Sports in the Ancient World

Throughout Guttman's chapters he talks about all the different countries "sports", and what they were originally created for. He had stated that "primitive societies frequently incorporated running, jumping, throwing, wrestling, and even ball playing in their religion rituals and ceremonies" (Guttman). It is interesting to read that sports originated and were used for from religious rituals, or  for pleasing the Gods; as did the Greeks. It is also interesting to read how different cultures had different sports. For instance, the Olympics originated from Greece. The Greek men participated in the Olympics to please the Gods, and if they were successful in the games, they would receive a prize from Zeus (the most powerful God). Another example, would be the Italian gladiators that went into battle for pure entertainment for the Roman people, but would show the Emperor honor by winning. It just shows how different sports in culture are, and what they represent. It also is cool to look at how much sports have evolved especially in the Olympics. However, not much as changed from sports being played predominately by men.