Athletes wrestling while the winged goddess of victory Nike watches the competition with the bow in her right hand.
This martial art belongs to the oldest heavy athletic discipline of the Olympic program, since 708 B.C., but had been highly developed long before. In the big games there was wrestling as a single discipline and as part of the pentathlon. There was no weight class differentiation (only division into age classes) or time limit of the fight, similar to fistfighting.
The wrestling grips could be applied to the whole body, all pain causing grips were forbidden. The victory was achieved by bringing the opponent to the ground three times after the referee's decision. In addition to the throws and swings, the lifting terms (undergrips and lifters) were particularly effective. For wrestling as a single discipline, therefore, a high body weight - especially during the time of professional athletics - was useful, the fight itself was slower than wrestling in pentathlon, whose predominantly athletic character meant that heavyweights could not even qualify for wrestling, which was lighter, faster and more agile and preferred throws and swings over the lifting handles.
Training possibilities were weightlifting, exercise of grips and parades. For wrestling as an individual fight, particular emphasis was placed on acquiring a high body weight through a sophisticated nutrition programme.
Fresco exhibit of the National Archaeological Museum Athens, hand-painted replica reduction, with suspension device.
