GENIAL VIDEOPRESENTATION

Games of the Roman and Greek Ages

The pancreatic

The pancreatic is an ancient combat sport, an athletic agon, which was part of the heavy athletics of ancient Greek origin and consisted of a mixture of fight and boxing. The term in Ancient Greek: παγκράτιον, pankrátion, is the union of two terms, Pan, all and Kratos, power; the meaning of this bond is just "omnipotence", (and not as vulgarly stated by people who ignore the Greek language: "all-force") that announces the purpose and the end of this athletic agony: subduing the opponent with any technique and method, and rising to become the most powerful. Mythological and divine origins were attributed to the struggle and pancreaty: it was said that Theseus, the victorious hero of the Minotaur, had taught it to men after learning it from the goddess Athena. The pancratia was a total combat match in which all techniques were allowed, except biting and blinding: these were severely punished with whips by the referee or the coach on duty. the purpose of the Pankration is to subdue the opponent and rise to become the most powerful. Logically with this assertion, the holds and the blows of power and the spectacularity in subduing forcefully, were the master; this discipline was a set of techniques taken from the fight (Pale) and boxing (Pygme), and adapted to a new combat system.

The launch of the disc

The launch of the disc was an ancient discipline much loved by the Greeks, who practiced it since the times of Homer.. The numerous vascular and plastic finds we have allow us to know not only the size of the tool but also the various stages of the throwing technique: the disc could be of stone or metal (iron, bronze, copper) with a diameter of 22 cm (there are, however, examples of larger size) and could weigh from 1250 gr. up to 5000 gr. of the specimens for votive use.. The pitcher placed himself in the platform of shooting, called balbis, and, holding the disk, he stretched his arm backwards for a quarter of a turn, he folded on himself to rise suddenly with the whole person and hurled the tool forward.. It competed at the best of five launches and the measurements reached varied depending on the weight of the disk: we know that a certain Faillo of Rhodes threw the disk at 95 feet, about 28 meters, but the disc Flegia sent it over the river Alfeo, ie about 55/60 meters, evidently with a lighter record.

the PENTATHLON

The pentathlon was a five-stage sporting competition practiced since ancient times in Greece. The disciplines present were: stadion (speed race), long jump, javelin throw and Greek wrestling. He entered the Olympics program in 708 BC. and the Spartan Lampis was the first champion, later there was the Athlete from Taranto. The first modern competition was held in 1912 at the Stockholm Olympics and in 2009 the sequence of the current modern pentathlon scheme was adopted: fencing (sword); swimming (200 m freestyle); horse riding (show jumping); race (cross country race); target shooting (laser pistol). In track and field the pentathlon is a multiple trial, female correspondent of the decathlon, and was in effect in the Olympic and international program until 1981, when it was replaced by the heptathlon. There is an indoor version, always female, which is usually played in international athletics events

The chariot race

The chariot race is one of the most popular and widespread competitions in both ancient Greece and the Roman world. They were often very dangerous races for the safety of both charioteers and horses. Spectators watched these races with great enthusiasm and participation. The Roman model of organization of chariot races provided that there were various teams, they made a passionate cheering that could also lead to clashes between the various supporters. The contrasts also ended up being exploited politically, causing racing to go beyond the meaning of real sports competitions. The importance of this sport began to decline with the fall of the Western Roman Empire

Greek wrestling

Greek wrestling was the most popular organized sport of ancient Greece. A point was awarded when a wrestler touched the ground with his back, hip, shoulder, or was forced to leave the wrestling zone. Three points were needed to win the game. A particularly important position in this form of wrestling was where one of the contestants lay on his stomach with the other on his back trying to strangle him. The athlete who was below had to try to grab an arm of the one above him and try to turn him on his back while the athlete who was on top had to try to complete the choke without being pinned by the opponent. Role in the ancient Olympic Games, wrestling was the first competition added to the Olympic Games that was not a foot race. It was added in 708. Competitions were held according to an elimination tournament until a wrestler was crowned the winner. This event was part of the pentathlon. The fight was regarded as the best expression of strength of all competitions and was represented, in Greek mythology, by Hercules.

the launch of the javelin

The Greeks threw the javelin with the help of a belt (catkin), usually made of leather, wrapped in the center of the javelin, called mesàngulon. The aamento was 30 to 40 cm long and made two or three turns around the rod. It then detached itself from the tool to which, before launch, it was firmly wrapped. Wrapping the acous beyond the center of gravity increased the range to the detriment of accuracy. The methods of throwing the javelin were similar to those for throwing the discus: the athletes could choose whether to throw while standing or take a short run, but without crossing a line. This line was that of the start of the stadium race. If the pitcher passed it, the pitch was canceled.

the Greek race

Running is an old sport that does not include contact. In ancient Greek culture, racing contests included speed tests of approximately 219 yards known as the race to the stadiums, the diaulos which were a 437 yard race, and a longer race called Dolici. During the ancient period, the Greeks were good runners. In the modern Olympics, the race was the most diverse event with different races ranging from short races to medium and long-term races.

long jump of the Greeks

The ancient Greek sport of jumping is what is now known as long jump, long jump or horizontal jump. The sport has its roots in the ancient Greek Olympic Games. During ancient Greek times, athletes held stones or weights in their hands during the jump and released them by pushing them back towards the end of the flight to push them forward. Long jump is the only known jump event in ancient Greece and most sports in Greek city-states have been used as combat training. The long jump symbolized the ability to cross some form of obstacle.

The main sports in ancient Rome

The main sports in ancient Rome were: pancrazio, wrestling, boxing, running, javelin throwing, discus throwing, shot put, which were taken as a model by Greece. The conception of sport in ancient Rome, however, did not reflect the predilection of Greek culture for non-professional athletic activities, they were bloodless competitions concerning not only sport but also different fields of human activities, where the winner received an award for having demonstrated, according to the Greek mentality, his physical and moral gifts.

autori: Francesca Caretta, iLARIA d'AMATO, Francesca longone, Mattia Positano, Giulia pulito, desirèe QUARInto, Paolo spagnoletti, Sara TRITELLA, Sabrina magnatI, francesca farilla.