---
title: "History of sport"
chunk: 1/6
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_sport"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:00:25.327189+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

The history of sports extends back to the Ancient world in 7000 BC. The physical activity that developed into sports had early links with warfare and entertainment.
The study of the history of sport provides insights into social change and the evolution of sport itself, as sporting activities have often been linked to the development of basic human skills (see also play). However, the further one traces back into history, the scarcer the evidence becomes, making it increasingly difficult to support theories about the origins and purposes of sport.
As far back as the beginnings of sport, it was related to military training. For example, competition was used as a mean to determine whether individuals were fit and useful for service. Team sports were used to train and to prove the capability to fight in the military and also to work together as a team (military unit).

== Ancient era ==

=== Sports in pre-history ===

Cave paintings found in the Lascaux caves in France appear to depict sprinting in the Upper Paleolithic around 15,300 years ago. Cave paintings in the Bayankhongor Province of Mongolia dating back to the Neolithic Age (c. 7000 BC) show a wrestling match surrounded by crowds. Neolithic Rock art found at the cave of swimmers in Wadi Sura, near Gilf Kebir in Egypt shows evidence of swimming and archery being practiced around 10,000 BCE. Prehistoric cave paintings in Japan depict a sport similar to sumo wrestling.

=== Ancient Sumer ===
Archaeological evidence shows that various depictions of wrestlers have been found on stone slabs from the Sumerian civilization. One slab, showing three pairs of wrestlers, has been dated to around 3000 BC.
A cast bronze figurine—possibly the base of a vase—found at Khafaji in Iraq depicts two figures in a wrestling hold and dates to around 2600 BC. Considered one of the earliest known representations of sport, the statue is housed in the National Museum of Iraq.
Additional evidence suggests that the sport of boxing was also practiced in ancient Sumer.
The Epic of Gilgamesh gives one of the first historical records of sport, with Gilgamesh engaging in a form of belt wrestling with Enkidu. The cuneiform tablets recording the tale date to around 2000 BC; however, the historical Gilgamesh is supposed to have lived around 2800 to 2600 BC. The Sumerian king Shulgi (c. 21st century BCE) boasts of his prowess in sport in the Self-praise of Shulgi A, B, and C.
Fishing hooks not unlike those made today have been found during excavations at Ur, suggesting some sort of angling activity in Sumer around 2600 BC.

=== Ancient Egypt ===

Monuments to the Pharaohs found at Beni Hasan dating to around 2000 BC indicate that several sports, including wrestling, weightlifting, long jump, swimming, rowing, archery, fishing and athletics, as well as various kinds of ball games, were well-developed and regulated in Ancient Egypt. Other Egyptian sports also included javelin throwing and high jump. An earlier portrayal of figures wrestling was found in the tomb of Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum in Saqqara dating to around 2400 BC.

=== Ancient Greece ===

The Minoan art of Bronze Age Crete depict ritual sporting events - thus a fresco dating to 1500 BC records gymnastics in the form of religious bull-leaping and possibly bullfighting. The origins of Greek sporting festivals may date to funeral games of the Mycenean period, between 1600 BCE and c. 1100 BC. The Iliad includes extensive descriptions of funeral games held in honor of deceased warriors, such as those held for Patroclus by Achilles. Engaging in sport is described as the occupation of the noble and wealthy, who have no need to do manual labor themselves.  In the Odyssey, king Odysseus of Ithaca proves his royal status to king Alkinoös of the Phaiakes by showing his proficiency in throwing the javelin.
It was in Greece that sports were first instituted formally, with the first Olympic Games recorded in 776 BC in Olympia, where they were celebrated until 393 AD.  These games took place every four years, or Olympiad, which became a unit of time in historical chronologies. Initially a single sprinting event, the Olympics gradually expanded to include several footraces, run in the nude or in armor, boxing, wrestling, pankration, chariot racing, long jump, javelin throw, and discus throw.  During the celebration of the games, an Olympic Truce came into effect, allowing athletes to travel from their home polities to the games in safety. The prizes for the victors were wreaths of laurel leaves.
Other important sporting events in ancient Greece included the Isthmian Games, the Nemean Games, and the Pythian Games. Together with the Olympics, these were the most prestigious games, and formed the Panhellenic Games.  Some games, e.g. the Panathenaia of Athens, included musical, reading and other non-athletic contests in addition to regular sports-events.  The Heraean Games, held in Olympia as early as the 6th century BCE, were the first recorded sporting competition for women.

=== Ancient sports elsewhere ===