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Greece, ancient but so modern...

A Stamp with the "Ball Player Relief" from the National Museum of Archeology in Athens, 4th c. BC, See original in the next figure

History of Soccer and Ball Games of Ancient Greeks

The ancient Greek "Maradona", playing "Episkyros" with a pala (National Museum of Archeology in Athens)

Also See ancient Chinese playing Soccer (later than the image above ???)

Young Greeks playing Field Hockey (έφηβοι κερητίζοντες) 510-500 B.C, National Museum in Athens, probably adopted from Egypt. The game is called “keretizein”. Kouros base found in the Themistoclean Wall, Athens, Greece.

A diver from a tall pedestal (From the Diver Tomb in Poseidonia – Paestum)

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Gymnastic exercises, young girls

A large crowd stood around, enjoying the dancing magic,
as in the middle two acrobats led on the dance,
springing, and whirling, and tumbling. Homer, Iliad

Ganymedes shown playing the game “hoop-bowling” Red-figure Bell Krater, The Berlin Painter, c. 490-480 BC

Hoops were used in Egypt around 1000 BC from grape leaves and were propelled around the ground with sticks. The ancient Greeks recommended their use for losing weight. Hooping was used in the 14th century in England but the physicians blamed it for heart attacks and back dislocations. The word "hula" comes from Hawaii around 1800.

Greek playing with a Yo-Yo

Altes Museum - Antikensammlung Germany

Young women playing ephedrismos

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Ancient Greek Basketball ???

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Animal fights (here the case "Alektryonon Agones"), Vatican Museum

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Keraelkeis athletes, "Bull Horn moving" , a kind of a Rodeo show with bulls ( Hesychius "oi tous taurous elkontes apo ton keraton")

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Girl playing with a ball

Minoan Bull Leaping

Quotations

In the early history of tragedy, poets probably acted in their own plays. There is a report that Sophocles played the title role in his Nausicaa (now lost) and made a big hit with his ballplaying (Nausicaa, the Phaeacian princess in the Odyssey was playing ball with her friends when she came upon the shipwrecked Odysseus). Actors INTRODUCTION TO GREEK TRAGEDY

Other Games