For example, Homer’s Iliad, the oldest surviving work of Greek literature, describes how noble warriors, companions of Achilles, laid down their arms at the funeral rites for Patroclus and competed to prove their valor in boxing, wrestling, discus and javelin throwing, and chariot racing.
नगरराज्यांतील गटांनी, आपल्या देवदेवतांच्या सन्मानाप्रीत्यर्थ सार्वजनिक उपासनास्थळी नियमितरीत्या सामन्यांचे आयोजन करण्याची प्रथा अंगीकारली.