Wrestling is the oldest form of fighting without weapons. There were two forms: upright wrestling and ground wrestling. To win in upright wrestling one had to make his opponent fall three times. Whereas today the back of the opponent should touch the ground, for the Greeks any part of the body counted. With ground wrestling the whole body could touch the ground and one only won if the opponent submitted by pointing up his index finger to the umpire. Upright wrestling was practiced in the sandpit that was also used for the long jump, ground wrestling was done on wet sand. Upright wrestling became an Olympic event in 708 BC, together with the pentathlon. Ground wrestling never took place at the games. Wrestling matches were organized both as a separate event and as part of the pentathlon. Wrestling for boys was introduced in 632 BC.

.Wrestling was kept in check by several rules: blows were not permitted (this is boxing), nor holds on the male organs or biting. It was also forbidden to fight outside the sandpit. The athletes anointed their body with oil, but sprinkled some dust over it to allow their opponents to grab them.

ONE OF THE FIRST FAMOUS WRESTLERS: HIS NAME WAS Milon

Milon of Kroton, a city in southern Italy, was a famous wrestler from the sixth century BC. He is the first known periodos- victor, with an impressive number of victories. He won six victories at the Olympic games, one of which was among the boys, seven at the Pythian games, also including one among the boys, ten at the Isthmian games and nine at the Nemean games. Over a period of thirty years he was the big favorite, first among the boys, later among the men. He won several times 'without dust', which was very honorable.

In his early forties, he lost against his younger fellow-citizen Timatheos, who did not dare to attack him, but succeeded in wearing him out. Milon retired from sports and became a politician. He is often linked to Pythagoras, the philosopher who had founded an influential commune in Kroton. In 511/510 BC, Milon was appointed general and defeated the neighboring city Sybaris.

About Milon exist many legendary stories. Most tell about his tours de force, for example that he could hold a pomegranate so firm, that no one could take it from him, but that he was at the same time so careful, that the pomegranate stayed undamaged. His statue at Olympia therefore depicted him with a pomegranate in his hand. Just like other athletes he was attributed an enormous appetite. Once, he carried a full-grown bull to the stadium and ate it in a single day.

Another story concerns his death. One day Milon saw a tree, in which wedges were inserted to split the tree. Milon put his hands in the crack to split the rest of the tree with his bare hands. He was punished for his recklessness: his hands were jammed and Milon was stuck there. That night he was devoured by wolves.