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Two men wrestling.

Wrestling

Two men wrestling.

The hold.

Wrestling

The hold.

The hank.

Wrestling

The hank.

The cross-buttock.

Wrestling

The cross-buttock.

The hip.

Wrestling

The hip.

The back-heal.

Wrestling

The back-heal.

The half-nelson.

Wrestling

The half-nelson.

Wrestlers from an antique statue.

Wrestlers

Wrestlers from an antique statue.

Scuplture of a man wrestling a lion.

The Rhone

Scuplture of a man wrestling a lion.

"The Olympic games were of greater efficacy than the Amphictyonic Council in promoting the spirit of union among the various branches of the Greek race, and in keeping alive a feeling of their common origin. They were open to all persons who could prove their Hellenic blood, and were frequented by spectators from all parts of the Grecian world. They were celebrated at Olympia, on the banks of the alpheus, in the territory of Elis." — Smith, 1882

Wrestling

"The Olympic games were of greater efficacy than the Amphictyonic Council in promoting the spirit of…

"Sophocles, the younger rival and immediate successor of Aeschylus in the tragic art, was born at Colonus, a village about a mile from Athens, in b.C. 495. We have already adverted to his wrestling the tragic prize from Aeschylus in 468, from which time he seems to have retained the almost undisputed posession of the Athenian stage, until a young but formidable rival arose in the person of Euripides." — Smith, 1882

Sophocles

"Sophocles, the younger rival and immediate successor of Aeschylus in the tragic art, was born at Colonus,…

"An athletic game, in which all the powers of the fighter were called into action. The pancratium was one of the games or gymnastic contests which were exhibited at all the great festivals of Greece; it consisted of boxing and wrestling, and was reckoned to be one of the heavy or hard exercises, on account of the violent exertions it required, and for this reason it was not much practised in the gymnasia. In Homer we find neither the game nor the name of the pancratium mentioned, and as it was not introduced at the Olympic games until Ol. 33, we may presume that the game, though it may have existed long before in a rude state, was not brought to any degree of perfection until a short time before that event. The name of the combatants was Pancratiastae, or Pammachi. They fought naked, and had their bodies anointed and covered with sand, by which they were enabled to take hold of one another. When the contest began, each of the fighters might commence by boxing or by wrestling, accordingly as he thought he should be more successful in the one than in the other. The victory was not decided until one of the parties was killed, or lifted up a finger, thereby declaring that he was unable to continue the contest either from pain or fatigue." — Smith, 1873

Pancratium

"An athletic game, in which all the powers of the fighter were called into action. The pancratium was…

A man exercising with the wrestling machine.

Wrestling Machine

A man exercising with the wrestling machine.

"And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day." Genesis 32:24 KJV

Jacob Wrestling with the Angel

"And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day." Genesis…

Corey and Gloyd Wrestling by J. W. Ehninger. Two men fighting in front of spectators. Some onlookers are sitting, some are standing, and one is holding a scythe. The location is presumably a field.

Men Fighting

Corey and Gloyd Wrestling by J. W. Ehninger. Two men fighting in front of spectators. Some onlookers…