(נִפְתּוּל , Genesis 30:8, figuratively; πάλη , Ephesians 6:12, literally in Genesis 22:25, 26, the verb is אָבִק, used in a literal sense). This was one of the principal exercises in all the public games of Greece. The Greeks ascribed the invention of wrestling to mythical personages, and Mercurn, the god of all gymnastic exercises, also presided over wrestling. In the Homeric age wrestling was much practiced; during this period wrestlers contended naked, and only the loins were covered with the perizoma (περίζωμα ), and this custom probably remained throughout Greece until Ol. 15, from which time even this covering was no longer used, and wrestlers fought entirely naked. In the Homeric age the custom of anointing the body for the purpose of wrestling does not appear to have been known, but in the time of Solon it was quite general, and was said to have been adopted by the Cretans and Lacedamonians at a very early period. After the body was anointed it was strewed over with sand or dust, in order to enable the wrestlers to take a firm hold of each other. The Greeks, in their combats, were generally matched two against two; but sometimes several couples contended at the same time. In case the whole aim and design of the wrestlers was to throw their adversary upon the ground, both strength and art were employed for this purpose; they seized each other by the arms, drew forward, pushed backwards, used many distortions and twistings of the body, locking their limbs in each other's, lifting from the ground, dashing their heads together, and twisting one another's necks. In this manner the athletes wrestled standing, the combat ending with the fall of one of the competitors. (See GAMES).

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Bible Encyclopedias Wrestling

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Wrestling