What is Ancient Greek boxing?
[[Image:Thermae boxer Massimo Inv1055.jpg|thumb|Small [[statue]] of a boxer, from the 3rd or 2nd century BC]]'''Ancient Greek boxing''' is a very old [[sport]]. It has been practiced at least since the eighth century BC. [[Homer]] wrote about it in his poem ''[[Iliad]]''. At that time, [[Ancient Greece|Greece]] was made of many [[city-state]]s that were independent. Each city state seems to have had its own version of the sport. Today, most of the sources that talk about Greek [[boxing]] are either [[legend]]s, or they are [[wikt:fragment|fragmentary]]. When a source is fragmentary, this means that part of the text has been lost, or is missing. This makes it difficult to find the [[wikt:rule|rules]], or where and how the activity was done. Several details are missing, but it seems boxing with [[glove]]s was an important part of the Greek athletic [[culture]] of the time. ==Where it came from== [[Image:Young_boxers_fresco,_Akrotiri,_Greece.jpg|thumb|left|130px|[[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] youths boxing (1500 BC), [[Knossos]] fresco. Earliest evidence for use of gloves.]] The activity was called ''pyx'' or ''pygme'' in [[Ancient Greek language|Ancient Greek]]. [[Archaeology|Archeologists]] have found [[evidence]] that this activity was probably done by the [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] and [[Mycenaean culture]]s. Many legends tell about the origins of boxing in [[Greece]]. One legend says that the [[hero]]ic ruler [[Theseus]] invented a type of boxing where two men sat face to face and beat each other with their fists until one of them was killed. Later, the boxers began to fight while standing. They also started to wear gloves (with [[nail|spikes]]) and wrappings on their arms below the elbows. In Ancient Greece, most sports were done naked, boxing too. According to ''Iliad'', Mycenaean [[warrior]]s included boxing in their competitions. They did this to honor those who had died. It is possible that Homer told about what the Greeks did, at a later time. Boxing was one of the contests held in memory of [[Ac