How did the ancient Greeks keep fit?

In addition to running, the ancient Greeks also loved competitive sports, which played an important role in their lives. According to Homer's epic Deriat and Odyssey, at that time, the ancient Greeks liked to carry out various competitive activities, such as gladiator, stone throwing, running, jumping, boxing, racing and dancing, during important social activities such as sowing and harvesting, weddings, funerals and religious sacrifices. In the "Patroclus" chapter of Deriat, there is a very specific and vivid description of competitive sports:

"It's all over, the funeral game will begin. Achilles told all the people in Argos to get together and sit in a big circle. Then, he took out a bronze tripod, a cauldron, cows, a woman in a brocade robe and precious gray iron as prizes. " "First it was a chariot race" and "later it was a boxing match", after the game. "Achilles announced the prize of wrestling. The winner gets a huge bronze tripod, worth about 12 cattle; The loser gets a beautiful woman who is good at handcraft, and the winner of the race walk gets a huge silver The Mixing Bowl made by Seiko. The second is the discus throwing competition. "Achilles used ten double axes and ten iron axes as prizes in archery competition. Tie a pigeon to the mast with a belt as a target. Whoever shoots a pigeon gets two axes; He who misses the pigeon and hits the belt gets an iron axe. "Finally, a spear and a big cooking pot engraved with tendrils and flowers were moved to the paddock as javelin prizes.

The early competitive sports of ancient Greek ancestors recorded in Homer's epic show that the ancient Greeks loved outdoor sports and competitive competitions, and the winners were regarded as heroes, won prizes and were respected. This kind of informal and spontaneous competitive sport in early ancient Greece, through continuous development, gradually formed a custom tradition in the life of ancient Greeks. It is the unique customs and traditions of the ancient Greeks that laid a broad mass foundation for the emergence of the ancient Olympic Games.