Sports During the Days of the Byzantine Empire: the Games in the Olympic Games - Research Paper Example

 Introduction The Byzantine Empire came about when the first Christian emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Constantine The Great, re-founded the city of Byzantium in 330 AD and made it the capital of the eastern part of the Roman Empire, the ‘new Rome’ from which the eastern half of the Roman Empire i.e. the Balkan states, Greece and eastern Mediterranean was to be governed (Haggett 2027). Constantine realized the strategic importance of Byzantium, it being surrounded on three sides by water i.e. the Bosporus Strait, the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara which eventually connects to the Mediterranean Sea. He renamed it Constantinople after him and shaped it to become the most splendid, affluent and powerful city in Europe (Eboch 11). When barbarians plundered and ravaged Rome and the western part of the Holy Roman Empire culminating to its fall in 476 AD, Constantinople arose to become the capital of what’s left of the Empire (Grant 159). Subsequent Byzantine emperors, most notably Justinian (527-565 AD) fought hard to recover the Western Empire and for a time succeeded to wrest back Italy, southern Spain and North Africa from the Visigoths, Ostrogoths and Moors’ hold but eventually lost its grip to the re-conquered lands because the Byzantine Empire had to face the onslaught of thundering armies in the east i.e. the Seljuk Turks, the Ottoman Turks and other Arab Muslim armies (Treadgold 213-216). In 1071, the Byzantine imperial army was decisively routed and crushed by the Seljuk Turks in the Battle of Manzikert (Regan 54). This was a turning point in the history of the Byzantine Empire because much of Asia Minor i.e. Syria, Turkey, Israel, Lebanon and Jordan were lost. Soon, Constantinople itself was in danger of being besieged by the rampaging Turks. Emperor Alexius I was left with no option but appeal 2 to the pope and the west for aid against the Turks (Bishop 76). Thus, the First Crusade was born in 1096, which recovered Jerusalem and held back the Turks (Society For The Diffusion of Useful Knowledge 477). Instead of saving the Byzantine Empire, the Crusades and the Crusaders especially those allied with Venice merchants, hastened the decline of the Empire. This was because the latter sought to control the empire’s wealth and commerce and when the Byzantine Empire was weakened by internal strife, they moved to seize and plunder Constantinople and replace the Empire with their own Latin Empire of Constantinople in 1204 (Setton et al 187). Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus, however, recaptured Constantinople in 1261 (Vauchez et al 829) but a civil war in 1340 allowed the Ottoman Turks to overrun the Balkan Peninsula and in 1453 to successfully storm Constantinople and to immolate Constantine XI, killing him by the walls of Constantinople and thus ending the once great Byzantine Empire (Fleming 95). The Legacy Of The Byzantine Empire In The Field of Humanities The Byzantine Empire left its mark in world history especially in the field of humanities. Humanities is defined as “branches of learning concerned with culture, excluding the sciences” and “has been extended to include all languages, literature, religion, philosophy, history and the arts” (The National Encyclopedia 2706). Today, there are more than 200 million Eastern Orthodox Christians in the world (Mead, Atwood & Hill 51). The Orthodox Church is the gift of the Byzantine Empire to the world. It stemmed when a schism between the Western (Roman) Church and the Eastern or Byzantine Church erupted in 1054 “after disputes about doctrine and authority” (Wright 486, 490) and the 3 new church was called the Eastern Orthodox Church by the Byzantines. Moreover, Byzantine missionaries spread the Orthodox faith by converting the Russians, the Serbs and the Bulgars and the rest of the Slavs to Orthodox Christianity during the 9th and 10th centuries during the reign of Basil I and his heirs (Kurtz 284). The Byzantine Empire not only made a lasting mark in religion but also in other aspects of the humanities, most importantly in arts and architecture, languages, literature and music. The Byzantine Empire became the heart of Greek learning and Roman law way before the Italian Renaissance and in fact it was claimed by several scholars that the Byzantine culture triggered and influenced that Renaissance. Byzantine missionaries created the Cyrillic alphabet for the Slavs while the empire nurtured Byzantine intellectualism, scholarship and culture. It enriched the Greek language while encouraging the use of Latin, Coptic, Armenian and other local languages for its subjects. It upheld the preservation of ancient Greek manuscripts and culture and created a monetary system based on the gold solidus or nomisma. The Byzantine Empire showcased its wealth and power by erecting elaborate churches and buildings that had an architectural design uniquely its own. The Hagia Sophia Church, now a museum in today’s Istanbul, exemplifies such Byzantine architecture which had been adapted in building the great cathedrals of Venice such as the St. Mark’s Cathedral. Thus, Venice has been described as “architecturally a Byzantine city”. “Today, Byzantine architecture can be found throughout Europe” (Lew, Hall & Timothy 65). These imposing churches contain priceless Byzantine art that contributes much to world humanities. These churches are bedecked with icons in the form of wall mosaics and wall paintings that are rendered in highly conceptual and stylized manner and expressed the transcendental and mystic character of the Orthodox faith. 4 Mosaics like The Transfiguration of Christ found in the Church of Saint Catherine in Mount Sinai, the various wall mosaics in St. Mark’s Cathedral, the Sicilian mosaics and the Kiev and Moscow mosaics were all Byzantine inspired so were fresco paintings like the Virgin of Vladimir in Moscow (Cormack 49,182,185), the Raising of Lazarus in the Greek Church of the Pantanassa, the Anastasis and Koimesis in the Greek Church of the Chora (Browning 287). Contrary to the belief that Byzantine culture was all about art and learning, the Byzantines were also engaged passionately in sports. Sports In The Byzantine Era The Byzantine Empire was deeply rooted in Roman and Greek civilizations. Thus, we described how the Byzantine learning and culture were both influenced and devoted to Roman and Greek humanities. Correlatively, denizens of the Byzantine Empire were engaged in Greek and Roman sports. The most popular Byzantine sport i.e. chariot racing was traced back to the early Romans and brought to Byzantium when the Roman emperor Constantine I brought his family and other Roman families to Byzantium and make it the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. In ancient Rome chariot racing was extremely popular and was part and parcel of the Roman social life. In Rome, the chariot races were held in the great arena of the Circus Maximus. For the ancient Romans, “the Circus Maximus is temple, home, social club and center of all Roman entertainment” (McComb 25). It spawned fanaticism partly because it was encouraged, patronized and promoted by the emperors themselves who in the case of Nero even actively participated and even won honors in the Greek hippodrome during the 211th Olympic Games (Harris 216). Hefty prizes were accorded to the winners and “bets on chariot racing at Rome appear to have been made informally” (Harris 225). 5 When Constantine I transferred the capital to Byzantium, he brought with him the love for chariot racing. While, passion for chariot racing waned and eventually died in the Western empire in the last days prior to its fall, the zest for chariot racing grew and flourished and “continued…throughout the Byzantine Empire” (Adkins 347). Constantine I made sure chariot racing will flourish by copying Rome’s Circus Maximus and commissioned Septimius Severus to build the first Hippodrome. The Hippodrome was positioned next to the imperial palace and this was where the chariot races were held. But “at other times the Hippodrome was used for displays of wild animals, armed combat and athletic competitions” (Rautman 110). This was later enlarged by Constantine I and the elongated, open-air race track measured “some 1,500 feet long and 400 feet wide” (Rautman 110). Chariot racing was not only an essential part of the Olympic Games but it was also included in important Byzantine festivals, public holidays and religious festivals. As for example when the Byzantines celebrate the foundation day of Byzantium or Constantinople every May 11, there were lavish festivities which include public pageants and dispensations and church services throughout the city. Never left out was the holding of chariot races in the Hippodrome (Rautman 109). Chariot racing was not only an opportunity to win prizes but also as a way to attain fame and stardom. One of those who ensconced themselves to high pedestal of fame through chariot racing was Porphyrius, whose exploits caused a “stone monument on the spina” to be erected to commemorate his many victories. Indeed. “charismatic charioteers attracted large crowds of unruly supporters and sometimes were credited as magic workers themselves” (Rautman 113). 6 Thus, because many of them had been pronounced as sorcerers, church leaders had denounced chariot racing and the hippodrome as basically evil. Still, it continued to flourish. Another equestrian sport that charmed the Byzantines was the one brought from Persia in the 5th century (Rautman 113). The sport of polo as practiced in the Byzantine Empire was called tzykanisterion and was a group equestrian contest where two teams of mounted riders “pursued an apple-sized leather ball with netted sticks, similar to lacrosse rackets” (Rautman 113). The Byzantine emperor Theodosius II was so enamored with the sport that he built a special stadium for the game called tzykanisterion in Constantinople. In fact, emperors like Basil I and the rest of the nobility got impassioned with the sport. Passing Western crusaders especially the French crusaders who were on their way to Jerusalem were introduced to the game in Constantinople and promptly carried with them the sport of polo to their respective countries. Even Byzantine enemies like the Ottoman Turk Saladin took a penchant for the sport (Mangan & Hong 390). However, the historian Cinnamus depicted the game as very violent because the leather ball had to be thrown to the opposing goals or carried with the horse rider as he galloped frenetically to carry the ball with him across the end line (Crowther 138). That it was indeed violent was shown by the fact that the Emperor of Trebizond, John I, while playing in Constantinople’s tzykanisterion got fatally injured. Still, the emperors encouraged it and the reason was that the sport was a convenient and effective preparation for warfare due to the skilled horsemanship required by the sport. It also was a preparation for “western-style jousting tournaments” (Crowther 139). Greek culture and sports also had a great influence on the kind of sports played and enjoyed in the Byzantine Empire. Greek and Roman culture were closely intertwined because 7 the Romans eventually conquered and governed Greece which in 27 BC became the Roman province of Achaea and absorbed in the process Greek culture including Greek sports. When the Roman Empire was divided in 395 AD into the Western and Eastern Roman Empires, Greece was incorporated into the Byzantine Empire. The Greeks were naturally a sport-loving ancient nation and they held games in honor of their gods and goddesses. King Ephitos of Elis declared open the first ever Olympic Games in 776 BC. It was participated only by males who competed au naturelle or naked. The competitors were engaged in “wrestling, chariot and horse racing, the pentathlon (wrestling, discus and javelin throwing, long jump and running) and the pancratium which was a vicious form of fisticuffs” (Hellander 220,221). The sports festival lasted for 5 days and was held every 4 years. As the Romans got involved in Greek state of affairs, they also joined in the games. In fact the Roman emperor Nero participated in chariot racing. After the Roman conquest, the games were continued. It was only discontinued in 394 AD by Emperor Theodosius I “as part of a purge of pagan festivals” (Hellander 221). The Olympic Games may have come to an end but the individual games were played separately with zeal and zest especially during the halcyon days of the Byzantine Empire “although later displays of wrestling, boxing, running, jumping, discus throwing and archery are known only in the capital”, Constantinople (Rautman 110). Wrestling in the Byzantine Empire was accorded a special place and importance. Ancient historical records show that there were wrestling schools in the empire and that wrestlers were asked to represent the empire in one-on-one combat against the enemies. One such example was the story of Andreas, a proprietor of a wrestling school in Byzantium who 8 answered to the challenge of the assaulting Persians to send someone to engage the Persian representative in a single combat. Andreas killed his opponent and another ensuing one “thanks to his experience in the wrestling ring” (Harris 42). Indeed, wrestling was essential to the Byzantines as part of their preparations for war. Even Emperor Basil I was attributed his imperial status by his wrestling skills. It was told that Basil impressed Emperor Michael by displaying his wrestling abilities. Then he married the emperor’s mistress and was made a co-emperor. He then ‘arranged the murder of Michael and became the sole ruler, establishing a dynasty that would last almost 200 years” (Duiker & Spielvogel 372). Historians also assert that “wrestling” is “much loved by the Byzantines’ (Georgakis 31) and that the average Byzantine held dearly 3 things i.e. “enjoy his mistresses, watch chariot races and wrestling matches” (Stephenson 179). Gladiatorial combat might have been frowned upon and banned in the Byzantine Empire but not brutal boxing. The vicious form of boxing in the days of the Byzantine Empire was called pancratium(Latin) or pankration (Greek). It is a no-holds-barred contest that combines bare-fisted boxing and wrestling but in closer scrutiny most resembles today’s jiu-jitsu. It originated in ancient Greece, was further taken up in the Western Roman Empire and after its fall , it was continued by the Byzantine Empire which happened to also incorporate Greece (Green 415). It was regarded “as a contest requiring not only endurance but the highest skills” (Gardiner 212). It was considered the ultimate test for a man’s physical prowess and his “physical, intellectual and spiritual capabilities” (Green 410). Philostratus best described its nature. He 9 said that “Pankratiasts practice a hazardous style of wrestling. They must have skills in various methods of strangling; they also wrestle with an opponent’s ankle, and twist his arm, besides hitting and jumping on him……only biting and gouging being prohibited” (Gardiner 212). Indeed, all techniques are allowed which made the sport a dangerous and brutal one. Pankratiasts were not only allowed to strike with open hands, punch, throw to the ground but also utilize choke holds and joint locks , both of which may cause death to the opponent. Joint locks may cause disfigurement or loss of limbs and may sometimes be fatal while choke holds had been known to cause instant death because blood supply to the head is effectively suppressed. And the sport had no time limit, had no weight class divisions, no clothes to cover themselves with and had no rings or barriers which may cause any combatant to fall down the arena and the fight may end when any may be rendered unconscious with a choke hold or with the death of any competitor unless any signals surrender by raising his hand. But the latter was deemed as a sign of cowardice. This kind of pankration was called kato pankration and was the usual form of pankration. But there was another form of pankration which was less severe because the combatants had to remain standing all the time and when one falls down, the match ends. This is the ano pankration which looked more like kickboxing (Green 411-412). Despite its perils, many compete in the sport of pankration because it was a way for men to prove their manhood and also because emperors encouraged it as an effective preparation for combats in war. Warfare was a real threat especially with the Turks constantly knocking the Byzantine doors and thus men were “expected to be able to fight against external threats”. Thus, it was 10 essential that men must develop the art of war and must develop arête or excellence (Green 414). Success in the sport meant that one was insured job security as bodyguard especially imperial bodyguard or pankration instructor which was highly esteemed during the Byzantine era. Expertise in the art of pankration was a surefire way of being chosen by the great Byzantine and Macedonian emperor Alexander the Great, himself a pankration expert, to come with him “when he set out to conquer the globe” (Green 411). By the way, it was bruited out that Alexander spread the art of pankration in south Asia and thus may have influenced Asian martial arts such as Muay Thai or kickboxing, jujitsu, judo or kung fu. The sport also afforded men to achieve instant fame, accolade, honor and adulation. Pankrationists were accorded the “highest honors and accolades from the adoring crowds” and “winners of the pankration became instant celebrities and were assured of income the rest of their lives”. The few who were constant and consistent champions achieved legendary fame and “sometimes were even worshiped as semi-divine beings” (Green 411). However, pankration waned when the Byzantine emperor Theodosius I banned the Olympic Games and soon pankration was merely “relegated to local athletic festivals”. During the late Byzantine era, pankration further suffered decline when the Byzantine Empire had to be wary all the time against threats from the Seljuk and Ottoman Turks resulting to “constant struggle for survival by the Byzantine Empire against external threats”. Coupled with the Church prohibition against “any form of paganism”, the practice and transmission of the art of pankration was discouraged. “By the tenth century, pankration had, for all practical purposed, died out under the impact of social events of the times” (Green 415). 11 Athletics especially running, jumping, discus and javelin throwing and the pentathlon was a special gift to modern sports by the ancient Greeks and the Byzantine Empire, which incorporated Greece and its culture, was mainly responsible for transmitting the practice and love of athletics to modern civilization. Athletics was held dear by the ancient Greeks and winners received incomparable adulation in the form of wreaths crowned in their heads. When Theodosius I outlawed the Olympic Games at the city of Olympia, athletics continued during the Byzantine Empire and regular meets were still held and even in sacred festivals. Church officials simply cannot throttle it to extinction. Historical records showed that it was regularly held way down to the sixth century. The Justinian Code of 528 ruled that those athletes who had won at least three such wreaths in any sacred festival must be exempted from civil obligations (Cech 251). The Theodosian Code showed that athletic events were regularly held at the city of Delphi during the reign of Emperor Theodosius II (408 to 450 AD) (Pharr 4). Running was the centerpiece event of the athletic festival. There were three lengths of footraces. The sprints, which was equivalent to today’s 200 yard dash was called the stadium run or stade and consisted of a “one-length sprint of the racecourse”. The second length which was equivalent to today’s 400 meter dash was the diaulos or two-lengths of the running course and the third distance which was equivalent to the 1500 or 3000 meter run was the dolichos or multiple lengths of the running course (Findling & Pelle xxxiii). Athletes were adored and adulated as heroes and were paid handsomely for their feats. Thus, they had to train zealously in a gymnasium and they were “supervised by a cadre of overseers including a coach, anointers, masseurs and other support 12 staff (Findling & Pelle xxx). Pentathletes however were specially revered as all-around stars who can excel in five athletic events consisting of the sprints, long jump, discus and javelin throw, and wrestling. Athletes tried to excel because of the rewards that awaited them. Instead of gold, silver and bronze medals, athletes were bestowed laurel wreaths at Delphi, olive wreaths at Olympia, celery at Nemea and pine at Isthmia. Moreover, there were ample pecuniary rewards especially during the Byzantine era. In the 6th century, the heyday of the Byzantine Empire, the Athenian lawmaker Solon had issued a decree that winners at the Isthmian Games must receive 100 drachmas to be taken from the public treasury while winners of the Olympian Games must receive 500 drachmas. What further titillated the athletes to really excel were the other gratuities i.e. “immunity from paying taxes, honored seats at civic and religious functions, free repasts at the civic messes, glorious statues struck in his honor, poetry composed, and orations delivered on his behalf” (Findling & Pelle xxxi). Athletes competing in the discus and javelin throws, hurled the Grecian plate and the javelin from an open-ended rectangular area called the balbis and the throws were then measured by distance. However, no records are shown to indicate how many tries were allowed for each athlete. In the javelin throw, a thong looped around the shaft of the javelin called the ankule aided the javelin thrower. In the broad or long jump, the jumper makes 5 successive leaps along the skamma or the jumping pit while gripping in both hands between 3 and 10 pounds of weights called balteres (Findling & Pelle xxxv). In the pentathlon, instead of the number of points piled, a competitor wins when he won at least three of the sub-disciplines. 13 The sport of gymnastics was rooted in ancient Greece, taken up by the Romans and passed on to the Byzantine Empire. It was not a part of the Olympic Games because it was not considered a sport but “an important part of schooling”, the same way that music was by both the Greeks and the Romans (Veyne & Aries 21). In the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Theodosius II, a decree was issued requiring students to take up gymnastics and games as an “integral part of education” (Georgakis 31). In the year 395 AD, the Byzantine Empire declared gymnastics and public dances as “national habits” (Peck & McCombie 366). The word gymnastics was concocted by the Greeks and this meant “naked art”. The Greeks then devised apparatuses by which schoolchildren could exercise with. The Romans, on the other hand, fabricated wooden equipment similar to the back of a horse where students could practice indoors the mounting and the dismounting of a horse (Dinoso 1). The Byzantine Empire adapted both Greek and Roman techniques and devises. Curiously, gymnastics only got to be considered as a competitive sport only during the first modern Olympic Games in 1898 but only men were allowed to participate in it. Women did so only during the 1928 Olympic Games at Amsterdam (Villani ezinearticles.com). Another Byzantine sport that was not widely used throughout the Byzantine Empire was hunting and falconry. The reason was that only the imperial family and the nobility practiced these sports. Archery too, was not a part of the Olympic Games and was not a competitive sport. However, the Byzantines made sure their men acquired highly skilled training in mounted archery to negate the superiority of their enemies in that aspect. During the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, “the imperial army had undergone its own tactical revolution, 14 having thoroughly mastered the difficult techniques of mounted archery, while still retaining close-combat skills with sword and thrusting lance” ( Luttwak 78). How Byzantine Sports Relate To Humanities We have defined humanities as “a branch of learning concerned with culture”. Because sports has also been defined as “physical culture” and a “historical entity that is an integral part of culture” (International Council of Sport and Physical Education 101) there becomes a solid, definite link between culture and sport. Furthermore, sport has been described as a paramount part of the social life of most nations. In the study of Czechoslovakian sports where during the World War II sport was suppressed and sports organizations were proscribed, it had been realized when sports were reinstituted that indeed “the national character of Czechoslovak sport and physical education….was an expression of Czechoslovak national culture” (Riordan 60). Correlatively, the national character of Byzantine sport and physical education was also an expression of Byzantine national culture. All the sport activities i.e. chariot racing, polo, running, jumping, discus and javelin throwing, wrestling, pankration, archery were expressions of Byzantine national culture. Because humanities is concerned with culture, there is therefore a direct relation between Byzantine sports and humanities. Sport has also been described as an emblem of culture. Sport is so “emblematic of culture and identity that the respected political scientist, David Marquand was moved to state, ‘I must start watching football very seriously if I want to study national cultures in Britain’ (Hardill, Graham & Kofman 142). Correspondingly, if one wants to study the national culture 15 of the Byzantine Empire, all that one has to do is to analyze the character and nature of the sports played during the Byzantine era. This further bolsters the direct relationship between Byzantine sports and humanities. It must also be noted that during Byzantine sports festivals, between the sports events, the “spectators could watch acrobats, dancers, musicians, wild animals and fireworks displays” (Rautman 113) and that “festivals in Constantinople both involve sports and arts and culture” (Rautman 114). All these prove that sports and culture as far as the Byzantines were concerned were inseparable events and must come together and must be treated as one in nature and character. Even the Olympic Games were held in honor of the goddess Rea and the god Zeus and thus there was an irrefutable link between sports and religion (Sansone 23). During the Olympic Games, “writers, poets and historians read their works to the audiences” (Hellander 22). Because humanities is also concerned with religion, therefore there is a direct relationship between sports and humanities. Conclusion During the days of the Byzantine Empire, many sports were played. These sports comprised the games played during the Olympic Games, which started in Greece and continued by the Byzantine Empire when Greece was made an integral part of the Byzantine Empire. However, the Emperor Theodosius banned the Olympiad. But the sports continued to be played in several festivals, where in the interval of the games music, dancing, poetry, literature and history reading and other cultural shows were also held. This signaled the fact that the Byzantines considered sport as part of their culture. They are of course right because sport has 16 been defined and described as “physical culture” and as “an integral part of culture”. Even the Olympic Games were held in honor of gods and goddesses. All these prove that there is a direct relationship between sport and humanities, humanities being concerned with both culture and religion. WORKS CITED Adkins, Roy. Handbook To Life In Ancient Rome. Oxford University Press US, 2008. Bishop, Morris. The Horizon Book. American Heritage Publishing Co., 1968. Browning, Robert. The Byzantine Empire. CUA Press, 1992. Cech, Thomas. Principles of Water Resources. John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Cormack, Robin. Byzantine Art. Oxford University Press, 2000. Crowther, Nigel. 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