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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mmadsen" data-source="post: 770825" data-attributes="member: 1645">The Greek athletic tradition is, more or less, the sporting tradition we inherited.  Athletic training was always "sold" as a way to train for war -- very important if you're living amongst warring city-states -- but it took on a life of its own, and became a road to fame and fortune.  Winning an Olympic event was worth a lot of money.So, while it's not associated with any particular ascetic ideology, a popular wrestler might go on to become a famous philosopher -- like Plato.I believe more-or-less like a boxing gym.  You trained at the palaestra under a coach.  Such gyms were common.  A sport like wrestling was a popular hobby.  You'd wrestle or throw the javelin the same way modern folks might join a pick-up basketball game.I already mentioned the most popular sports: running, jumping, throwing, wrestling, boxing, pankration.Both, I'm sure, but it didn't have any mystic mumbo-jumbo associated with -- beyond the kind we're used to: it builds character (they used the term "arete"), etc.</blockquote>