It was the ancient Greeks who invented boxing as a competitive sport. In order to commemorate Patroclus, the sport pygmachia or pygme was introduced to the 688 B.C. Olympic Games. Just like today’s top athletes, the boxers also trained on punching bags (which at that time were called korykos). They also wore gloves made of leather straps that left the fingers open. Some boxers also wore leather straps on their wrists and across their chests. These were called himantes. Other than the leather straps though, the pygme boxers fought completely in the nude.

These boxing events played an important role in the athletic culture of ancient Greece, just as the present day sports are given much importance in our society. Because most of the Greek accounts of boxing are too fragmented, there is really no clear record of the history, rules and customary practices that were incorporated in pygme, but historians believe that current boxing practices could not have strayed too far from its ancestral sport.

Known as the armor race, this ancient foot race required athletes to run the length of two stadions dressed in nothing less than a soldier’s full armor. This included a helmet, an armored suit, a shield and a spear. The total weight added to each runner’s body was a burdensome fifty pounds – that’s practically half the weight of another human being! Since 450 B.C., the suit and the spear were no longer required for the runners, but the weight of the shield and the helmet did not make things any easier for the athletes.

The hoplitodromos can be compared with the diaulos, which was an ancient foot race where runners were required to run the length of a stade turn mid-race at the end of the track, and run the remaining length, finishing the race at the starting point. The task of turning was made even more complicated and more difficult by the runners’ shields, which affected their balance greatly. This ancient foot race was indeed a true test used to determine one’s athletic prowess.

Because it was so sudden and the distance was not increased gradually, athletes who participated in this foot race had to undergo a compulsory training period that lasted at least one month before the date of the race. One month was usually not enough for all the necessary preparations that athletes needed though, because this event was very taxing. Some records showed that athletes trained all year round for these events, running incredible distances and speeds on a daily basis.

What made diaulos unique from all the other ancient foot races was the turning point in the middle of the race. Runners were not only supposed to possess the skills in running, but they needed to have a graceful method for turning while maintaining their speed and balance. Diaulos runners have a straight and stiff posture. Their arms are outstretched in a forward and backward motion to propel their bodies down the racing field. They run with the balls of their feet touching the ground with every step and their heels barely making contact throughout the race.

The ancient foot race stadion took its name from the structure wherein this even took place. Incidentally, the building was also called the stadion. After centuries have passed, this word evolved into the word “stadium” in the Latin alphabet, and was eventually adapted by the English language as the “stadium”.  During this period, there were plenty of other ancient foot races, however, the stadion was the highlight of the event. The winner was perceived by the general public to be the champion of all the games just because of this single victory. This race is said to span 600 feet, which was the entire length of the stadion, and runners were to stop at the end without turning back.

During the ancient Olympic Games,  the stadion was sufficiently large. It could house up to twenty athletes without causing crowdedness. This ancient foot race was initiated with the blow of a trumpet. However, because some of the runners were believed to start running a heartbeat before the actual trumpet was sounded, officials stood at the starting line and strictly guarded all the runners. Those who were reported to be cheating were automatically kicked out of the race, and sometimes they were even punished harshly. The starting position for today’s modern track and field athletes is a crouching position, but during that time, the athletes started from a standing position.

In the ancient world, the stadion (plural form: stadia) was also used widely as a unit to measure length. More about this can be read in the ancient Greek weights and measuring systems.

In the German language, the word “Stadion” is still the word used for what we call the stadium in the English language.