Greek Wrestling Directory
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From 1Wrestling Legends.com Yahoo Groups Restating Legends
Hi Jay.... Yes, I really am Greek, and thanks
to this great group and the WAWLI papers I've been lucky enough to learn a lot
about Jim Londos, George Tragos, the Tolos Brothers and other Greek wrestlers.
I use Ari for short, but my full name is Aristidis. Growing up in Canada, every
time a new school year began (or a new semester in high school and college),
my poor
teachers would look at my name, stare at it for a moment, try to pronounce it,
then proceed to butcher it until I finally corrected them.
As far as wrestling in ancient Greece, the earliest recorded wrestling match was at the ancient olympics, in 708 BC, and there were two different styles:
(This is from hellenism.com)
Orthia pale (Upright and Proper Wrestling)
The object of this type of wrestling was
simply to throw the opponent
to the ground. Three falls constituted a loss for that opponent, and the winner
was called the "triakter". The match continued without stops until
one man emerged victorious.
Kato pale (Ground Wrestling)
Victory in this competition depended on one competitor acknowledging defeat.
Defeat was indicated by raising one's right hand with the index finger pointed.
Rules were simply:
Blows were not allowed.
Tripping was permitted.
No biting or gouging was allowed.
There was no weight distinction. The wrestlers were anointed with olive oil then dusted with powder to make them easier to grasp. The competition took place in the "keroma", or beeswax, a muddy and sticky arena.
With five victories at Olympia, perhaps the most famous and successful of Olympic wrestlers was Milo. When attempting his sixth Olympic victory at forty years old, he was finally beaten by a younger man.
Jay... as much as I would love to call it King Of Greece wrestling, I don't know if that name would sell very well in London Canada. As for Athens wrestling... I really like it for its ancient roots but both myself and my partner need to agree on the name, and will talk to him later and ask about it.
Ari
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