Have you ever ever puzzled why swimming was not a part of the Historic Greek Olympics? In any case, Greek civilization thrived alongside the Mediterranean Sea, and historic literature is full of references to the swimming skills of the Greeks.
Herodotus, in his Histories, even made a transparent distinction between the Greeks, those that may swim, and the barbarians, those that couldn’t. Plato additionally described ignorant folks as “unable to learn and swim.” So how is it potential that such a logical connection between swimming, Greece, and the Olympics by no means occurred?
This article by Edward Clayton (2024) seeks to reply this query, rigorously analyzing and refuting varied arguments earlier than arriving at its thesis: swimming occasions wouldn’t have really represented kalokagathía, the Greek perfect of ethical and bodily excellence.
So why precisely wasn’t swimming included within the Historic Olympics?
It Was Troublesome to Penalize Infractions
Students have proposed as a shallow clarification the truth that within the Historic Video games, rule violations or fouls weren’t punished with disqualification however fairly with flogging. Nonetheless, flogging somebody underwater wouldn’t have been very efficient.
Swimming Had No Navy Worth
Though the Historic Olympics weren’t created to coach troopers, they typically gained competitions, and lots of occasions showcased the talents of army personnel. For that reason, some have argued that swimming was absent from the Olympics as a result of it was not thought of a army exercise.
Nonetheless, this argument is well disproved with two counterpoints:
Swimming performed an important function in warfare:
Herodotus recounts the Battle of Ariabignes, the place Greek troopers survived because of their swimming expertise.
Numerous sources describe how, through the battle towards the Persians, one of the best Athenian swimmers carried out underwater operations to sabotage enemy vessels.
Not all Olympic occasions had army significance.In actuality, a number of exceptions existed amongst Olympic occasions. For instance, chariots weren’t utilized in warfare, but it surely was one of the well-known occasions. Furthermore the equestrian sports activities had been carried out by slaves who mounted the horses and carried out the “army” job, but the proprietor obtained the popularity. Equally, the excessive leap was a part of the pentathlon with out direct army relevance.
Thus, one other try to elucidate swimming’s exclusion is dominated out.
Swimming Wasn’t Aesthetically Pleasing
I do know, saying this on SwimSwam sounds loopy, but it surely’s one other clarification students have tried to provide, based mostly on two claims:
In swimming, our bodies are obscured by water, making it not possible to attain the first purpose of the Olympics: showcasing Greek superiority in each bodily and psychological advantage.
Nonetheless, this argument falls aside while you ask: why had been equestrian sports activities accepted if those driving the horse weren’t’ the aristocratic masters, the supposed bearers of Greek advantage, however fairly their slaves?
The motions of swimming weren’t thought of lovely in its motion.
Supporting this principle is the truth that if swimming had been seen as swish, we might discover extra creative depictions of it. Moreover, within the Iliad, there’s a passage the place Patroclus mocks Cebriones, whom he has simply killed, by evaluating him to somebody diving into the water, highlighting how swimming motions had been seen as ridiculous on land (No method).
Nonetheless, counting on this clarification is troublesome. More than likely, Patroclus was mocking the career of the fisherman fairly than the swimmer itself, one thing we’ll revisit shortly.
The Greek deal with the physique and bodily look results in a key remark: the fantastic thing about the physique, as a mirrored image of noble souls, was a precedence. Solely those that frequented gymnasiums may obtain such circumstances. In different phrases, the working and decrease lessons didn’t match this class.
Swimming Did Not Characterize EXCELLENCE
And now, we attain the core thought: whether or not swimming was helpful or fascinating didn’t matter: swimming primarily represented a social standing.
Within the Gorgia there’s an fascinating passage the place Socrates discredits swimming, evaluating it to rhetoric, as it’s helpful, however misleading.
Responding to Callicles, a defender of the manipulative artwork of rhetoric, he asks:
“However now, do you assume there may be something grand within the accomplishment of swimming?”
And after the sophist’s adverse response, he provides:
“But, , that too saves males from loss of life, when they’ve right into a plight of the sort by which that accomplishment is required.”
The article’s writer diverges from my interpretation right here, defining swimming as one thing fully dissociated from excellence and from areté, the Greek idea of advantage.
This view ought to, nevertheless, be expanded, affirming that the varied statements of Socrates and Plato are, the truth is, constant.
Those that realized to swim had been a part of the Greek aristocracy, and this was revered as a result of the ability was acquired as part of their training and with the goal of bodily health. Nonetheless, within the historical oligarchic (and never solely historical) Western mindset, the decrease lessons weren’t worthy of respect.
Because the Olympics had been open to all free Greek residents, introducing swimming would have allowed the participation of fishermen and laborers who, out of necessity fairly than training, knew how you can swim even higher than aristocrats. In actuality, the aristocratic class didn’t truly swim that a lot however used the privilege of studying to swim as a standing image.
In an Olympic swimming race, easy provincial fishermen would have gained. They might not symbolize athletic excellence as a result of they weren’t thought of bearers of Greek advantage, nor even of bodily well being. Furthermore, given their poor financial circumstances, there was the chance that they’d compete for prize cash, whereas in historical Greece, athletes weren’t professionals. They didn’t aspire to make a residing from sports activities however fairly sought glory for his or her metropolis and themselves.
