Wrestling Field

Wrestling is a very old sport popular in Persian, Indian and Hellenic cultures, although rules and styles do vary. Bouts could be held almost anywhere, but as the sport developed specialist arenas with earth or sand floors and galleries for spectators became popular. One of the earliest depictions is a Neolithic cave painting from the Bayankhongor Province of Mongolia showing two naked men wrestling and watched by onlookers. Centuries later, Greek wrestling became popular as part of the ancient Olympiad, was taken across the ancient world by Alexander and his armies, and eventually absorbed into Roman culture.