forms in Western cultures. When the Olympic Games were initiated,
wrestling was one of the original events, as was boxing. When pankration
was added in 776 B.C., all three Greek unarmed combat systems were in
place as Olympic events.
The goal of Greek wrestling was simple: Combatants were to force
their opponents to submit without the use of striking. As a result, all holds
and throws were permissible, with the exception of arm and leg locks and
choke holds. Although the participants began from a standing position, it
is likely that many of the events were concluded on the ground after a
throw or a trip was used to force one of the competitors to the ground.
When thrown, a competitor was lifted from a standing position and
thrown to the ground. Examples include throwing an opponent over the
shoulders or hips, with the shoulder or hip acting as a fulcrum, or facing
an opponent and using the leg strength to lift and deposit the victim on the
ground. Since the stadiums in which the wrestling matches were held had
dirt floors, a powerful throw could momentarily stun.
Following the throw, trip, or takedown, a Greek wrestler attempted to
maneuver the opponent into a submission hold. The purpose of the hold
was to immobilize the opponent and place him in a danger position, such
as when his shoulders touched the ground. This placed Greek wrestling at
odds with pankration, in which any holds were allowed, including those
that might dismember joints or choke an opponent into unconsciousness.
Besides being included in the Olympics, wrestling was practiced at all ath-
letic festivals, including those that were local, strictly intracity competi-
tions. It was also mandatory for Greeks preparing for armed combat to
study the rudiments of wrestling, boxing, or the pankration. Olympic
Games, which honored the Greek deities, were ostensibly a religious form
of expression. The sportive and military applications, however, were obvi-
ous. Wrestling, therefore, addressed three different spheres of life in the
Greek world: religion, sport, and military training.
Despite the overall love of wrestling by Greek civilization, this martial
art was not universally appreciated. Plato, in The Republic,stated that
wrestlers were of dubious health and could fall seriously ill whenever they
departed from their diet. In addition, several commentators expressed frus-
tration at the many wrestling contests, including Olympic events, that
were, as they believed, fixed. Still, the modern sport of wrestling in the
Western world owes its roots to the practices of the ancient Greeks, begin-
ning three thousand years ago.
When the Romans conquered the Greeks, in approximately 146 B.C.,
they found in the Greek world much that they admired and copied. Al-
though they were impressed by Greek athletic preparation and by events
such as wrestling, the art of wrestling as a sport never became popular in714 Wrestling and Grappling: Europe