Social Entertainment in Greco- Roman Egypt (Games and Sports)

Abstract

There’s no doubt that sport represents a central cultural place in the mankind civilization also sport and physical activities can be traced to the beginnings of recorded history. The ancient Egyptians practiced a lot of today’s sports such as shooting, wrestling, weightlifting, fishing, ball games, long jump, rowing, and swimming as well as competitive sports such as wrestling and non-competitive sports such as hunting that practiced for recreation. Indeed, there was a strong culture between physical activity and the ancient Egyptian religion as well as was found a relation between the kings and the athletic prowess. Besides, athletic competitions included several sources of traditions derived from hero cults, funeral games, and initiation rituals as well as components of religious festivals, for example, gaming squares were found into temple roofs for the recreation of priests as well as religious and funerary contexts. While the kings, princes, and statesmen of ancient Egypt were eager to attend sports completions that provided with the necessary equipment. In other words, sports like the gym represented the most important parts of the most Greek men also fed the soul and the body of the athletics so the Greeks played games of several kinds such as competitions of physical athletics. Besides, the Greek thought that the gods liked to see human bodies as strong, fit, and graceful. Also, athletes in Roman Egypt enjoyed many privileges and benefits in their cities up to public offices, pension, and extension of public liturgies and these athletics activities perhaps are owing to the flourishing of metropolis life. Meanwhile, this paper aims to republished and shed light on the various sides of the entertainment social sides in daily Egyptian life but in specific studied the importance of sports and games and the symbolic of them for the ancient Egyptian in daily life as well as the religious importance of sports and several games. Specifically, this research contained the history of games and recreation in ancient Egypt such as sport flourished in Ptolemaic Egypt for example, Ptolemy IV who participated in a Greek contest.