Wrestling: Did you mean...?

Sports and athleticism was a cornerstone of life in the ancient Mediterranean. Hunting, dancing, gymnastics, and charioteering were favorite sports of the elite in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. The Greeks and Romans were especially...

Cynisca of Sparta (b. c. 440 BCE) was a Spartan royal princess who became the first female Olympic champion. Defying the traditional role of women in ancient Greece, she competed in the Olympic Games alongside the men and won. Her triumph...

A kappa is a Japanese mythological water sprite or, literally, "river child" (河童). One of the more popularly known yōkai (Japanese mythological creature) in Japan, kappa are generally green or yellow, have a tortoise-like shell on their backs...

James I of Scotland ruled as king from 1406 to 1437. In 1406, the future king was captured by pirates and then imprisoned by Henry IV of England (r. 1399-1413), a confinement that lasted for 18 years. He succeeded his father Robert III of...

Hercules is the Roman name for the Greek hero Herakles, the most popular figure from ancient Greek mythology. Hercules was the son of Zeus, king of the gods, and the mortal woman Alcmene. Zeus, who was always chasing one woman or another...

Mondamin (also given as Mon-Daw-Min, The Gift of Corn, and The Origin of Corn) is a tale from the Ojibwe Nation on how the people received corn from the Great Spirit through the vision quest of the young man, Wunzh, and his acts of selflessness...

A relief from a funerary kouros base depicting two Greek wrestlers, one of the sports at such events as the Olympic Games at Olympia. c. 510 BCE. (National Archaeological Museum, Athens)

The Roman Empire, at its height (c. 117), was the most extensive political and social structure in western civilization. Building upon the foundation laid by the Roman Republic, the empire became the largest and most powerful political and...

The Vikings were originally diverse Scandinavian seafarers from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark (though other nationalities were later involved) whose raids and subsequent settlements significantly impacted the cultures of Europe and were felt...

The Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheatre is a large ellipsoid arena built in the first century CE by the Flavian Roman emperors of Vespasian (69-79 CE), Titus (79-81 CE) and Domitian (81-96 CE). The massive arena held 50,000 spectators and hosted...