Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Pharaonic Egypt; Cradle to Sports, Olympics Since 2000 BC


Sun 09 Dec 2018 | 04:33 PM
Norhan Mahmoud

By: Ali Abu-Dashish 

CAIRO, Dec. 9 (SEE)- It is no secret that ancient Egyptians were centuries ahead of their time, here, their long-standing befogging civilization is a bulletproof,here. Actually, the tiniest aspects of their lives speaks of the unique lifestyle they embraced. 

Pharaohs were aware of the vitality of pursuing a healthy lifestyle as the old saying suggests: “A Sound Mind lies Within a Healthy Body.” Thus, sports had a fair share of their everyday lives.

Since 2000 BC, specifically in the era of King Ramses I, Egypt has hosted international sports tournaments that is currently known as Olympics. Practiced sports included; wrestling, weight-lifting,  jumping, tug of war, running, swimming and kayaking. 

The age-old inscriptions denote two types of sports; fitness activities for entertainment and strenuous activities that requires effort and dexterity.

At the tombs of ‘Bani Hassan’ in Menia, right inside the cemetery of Pharaoh Amenhotep, the ruler of the 6th Province in Upper Egypt, a collection of drawings depicting Egyptian athletes practicing free wrestling, fencing, archery, weight lifting, gymnastics, boxing, running and other games decorates the grave.

By translating the screens that symbolizes Egyptian players showing off their skills in front of  foreigners, it was apparent that sports’ contests were an integral part of ancient Egyptian celebrations, pharaonic athletes held ceremonies to honor visitors. 

Wrestling was one sport of special interest to pharaohs; military athletes participated in some of the games as confirmed by the screens of the modern family. Interestingly, the rules of the game at that time is similar to those applied now. They also practiced weightlifting with passion.

Being masters of using weapons, ancient Egyptians used to compete in fencing using sticks made of wood with their ends covered in lead. Also, the principles and the positions of players are typical to modern ones.