10-22-2007, 01:09 AM
Young Roman citizens were expected to take part in the various games of the city. At Herculaneum, they had a swimming pool and a wrestling field, as well as other sports areas. (This is according to the little recording you can rent that tells the young men were getting ready for a stone throwing contest as Vesuvius erupted. (They left neatly stacked stones as if they were getting ready for a contest.)) The sports were for free persons.
Probably the poorer Roman citizens didn't have as much access to the sports because they were already working, but the legions are made up of only citizens, so most legionaries would know how to wrestle. In both Pompeii and Herculaneum, they mentioned each bath house had an area for wrestling and other sports by the bathers.
Roman Legions put up a bathhouse soon after setting up a permanent fort (or maybe even before, depending on which theories you read, and some of these bath houses had the same layout as civilian ones. So perhaps the legionaries continued their childhood sport of wrestling into the military.
Lots of historical fiction had been written about this, but I haven't found actual first person accounts, although there is a lot of material I have yet to study.
Maybe someone can come up with a definite answer, instead of my poor conjecture.
Probably the poorer Roman citizens didn't have as much access to the sports because they were already working, but the legions are made up of only citizens, so most legionaries would know how to wrestle. In both Pompeii and Herculaneum, they mentioned each bath house had an area for wrestling and other sports by the bathers.
Roman Legions put up a bathhouse soon after setting up a permanent fort (or maybe even before, depending on which theories you read, and some of these bath houses had the same layout as civilian ones. So perhaps the legionaries continued their childhood sport of wrestling into the military.
Lots of historical fiction had been written about this, but I haven't found actual first person accounts, although there is a lot of material I have yet to study.
Maybe someone can come up with a definite answer, instead of my poor conjecture.
Caius Fabius Maior
Charles Foxtrot
moderator, Roman Army Talk
link to the rules for posting
[url:2zv11pbx]http://romanarmy.com/rat/viewtopic.php?t=22853[/url]
Charles Foxtrot
moderator, Roman Army Talk
link to the rules for posting
[url:2zv11pbx]http://romanarmy.com/rat/viewtopic.php?t=22853[/url]
