape; -a man must not be knock-kneed or splay-footed. When the legs and feet -are close together, the two legs should be in contact at four points: at -the upper part of the thigh, between the knees, at the point where the -calves come furthest inwards, and at the inner ankle bones. The body -muscles also must be well developed and under control, and the stander -should know exactly where the centre of his body’s gravity is and how to -obtain correct poise. Our drill-book advises that the weight of the body -be balanced on both feet and evenly distributed between the fore part of -the feet and the heels. With our present type of boot this represents<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_94" id="page_94">{94}</a></span> -probably the best position possible, but it should be remembered that it -is not the best that can be devised. The perfect position for standing -is this: the heels should just touch the ground, but there must be no -weight on them; the feet should be close together so that the heels and -the whole of the inside line of the feet are touching; the whole weight -of the body should be got well forward <i>over the ball of the foot</i>.</p> - -<p>Right standing is as essential to beauty as is the care of the skin, but -most women now, like most men, stand wrongly. The head is not held in -its right position by the neck muscles but hangs negligently forward, so -that eventually the beauty of the nape of the neck is destroyed. The -back muscles of the neck, thus overstretched, cause the large chest -muscle, on which the breast is supported, to sink, and then the abdomen -is forced upward and forward. Body poise is thus completely lost, the -weight of the upper trunk is left to be supported by the legs alone, and -all the conditions of unnecessary fatigue, weariness, and lack of vigour -come into existence. The whole art of standing consists in the knowledge -of body poise, and this has to be learned.</p> - -<p>Even when we have acquired that knowledge we are still at a -disadvantage. We stand upon our feet, and under modern conditions our -feet do not have a fair chance. Sculptors know that it is pos<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_95" id="page_95">{95}</a></span>sible to -get living models for other parts of the body, even though those models -rarely approximate to perfection; but for the foot the only safe method -is to copy direct from the antique. The Greek sandal was in every way -superior to our boot: it protected from injury and yet did not hinder -movement: it was easily taken off and when in use left all the top part -of the foot exposed to the light and air. Our feet, imprisoned from -early childhood in closely fitting socks and in boots that impede the -play of the toe muscles, can hardly be said to be alive. The great toe -is usually twisted towards the median line, and the joint consequently -has an ugly knotted appearance: all five toes are crushed together, and -lose their natural shape, while the last, and often the last but one, is -altogether distorted and deformed. Nor is the mischief confined to the -toes: the whole foot, so seldom exposed to the open air, has a dry, -lean, ill-nourished look. It shows itself the starved captive that it -really is, and, as our modern schools of dancing and eurhythmic have -discovered, the first condition of beauty and of graceful movement is -that the foot should be free.</p> - -<p>The Greeks were too sensible and too well aware of the importance of -securing true body poise to deprive of its vitality that part of the -body which is the chief factor in balance, as being the main point of -contact between ourselves and the solid<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_96" id="page_96">{96}</a></span> ground. As a result the Greek -foot was in some important respects differently shaped from ours. The -first three toes were longer and were thin and nervous like fingers; the -second toe was often the longest of the three; the fourth and fifth toes -were little used and were usually off the ground, being thus raised by a -pad of firm fleshy tissue, spreading under the foot, on which all -movement centred. The instep was not quite so high as with us, but the -tendon Achilles was finer, the heel considerably smaller and much less -used, for a Greek child was trained to dispense with it as a security -for balance and to keep the centre of gravity over the forward part of -the foot.</p> - -<p>All these points of difference are perfectly well known to modern -artists and can be observed in most ancient statues. It rests with -ourselves, if we wish it, to recover the combination of beauty and -strength which the Greek foot possessed; and if the attempt be made it -will be found that it is not impossible even for us soon to approach -with some closeness to that desirable ideal.</p> - -<p>Let us suppose then for a moment that our feet are sensibly shod and -that their muscles are properly exercised: let us suppose also that we -have learned enough of the principles of body poise and balance to be -able to ‘stand at ease.’ With the next order ‘Quick march!’ a new series -of difficulties will begin. Correct walking requires that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_97" id="page_97">{97}</a></span> centre of -gravity of a moving weight should be kept constant over its base, and to -do this the muscles must be in a state of elastic tension. If the -diaphragm is not doing its work, the act of passing the weight of the -body from one foot to another results in an effort to feel forward for a -new base, and movement proceeds in jerks. The way to avoid this jerky -movement is to carry the whole weight forward at the same time as the -advancing foot, and this can only be done if mind and muscle work -together. The essential difference between a soldier’s march, if it be -properly performed, and the civilian’s walk, degenerating into a slouch, -is that the first calls for a definite mental effort; the second is mere -mechanical habit. As soon as men march mechanically they cease to march, -and that is the value of a regimental band: it stimulates the connection -between mind and muscle that centres round our diaphragm.</p> - -<p>Unfortunately, very few men know where their diaphragm is, or what -purpose it serves. They think they know the position of their heart and -their liver (although experience on the drill ground shows that they are -generally wrong), but as regards their diaphragm, their ignorance is -even as the night. As they plaintively remark, ‘How should they know? -They have never been taught.’ And that is really the mischief. As -children they were laboriously instructed in the anatomy of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_98" id="page_98">{98}</a></span> world: -they knew what a promontory and a peninsula were, and could tell you the -names of the principal rivers from China to Peru. But as for the anatomy -of their body they were left in almost complete darkness. Many people -cannot even spell the word diaphragm correctly; the ancient Greeks were -so convinced of the influence of the diaphragm on mental and physical -conditions that in their language the same word ‘phrenes’ stood for -diaphragm and mind. It is a fact that if the diaphragm muscles are -flabby and loose (as with undrilled men they almost invariably are), the -whole mental system becomes infected with the resultant slackness. An -alert mind is only secured by an alert body, and the call, ‘Attention!’ -is, in fact, a stimulus to the abdomen muscles, which spring up -vigorously and raise the weight of the body from the centre. A -heightening of vitality and a sense of spiritual power follow as surely -as it did on the ancient hymn—‘Sursum corda’—‘We lift up our hearts -unto the Lord.’</p> - -<p>Walking is of all forms of exercise the best for women; but it loses its -value if a woman’s gait is radically wrong. Instead of walking from the -hips, most women walk from the knees: the result is a strut, a shuffle, -a stamp, a shamble, a waddle, or a hobble, never a true walk. To walk -correctly, feet, legs and body must be under control. The feet must be -allowed to keep their proper shape<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_99" id="page_99">{99}</a></span> and position, and while the inside -of the foot is used the toes should be planted in a straight line with -the heel, never turned outwards. Uncertain balance produces bent knees, -and one of the first results of a true walk is an increase of beauty in -all the leg muscles, an increase of strength in the knees and in the -deep-set muscles of the lower back. A woman’s knees, which nature meant -to be strong and elastic, are now, with the abdomen, the weakest part of -the female frame. There is nothing that women fear so much as a jump, -and this timidity is purely the result of knee weakness, and the -consequent inability to distribute body weight correctly. In the -interests of health, beauty and comfort, correct walking is essential -for women, and yet not one woman in a thousand would satisfy an expert.</p> - -<p>To walk properly, then, the diaphragm must be on the alert, and a lifted -diaphragm in a state of muscular tension cannot exist side by side with -a large flabby abdomen. If a man’s body is to be beautiful, and if the -man himself is to be in perfect physical condition, the abdomen must be -reduced to the smallest possible dimensions and not overloaded with fat. -The size of the abdomen is increased by the absorption of large masses -of food, especially if they are of a gaseous and indigestible nature; it -is decreased if the amount of food taken is reduced and if the food -itself is rich in nutri<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_100" id="page_100">{100}</a></span>ment so that less bulk is required. Above all, -if the muscles of the abdomen and back are strengthened by a -carefully-designed system of exercises, they will take their share in -bearing the weight of the upper part of the body and will prevent it -from settling down, an inert mass, in the socket of the pelvis. As -things are now, our hip muscles have usually too much work to do and are -exaggeratedly developed, and an examination of any Greek athlete -statue—the Diadumenos will serve as one example of many—will show that -the Greek hip was much finer and slimmer than ours: it was more behind -the body than under it and a far greater freedom of movement was thereby -made possible.</p> - -<p>An even more striking change will be seen in the muscles of the abdomen. -With us a young, well-proportioned man has usually a depression just -above the iliac ridge, and the iliac line descending from the hips to -the top of the legs makes only a slight inward curve. In the Greek body -we see a firm roll of flesh lying just above the iliac crest, the iliac -line running beneath it for a short distance inwards in a horizontal -direction, and then bending downwards at an obtuse or sometimes almost a -right-angle.</p> - -<p>Of this plain fact two explanations are possible. Either the ancient -sculptors wilfully falsified their models’ contours in the interests of -ideal beauty,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_101" id="page_101">{101}</a></span> or else this difference between the ancient and modern -abdomen really did exist. The first explanation is highly improbable -considering the Greeks’ artistic conscience, and furthermore in their -statues of women no trace of this horizontal iliac line is ever -apparent. The only reasonable inference is that these muscles, which -with us are so undeveloped as to be invisible, were the result of the -constant physical training to which the Greek man, but not the Greek -woman, was habituated.</p> - -<p>In an artistic sense there can be no doubt as to the excellent effect -which the ancient line produces. It gives proportion and an air of -solidity and greatly diminishes the superficial area of the abdomen. And -that it represented a real condition rather than an artistic ideal is a -very probable fact, for the statues of Greek athletes often represent -positions which for us with our weak abdomens are almost impossible of -attainment. One of the most perfect of all, Myron’s Diskobolos—the -young athlete throwing the diskos—seemed to Herbert Spencer ‘an -impossible contortion’; and after a close examination of its poise he -declared that at the next moment—if the action were continued—it would -fall upon its nose. It is quite possible that such a regrettable -accident would have been the result if our revered philosopher had -attempted to perform the movement, but the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_102" id="page_102">{102}</a></span> muscles of the Greek body, -properly trained and hardened, found in it no insuperable difficulty.</p> - -<p>The movement that Myron represents is the swing back of the diskos. The -athlete has already taken his stance, and with left foot forward has -extended the diskos horizontally to the front in his right hand. Then -comes the decisive action: the whole weight of the body is transferred -to the right foot, whose toes grip the ground at full tension; the left -foot trails back, offering no resistance either to the pause or the -coming momentum; the body swings round upon the fixed pivot of the right -foot. The diskos held in the right hand comes downwards and backwards; -head and body turn with it; the next moment the body will swing round -again with a forward lift and the diskos will fly from the extended -hand. Whether the force of the throw relies entirely upon the lift of -the thighs and the swing of the body, or upon the arm alone, swinging -rapidly in a free shoulder socket, will depend upon the weight of the -diskos used. In either case it is the pause at the end of the backward -swing that the sculptor has fixed in the bronze.</p> - -<p>Only in imagination can we see the actions by which the body has got -into this position and by which it will again recover its equilibrium. -It illustrates one of Lessing’s sayings in the <i>Laocoön</i>: ‘Of ever -changing nature the artist can use only a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_103" id="page_103">{103}</a></span> single moment and this from a -single point of view. And as his work is meant to be looked at not for -an instant but with long consideration, he must choose the most fruitful -moment, and the most fruitful point of view, that, to wit, which leaves -the power of imagination free.’</p> - -<p>One of the greatest benefits that the ancient Greeks have bestowed upon -the modern world, if only we like to make use of it, is the standard of -bodily perfection they have bequeathed to us in the remains of their -sculpture. Just as Greek literature is eternally precious, not only for -itself but as a criterion of beauty, so Greek statuary supplies us with -visible proof of the power and grace to which the human body with proper -care and training can attain. Besides the Diskobolos we have an -admirable example of slender vigour in the Hermes of Praxiteles, of -athletic strength in the Hagias of Lysippus, of grave dignity in the -Charioteer of Delphi, of poise and balance in the Archers of the Ægina -pediment, and of what the Greeks considered perfect proportion in the -various copies—all unfortunately rather late and lifeless—of the -Doryphoros of Polycleitus, from which the sculptor himself worked out -his ideal canon.</p> - -<p>Of examples of female beauty we have an equal wealth, and almost every -movement of the body may be illustrated from some extant statue. For -walking, we have the Victory of Pæonius, step<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_104" id="page_104">{104}</a></span>ping freely forward with -her light linen robe blowing back against her girlish limbs, and the -more mature figure of the Victory of Samothrace. To some modern critics -both statues seem to be flying through the air, but the appearance of -winged motion is in reality simply due to the fact that they are walking -<i>correctly</i>, using about half the effort, and covering at each pace -nearly double the ground that a modern woman would traverse.</p> - -<p>As types of the standing position there are the three great statues of -Venus in Paris, Rome, and Florence. The Venus de Milo, more beautiful -than any modern body with her mingled charm of grace and vigour, the -tapering waist line and fine hips giving grace, the strength and -development of the abdominal muscles promising the perfect fulfilment of -woman’s noblest task; the Venus of Cnidus, where again the line of -beauty is the line of the hips, as the goddess stands with left knee -bent resting the weight of her body on the right flank; the Venus de -Medici, less vigorous at first sight than the other two, but revealing -on a closer view a subtle complexity of sinew and muscle about the waist -line, where the modern corset leaves unsightly rolls of fat and muscles -atrophied.</p> - -<p>For sitting, there is the group known usually as ‘The Three Fates,’ from -the east pediment of the Parthenon; the figures resting, but resting -with knowledge, the shoulders square and thorax high</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><p><a name="ill_006" id="ill_006"></a></p> -<a href="images/img-104.jpg"> -<img src="images/img-104.jpg" height="550" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE VICTORY OF PAIONIOS (Olympia)</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_105" id="page_105">{105}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">arched, the body not allowed to collapse in an inert mass, but ready at -need to spring again at once into active life. Another example is the -crouching Venus of the Vatican, set in a position of modest grace which -a modern woman would find almost impossible of attainment. With us the -cartilages of the breast bone are practically useless and the thorax is -left unsupported; Greek women were able to move the entire thorax -sideways, a capacity we have lost, and when lowering their bodies they -kept them, as does the goddess here, with the longitudinal axis of the -torso remaining as far as possible in the vertical plane.</p> - -<p>If we need types of more active motion, there is the Amazon from the -pediment at Epidaurus, her body perfectly poised as her thigh muscles -press the horse’s side; or the Athena of the Æginetan pediment showing -us how with proper control of the muscles it is possible to turn the -body through three-quarters of a circle without moving the feet; and the -exquisite bronze Fortune at Naples, a perfect example of muscular -balance—‘drawn up on the extreme points of her toes, she looks as -though hovering over the world, light as thistledown, and yet in her -tense immobility the very essence of Force.’</p> - -<p>It has often been said that the marvellous achievements of Greek -sculptors were a result of their daily opportunities of seeing the nude -form; but<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_106" id="page_106">{106}</a></span> nudity alone does not suffice. The greatest sculptor of our -time tried the experiment of studying his nude models as they walked to -and fro at their ease in his great room at the Hotel Biron. We saw the -result: critics accused him of a love for the grotesque and the uncouth, -while Rodin himself was reduced to the theory that for the artist -nothing is ugly. The truth is that the naked body of a modern grown man -is not beautiful, and therefore a faithful transcription such as Rodin -gives cannot be beautiful. But the Greek models were beautiful, because -beauty of body had been developed by a system of gymnastics universally -applied.</p> - -<p>With their statues to guide us, it will be our own fault if we do not -again reach the standard of physical perfection which the Greeks -attained; for it is a curious and inspiriting fact that the human form -almost immediately responds to any opportunity that is given it, and -that with each child the race begins anew. What we need is a national -training, carefully planned by experts and adapted alike for children, -youths and grown men. And with it we need a fuller realization of the -duty that every one owes to himself, and a deeper determination to make -each part of our body as beautiful as nature allows. Listen to the words -of the wisest of philosophers:</p> - -<p>‘It is a shameful thing to grow old in neglect,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_107" id="page_107">{107}</a></span> without having realized -to the utmost such strength and beauty as your body is capable of. -Strength and beauty will not come of themselves: the man who takes no -care for them will never possess them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_108" id="page_108">{108}</a></span>’</p> - -<h2><a name="V" id="V"></a>5<br /><br /> -Galen’s Treatise on the Small Ball</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">B</span>ALL games, as we know from Homer, were from the earliest times popular -among the Greeks, being especially esteemed for the grace of body which -the act of throwing and catching gives. The central incident of the -<i>Odyssey</i> is connected with such a game, for it was a lost ball that -roused Odysseus from his sleep in the bush and led to his discovery by -Nausicaa. At Athens in the fifth century they were, for men, rather -overshadowed by the gymnastic exercises already described, but youths -found in them a favourite diversion, and the poet Sophocles in his -tragedy of the <i>Nausicaa</i> won particular praise in the title-rôle—a -non-speaking part—because of his dexterous skill. Those who played, as -Athenæus tells us, always paid great attention to elegance of attitude, -and he quotes from the comic poet Demoxenus:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">‘A youth I saw was playing ball,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Seventeen years of age and tall;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">From Cos he came, and well I wot<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The gods look kindly on that spot.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">For when he took the ball or threw it,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">So pleased were all of us to view it,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">We all cried out; so great his grace<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Such frank good humour in his face,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_109" id="page_109">{109}</a></span><br /></span> -<span class="i1">That every time he spoke or moved,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">All felt as if that youth they loved.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Sure ne’er before had these eyes seen,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Nor ever since, so fair a mien:<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Had I stayed long, most sad my plight<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Had been, to lose my wits outright,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And even now the recollection<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Disturbs my senses’ calm reflection.’<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Of the actual details of these ball games we have very few accounts in -literature or representations in art. One of the most recent -archæological discoveries has, however, thrown light on one point. Up -till lately we had no instance of implements being used; but in -February, 1922, while the foundations of a shop were being constructed -at Athens, sections of the Themistoclean circuit wall were brought to -light. Built into them were three quadrangular bases of Pentelic marble -with sculptured reliefs on their sides and one of these reliefs shows -clearly the details of a hockey match. The ball is on the ground in the -exact middle: two youths with sticks are engaged in a ‘bully’ for it -precisely in the modern fashion: on either side of them stand two other -pairs of youths, with sticks, representing, it may be presumed, the rest -of the two competing teams.</p> - -<p>Another of the six reliefs, equally interesting, shows probably the -beginning of the most popular<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_110" id="page_110">{110}</a></span> and the most energetic of all forms of -ball games, the Phæninda, played with a small hard ball stuffed with -hair, the Harpastum. The game bore some resemblance to our Rugby, except -that the ball was always thrown and never kicked. The scene on the -relief represents a throw-in from the touchline; one youth is preparing -to throw, the rest are waiting either to seize the ball in the air or to -tackle the next possessor. A passage from the comedian Antiphanes, -quoted by Athenæus (Bk. I, ch. 26), gives a lively picture:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">‘The player takes the ball elate,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And gives it safely to his mate,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Avoids the blows of the other side<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And shouts to see them hitting wide.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">List to the cries, “Hit here,” “hit here,”<br /></span> -<span class="i1">“Too far,” “too high,” “that is not fair”—<br /></span> -<span class="i1">See every man with ardour burns<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To make good strokes and quick returns.’<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Another sort of game, less rough in character and more akin to our -lacrosse, was possibly played with a lighter feather stuffed ball, in -Greek, <i>sphaira</i>, the Latin <i>follis</i>. Here, tackling was not allowed, -and the ball was thrown from hand to hand while the players were running -at full speed.</p> - -<p>In playing with the <i>harpastum</i> or the <i>follis</i> the main object was to -drive your opponents to retreat behind their base line, and in both -styles there</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><p><a name="ill_007" id="ill_007"></a></p> -<a href="images/img-110.jpg"> -<img src="images/img-110.jpg" width="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE THROW-IN AT THE SMALL BALL GAME (Athens)</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_111" id="page_111">{111}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">was a good deal of running. The third type of game, played with the -<i>trigon</i>, required less exertion. The players here were only three in -number, and stood at the three-corners of a triangle, throwing balls -quickly one at the other: both hands were used and caddies supplied the -players with missiles.</p> - -<p>All three games were Greek inventions; but they reached the height of -their popularity under the Roman Empire. Seneca, writing on the brevity -of mortal life, complains that there are many people who have no other -occupation but to play ball from morning till night. Martial frequently -mentions the dusty <i>harpastum</i>, the warming <i>trigon</i>, and the feathered -<i>follis</i>, and in one of his epigrams praises a young student for taking -his exercise in the form of a long run rather than waste his time on the -‘busy idleness’ of a ball game. To this period also belongs the one -serious account that we have in Greek of any game, Galen’s treatise on -exercise with the small ball.</p> - -<p>Claudius Galenus, born at Pergamum in the reign of Hadrian, 131 <span class="smcap">a.d.</span>, is -one of the most notable figures of a notable age. Courtier-physician, -scholar-diplomat, the friend of princes and the trainer of gladiators, -he recalls the versatility of the great sophists of the fifth century -<span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, and he equals them in the breadth and profundity of his knowledge. -His writings embrace four distinct<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_112" id="page_112">{112}</a></span> fields: medicine in all its aspects, -philosophy, rhetoric, and grammatical logic; and although he is best -known as a physician his commentaries on Hippocrates may claim to be the -beginning of truly scientific scholarship.</p> - -<p>His long life was spent in acquiring and imparting knowledge. A thorough -education, conducted under his father’s eye, rendered him apt for every -art. His wealth enabled him to travel and study at his leisure, and in -early manhood he made the ‘grand tour’ of the ancient world, living for -a time at Smyrna, Alexandria, and Rome before he returned to his native -town. We have now 118 genuine extant works from his pen, which -translated from the Greek into Arabic and thence again into Latin, were -the chief text-books in all the mediæval universities. Editions were -innumerable, and even to-day the name of Galen occupies more than fifty -pages in the British Museum Catalogue. In a production so immense we -must not expect consummate grace of language, but his own maxim, ‘the -first merit of style is clearness’ is well exemplified in the ‘Small -ball,’ which is short enough to be translated here in its entirety.</p> - -<p class="nind">‘How great an advantage for health gymnastic exercises are -and what an important part they play in questions of diet has been -sufficiently explained by the best of our ancient philosophers and -physicians. But how superior to all other exercise is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_113" id="page_113">{113}</a></span> the use of the -small ball has never been adequately set forth by any of my -predecessors. It is only right then for me to put forward my ideas for -your criticism, Epigenes, since you have the very best practical -experience of the athletic art, in the further hope that they may be -useful also to all those to whom you communicate your knowledge.</p> - -<p class="nind">‘The best forms of gymnastic, I think, are those which are -able not only to work the body but also to delight the mind. Those men -were true philosophers who invented coursing and the other varieties of -the chase, tempering the labour they involve with pleasure, exultation -and rivalry, and they had an accurate knowledge of human nature. So -powerful an effect has mental emotion upon the stuff of which we are -made that many people have been cured of ailments merely by the effect -of joy, while many others have fallen ill from sorrow. Indeed, of all -the affections that are rooted in the body none is strong enough to -master those others that have the mind for their sphere. So it is wrong -to neglect the character of our mental emotions; we ought for every -reason to give more attention to them than to the condition of our body, -especially as the mind is more important than the body can be. This care -is the common function of all gymnastic exercises that have an element -of pleasure in them, but there are other special points in small ball -play which I will now describe.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_114" id="page_114">{114}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">‘Firstly, it is easy. If you consider what time and trouble -all the business of hunting involves, especially coursing, you will -clearly see that no one who is engaged in public service or who follows -an art or trade can take part in these forms of exercise; they require -abundant wealth and a person who enjoys considerable leisure. But ball -play is different. It is so democratic that even the poorest can spare -the necessary trouble. It needs no nets, nor weapons, nor horses, nor -hounds: all it requires is one small ball. Moreover, it suits itself so -well to a man’s other pursuits, that it does not compel him to neglect -any of them for its sake. What could be easier than a sport which allows -any form of human occupation or condition? As regards the exercise that -hunting gives, it is out of our power to enjoy it easily: it requires -money to provide an elaborate equipment and freedom from occupation to -wait for a suitable opportunity. But with ball play even the poorest -have no difficulty in getting the implements; it will wait for us, and -quite busy people find opportunity to enjoy it. Its accessibility is a -very great advantage.</p> - -<p class="nind">‘If you consider the effect and nature of each of the other -kinds of exercise, you will see clearly that ball play is the most -satisfactory of them all. You will find that the others are either over -violent or not violent enough; that they give disproportionate exercise -to the lower or to the upper part<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_115" id="page_115">{115}</a></span> of the body or to one part at the -expense of the others; the loins, the head, the arms, the chest. -Something which keeps all parts of the body moving alike and admits -either of the most violent strain or the gentlest relaxation, this can -be found in no exercise except the small ball. The game can be sharp or -slow, soft or violent just according to your own inclination, as your -body seems to need it. You can exercise all parts of the body at the -same time, if that appears best, or if it should seem preferable, some -parts rather than others. When the players form sides and try to stop -their opponents midway and rob them of the ball, the exercise is very -severe and violent. You often have to grip your man in wrestling fashion -or else collar him; the latter method giving plenty of work for head and -neck, the former exercising ribs, chest and stomach, as you fasten your -own grip or escape from your opponent’s. Sometimes you make your mark, -sometimes you use one of the holds that are taught in the wrestling -schools; and this means a very considerable strain on the loins and the -legs. And so for this sport a man must be a strong runner: he will have -to swerve and leap sideways as well as run straight forward and this is -hard exercise for the legs. Indeed, to speak the truth, it is the only -sport that properly exercises the legs in all their parts. When you run -forward one set of sinews and muscles comes<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_116" id="page_116">{116}</a></span> into play; when you jump -backwards others have more work to do, and others again when you change -direction sideways. In track-running on the contrary, only one sort of -movement is necessary and the exercise is unequal, not affecting all -parts of the legs alike.</p> - -<p class="nind">‘And as with the legs so also with the arms, the exercise is -very fairly apportioned, for the players are accustomed to catch the -ball in every kind of attitude. This variety of attitude inevitably -exercises different muscles at different times in different degrees of -intensity. Every muscle has its turn of work and an equal share of rest: -they are now active, now quiescent; none remains altogether idle, none -is overcome with weariness by working alone. As for the training that -the eye receives you may realize this by remembering that unless a man -anticipates exactly the flight of the ball and its direction, he must -inevitably fail to make his catch. Moreover, the wits are sharpened by -the game: you have to think carefully how best to stop your opponent, -and not drop the ball yourself. Thought by itself makes a man thin; but -when it is combined with exercise and the pleasant rivalry of a sport it -is of the very greatest benefit. The body improves in health, the mind -is turned to practical knowledge. When exercise can render service both -to body and mind, each in its own special form of excellence, it is a -blessing indeed.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><p><a name="ill_008" id="ill_008"></a></p> -<a href="images/img-116.jpg"> -<img src="images/img-116.jpg" width="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>A HOCKEY MATCH (Statue base discovered at Athens, -1922)</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_117" id="page_117">{117}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">‘It is easy too to see that ball games can give men practice -in two most important forms of training, those two which the royal -ordinance of law bids our generals most sedulously to pursue. The -functions of a good general are these: to attack at the proper time and -to seize quickly each opportunity for action: to secure the property of -the enemy either by force or by an unexpected assault, and to keep safe -any possessions already acquired. In short, a general should be an -expert guardian and an expert thief: that is the sum of his trade.</p> - -<p class="nind">‘Now, can any exercise but ball games train a man so well -how to keep what he has got, to recover what he has lost, and to -anticipate his opponent’s plans? I should be surprised, if you could -tell me of one. Most forms of exercise have the opposite effect: they -make men lazy, slow-witted and fond of sleep. The competitions of the -wrestling school tend to make people corpulent rather than to train them -in virtue. Many wrestlers become so fat that they have difficulty in -breathing, and such folk could never be good generals in time of war or -good administrators either in a royal or a republican state: you might -sooner trust pigs than them.</p> - -<p class="nind">‘Perhaps you may think that I approve of running and any -other form of exercise that reduces fat. I do not. I disapprove of -excess in all matters, and I think that every art should aim at -symmetry.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_118" id="page_118">{118}</a></span> If a thing lacks measure, it is in so far bad. So I cannot -approve of track athletics, for they reduce a man’s physical condition -and give him no training in manliness. Victory does not come to those -who run quickly but to those who are able to hold their own in a close -fight, and the Spartans owed their greatness not to their speed of foot -but to their stubborn courage. Even if you considered it purely on -grounds of health, a sport is not healthy in so far as it exercises the -parts of the body unequally. Inevitably, some parts are overstrained, -some left quite idle. Neither of these conditions are good: both foster -the seeds of illness and produce a weak state of health.</p> - -<p class="nind">‘The exercise I approve of most is one that can give health -of body, symmetry of limbs and excellence of mind: and all these virtues -are found in the small ball. It can benefit the mind in all kinds of -ways; it exercises every part of the body alike—and this is of the -greatest importance for health—for it produces a regular state of -constitution; and it does not lead either to undue corpulence or -excessive thinness: it is competent to perform such acts as require -strength, it is suitable also for those that need quickness.</p> - -<p class="nind">‘Now if we consider ball games in their most violent form -they are inferior in no respect to any sort of athletics. But we must -also look at them in their milder aspect, for sometimes we need<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_119" id="page_119">{119}</a></span> gentle -exercise. We may be either too old or not old enough to stand a severe -strain; we may wish to relax our efforts or be recovering from illness. -I think that in this respect also the small ball has a great advantage, -for no game is quite so gentle, if you wish to take it gently. Should -you need moderate exercise and desire to avoid excess, you will -sometimes step softly forward, sometimes stand quite still: you need not -make any violent effort and you can add to the effect by a warm bath or -a gentle rub down with oil. Of all exercise this is the most gentle: it -is most suitable for one who needs useful recreation, it can revive -failing strength, it is most suitable for old and young alike. There -are, however, some stronger sorts of exercise which can be obtained by -the use of the small ball, although they are milder than the most -intense form of the game, and these must now be considered if we really -wish to treat the subject completely. If ever some unavoidable task, -such as often falls to many a man’s lot, has caused an excessive strain -to all the upper or all the lower parts of the body, or to the arms -alone or to the feet, by the help of the small ball you can rest those -parts that have been overstrained and give the same amount of exercise -to those other parts that were then left quite idle. To stand a fair -distance apart and throw the ball vigorously, without using the legs -hardly at all, rests the lower limbs<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_120" id="page_120">{120}</a></span> and gives a somewhat violent -exercise to the upper parts of the body. On the other hand, if you run -most of the way at a good speed keeping a wide distance and seldom throw -the ball, the lower limbs have more work to do. The quickness of action -and the speed required, involve no great muscular strain but they -exercise the lungs, while the vigorous effort, as you grasp the ball and -catch and throw it, although it needs no speed of foot, yet braces and -strengthens the body. If the ball is thrown both vigorously and at full -speed there will be a considerable strain on the body and on the lungs: -it will be indeed the most violent form of exercise possible. But how -far this strain should be relaxed or intensified, as circumstances -require, it is impossible to set down in writing—exact quantities -should never be stated; in actual practice it is easy enough to discover -the proper limit and to instruct others. On actual experience all -depends. The quality of a thing is useless if it is spoilt by a wrong -quantity, and this will be the business of your trainer, who will act as -guide in all matters of exercise.</p> - -<p class="nind">‘But I must bring my subject to an end. In addition to all -the other advantages, which, as I have said, the small ball possesses, -there is one more which I should not like to omit. It is free from all -the risks to which most other athletic exercises are liable. Before -to-day many a man has died of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_121" id="page_121">{121}</a></span> a broken blood-vessel after a violent -race: and so also the practice of loud and furious shouting, if pursued -without intermission for some time, has often proved the cause of very -serious mischief. Continuous horse-riding ruptures the parts about the -kidneys and often injures the chest, besides in some cases doing harm to -the generative organs. I say nothing of the mistakes that horses make, -whereby frequently their riders have been unseated and killed on the -spot. Many men have also been hurt while jumping, or throwing the -discus, or turning somersaults. As for the frequenters of the wrestling -school, what need I say of them? They are all scarred more shamefully -than the Curse-hags of whom Homer tells us. The great poet describes -them: “Lame and wrinkled and with eyes askance.” And so with the -wrestling master’s pupils, you will find them lame, distorted, battered, -and maimed in some part at least of their body. Since then, in addition -to the other advantages, this freedom from danger is the particular -attribute of small ball games, they must be regarded as the best of all -inventions, so far as actual utility is concerned.’</p> - -<p>There are many striking points in the little essay; the importance that -Galen assigns to athletics as part of military training; his insistence -on the moral and intellectual virtue of games and their value in -producing a cheerful frame of mind; his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_122" id="page_122">{122}</a></span> depreciation, on social and -physical grounds, of track-running. It is written obviously from the -standpoint of a physician and not of an athlete or a sportsman. The -athlete might well wish for fuller details of the three different games -of ‘harpastum,’ ‘trigon,’ and ‘follis,’ which are here mentioned rather -than described. The sportsman would probably object to the strictures on -hunting and riding, and reply that a spice of danger gives an additional -zest to exercise. It is noticeable also that in discussing the moral -virtue of games Galen makes no mention of that which we consider their -most important feature, the ‘team-spirit,’ the working not for yourself -but for your side.</p> - -<p>Criticisms such as these, however, are ungracious. The ‘small ball’ is a -delightful example of the work of a great practical genius who devoted -his whole life to the service of his fellow-men. In spirit, moreover, -and in method it follows the true Greek tradition, and regards athletics -not as a mere diversion but as the best practical preparation for the -strenuous business of life.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_123" id="page_123">{123}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="SELECT_BIBLIOGRAPHY" id="SELECT_BIBLIOGRAPHY"></a>SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY</h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p><i>E. N. Gardiner</i>: Greek Athletic Sports and Festivals. Macmillan, -1910.</p> - -<p><i>K. J. Freeman</i>: Schools of Hellas. Macmillan, 1907.</p> - -<p><i>W. W. Hyde</i>: Olympic Victor Monuments. Washington, U.S.A., 1921.</p> - -<p><i>Walter Pater</i>: Greek Studies. Macmillan, 1895.</p> - -<p><i>J. B. Bury</i>: The Nemean Odes of Pindar. Macmillan, 1891.</p> - -<p><i>E. Bruecke</i>: The Human Figure. Grevel, 1900.</p> - -<p><i>D. Watts</i>: The Renaissance of the Greek Ideal. Heinemann, 1914.</p> - -<p><i>E. Jaques-Dalcroze</i>: Rhythm, Music and Education. Chatto and -Windus, 1921.</p></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_124" id="page_124">{124}</a></span></p> - -<div class="footnotes"><p class="cb">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> <i>The Arts in Greece.</i> By F. A. Wright. Longmans, 1923.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> E. Myers: <i>Odes of Pindar</i>.</p></div> - -</div> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GREEK ATHLETICS ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. 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