posted 19 August 2004 09:37 AM            

Ancient Egyptian Sports
Many of today's sports were practiced by the Ancient Egyptians, who set the rules and regulations for them. Inscriptions on monuments indicate that they practiced wrestling, weightlifting, long jump, swimming, rowing, shooting, fishing and athletics, as well as various kinds of ball games.
Ancient Egyptian kings, princes and statesmen were keen on attending sports competitions, which they encouraged and provided with the necessary equipment.
Drawings on pharaonic monuments tell us that several thousand years ago, the Egyptians had laid down basic rules for games, chosen a neutral referee, a uniform for players, and a means of announcing the winners by awarding them different collars.
Both winner and loser were met with ovation, the first for his superiority and the latter for his sporting spirit.

The following is an expose of some ancient Egyptian sports:

Source: http://www.touregypt.net/historicalessays/ancsportsindex.htm

Here is some more interesting reading about Ancient Egyptian sports: Source:
http://www.ioa.leeds.ac.uk/1980s/84085.htm

It started first in Egypt and from there it moved to Phoenicia, Carthage, Greece and Rome.

The Ancient Egyptians engaged themselves in sports with the intention of training and strengthening their bodies, and also for pleasure and recreation.

The Stela of Amenophis II in the vicinity of the great Sphynx in Giza is proof that sports were practised in higher strata of society and must have been very popular and widespread in Ancient Egypt.

Amenophis II was very proud of his skill in archery, running, rowing and his love of horses.

The same was true for Tuthmosis IV who was proud of his skill in shooting, hunting and other major sports.

The high standard which the Ancient Egyptians reached in physical fitness is revealed in their standard portrayals of the male and female forms in sculpture and painting.

The men are strong, and radiate a muscular vigour, while the ladies are slender, and redolent with femininity.

There are numberless representations on tomb and temple walls, but none is more striking than the oldest document relating to sport. It is a unique mural, not only because of its historical date, but also through its social implications, for it depicts the Pharaoh himself, Zoser the Great, the founder of the third dynasty nearly 3000 years before Christ or about 5000 years ago.

This mural shows Zoser participating in the running programme of the Heb Sed festival, as a symbol of the significance of physical fitness of the Ancient Egyptians.

The artist has brought out, with a thorough knowledge of anatomy, the harmonious play of muscles. The positions of Zoser's arms, trunk and legs denote an expertise of technique and movement which only advanced development can achieve.

Queens were no less aware of the importance of sports in all round culture, for on a wall of her sanctuary in the Karnak Temple, Queen Hatshepsut of the eighteenth dynasty had herself represented in a similar attitude in the Heb Sed.

Hardly any of ancient Egypt's rulers during the thirty centuries under view failed to have themselves depicted as a sporting figure in the Heb Sed festivals.

The most notable instances of this are Seti and his son Ramses second, both of the nineteenth Dynasty, on their temples at Abydos and Abu Simbel respectively.

Another example is the mural of Ramses III of the twentieth Dynasty on the walls of his funerary temple in Medenet Babu.

Fully aware of the invaluable role of sport in raising the standard of health, and hence of national productivity, the Ancient Egyptians as a whole, men, women, youths and children, were all engaged in sporting activities with a zeal which amounted to a cult.

The SAQQARA tombs generally, and tose of PETAH HOTEP and MERIROKE in particular, are show places for children's sports. They contain many illustrations of athletics, wrestling and some other games.

It is difficult to think of a sport which the Ancient Egyptians did not practise. The Benni Hasan rock tombs are a show place for most sports such as: athletics, swimming, wrestling, dancing, gymnastics, hockey, yoga, and many others.

Sporting Documents-using references:

Athletics

A. Heb Sed Running:
Zoser, 3rd Dynasty, 2650 B.C. Saqqara
Hatshepsut, 18th Dynasty, 1480 B.C. Karnak
Seti, 19th Dynasty, 1300 B.C. Abydos
Ramses second, 19th Dynasty, 1280 B.C. Abu Simbel
Ramses third, 20th Dynasty, 1180 B.C. Medinet Habu

B. Children Running:
Petah Hotep tomb, 5th Dynasty, 2300 B.C. Saqqara
Mereruke tomb, 6th Dynasty, 2250 B.C. Saqqara

C. High Jumping:
Mereruke tomb, 6th Dynasty, 2250 B.C. Saqqara

Knife Throwing
Mereruke tomb, 6th Dynasty, 2250 B.C. Saqqara

Archery
Amenophis Third, 18th Dynasty, 1420 B.C. Luxor Museum
Taharka, 25th Dynasty, 700 B.C. Karnak Temple

Ball Games
Khiti tomb, 11th Dynasty, 2000 B.C. Benihasan
Baket tomb, 11th Dynasty, 2000 B.C. Benihasan

Boxing
Kheroef tomb, 18th Dynasty, 1500 B.C. Luxor
Boxing cat and mouse, Unknown date, Carlberg Museum

Fencing
Meriroke tomb, 5th Dynasty, 2300 B.C. Saqqara
Petah Hotep tomb, 6th Dynasty, 2250 B.C. Saqqara
Kheroef tomb, 18th Dynasty, 1500 B.C. Luxor
Ramses tomb, 19th Dynasty, 1300 B.C. Luxor
Ramses III temple, 20th Dynasty, 1100 B.C. Medenithabu

Gymnastics
Menu tomb, 5th Dynasty, 2300 B.C. Saqqara
Meruruke, 6th Dynasty, 2250 B.C. Saqqara
Paket tomb, 11th Dynasty, 2000 B.C. Benihasan
Khiti tomb, 11th Dynasty, 2000 B.C. Benihasan
Hatshepsut sanctuary, 18th Dynasty, 1480 B.C. Karnak Temple
Cairo Museum, 20th Dynasty, 1000 B.C.

Horse Riding
The horse was not native to Egypt, but was introduced by the Hyksos about 1650 B.C.
Horses were used exclusively for drawing war-chariots and wheel-mounted war weapons.
The Egyptians, however, trained that noble animal for riding purposes.
Horemheb tomb, 18th Dynasty, 1900 B.C. Luxor
Cavalry, 18th Dynasty, 1280 B.C. Luxor Temple
Dressage & Side Saddle, 20th Dynasty, 1180 B.C. Medinet Habu
Cavalry, 25th Dynasty, 700 B.C. Louvre Museum

Life Saving
Kadesh Battle, 19th Dynasty, 1300 B.C. Abydos Temple

Weight Lifting
Paket tomb, 11th Dynasty, 2000 B.C. Benihasan

Swimming
Free Style, 5th Dynasty, 2400 B.C. Saqqara
Free Style, 6th Dynasty, 2200 B.C. Cairo Museum
All Strokes, 11th Dynasty, 2000 B.C. Benihasan
Breast Stroke, 18th Dynasty, 1800 B.C. Metropolitan
Breast Stroke, 18th Dynasty, 1800 B.C. Louvre Museum
Free Style, 18th Dynasty, 1800 B.C. Pushkin Museum
Breast Stroke, 20th Dynasty, 1100 B.C. Turin Museum
Swimming, 600 B.C. Cairo Museum

Wrestling
Petah Hotep tomb, 5th Dynasty, 2300 B.C. Saqqara
Paket tomb, 11th Dynasty, 2000 B.C. Benihasan
Khiti tomb, 11th Dynasty, 2000 B.C. Benihasan
Brussels Museum, 11th Dynasty, 2000 B.C. Benihasan
Tell Elamarna, 18th Dynasty, 1500 B.C. Benihasan
Cairo Museum, 20th Dynasty, 1000 B.C. Benihasan
Ramses Funeral Temple, 20th Dynasty, 1000 B.C. Medinet Habu

Yoga
Petah Hotep tomb, 5th Dynasty, 2000 B.C. Saqqara
Khiti tomb, 11th Dynasty, 2000 B.C. Benihasan

Sports Competitions

Sports were not simply enthusiastically practised on a universal scale, but competitions and championships were also organised.

International competitions were held and great store was set by the impartiality of Referees. For international competitions, umpires from different countries used to judge the games.

1. Ramses III Funeral Temple, 20th Dynasty, 1000 B.C. Medinet Habu

By the way, unlike the Greek sports, the Egyptians seemed to have kept their clothes on!

posted 19 August 2004 02:46 PM            

The problem with many of the sports is we have no exact rules of how they were played. Many scenes of sports are shown on tombs but we have some indication of what the wrestling moves on Beni Hassan were because the tomb when taken out shows moves like a flip book.

Some of the children's games shown are still played in rural areas of Egypt. However,the field hockey,bat and ball,and many of the sports employed we have no idea of what they were like.

The so-called fencing scenes is a complex stick fighting martial art still praticed today in Upper Egypt called Tahtib. The rural Egyptians still pratice this martial art and is well documented. Unfortunatley, much of it is dying out from non-interest and rise in fire arms in Upper Egypt.