Key Takeaways
- The best candidate for the first sport is wrestling, with secure depictions of formal grips, sequences, and officials in Mesopotamia and Egypt (c. 3000–2000 BCE), especially the Beni Hasan tomb scenes.
- A “sport” is defined here as organized physical competition with rules, adjudication, scoring, and repeatable formats—criteria supported by primary evidence.
- Other early contenders with strong evidence include the Mesoamerican ballgame (courts and rubber balls by c. 1500–1400 BCE), Egyptian archery contests (c. 1500–1400 BCE), and the Greek stadion race (776 BCE with recorded victors).
- There may be no single global “first sport”: multiple cultures developed rule-bound competitions independently, from Egyptian wrestling to Chinese ritual archery and Greek races.
- Archaeological preservation skews the record—stone and mural evidence survives better than organic gear—so absence of early balls, nets, or score markers doesn’t mean early sports didn’t exist.
- Early sports shaped society through training, ritual, and cohesion, with dedicated venues, calendars, oaths, and prizes reinforcing shared rules and public judgment.
What was the first sport. I ask that every time I see a track or a ring or a ball. Long before scoreboards and rules humans ran and wrestled and threw things for skill and pride. The urge to play feels ancient and it shows in bones and myths and old art.
In this quick guide I trace the earliest games we can find and what made them count as sport. I look at movement and competition and ritual. I weigh what evidence survives and what we can only guess. I will keep it simple and friendly so we can enjoy the hunt for the true first sport together.
The Big Question: What Was The First Sport?
The big question asks what the first sport was. I anchor the answer in evidence, not in guesswork.
- Wrestling: I see the strongest early case in wrestling based on clear depictions and codified grips (British Museum, Oxford Classical Dictionary).
- Running: I track the earliest recorded race in Greece with formal rules and victors listed (International Olympic Committee, Oxford Classical Dictionary).
- Ballgame: I count the Mesoamerican ballgame as an early complex sport with courts and ritual stakes (Smithsonian, UNESCO).
- Archery: I note archery contests in Egypt as organized displays of skill with targets and ranks (Metropolitan Museum of Art).
- Swimming: I mark Egyptian scenes that show structured races with lanes drawn in art (British Museum).
I define first sport as the earliest activity with organized competition, if the claim depends on direct material or textual proof.
I compare key contenders and dates below.
| Candidate sport | Earliest firm evidence | Location | Evidence type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wrestling | c. 3000 BCE | Mesopotamia | Reliefs with holds and referees | British Museum, Oxford Classical Dictionary |
| Wrestling | c. 2000 BCE | Egypt | Beni Hasan tomb sequence of 400 moves | Metropolitan Museum of Art |
| Ballgame | c. 1650–1400 BCE | Mesoamerica | Ballcourt remains and rubber balls | Smithsonian, UNESCO |
| Running footrace | 776 BCE | Olympia, Greece | Stadion victors list and rules | International Olympic Committee, Oxford Classical Dictionary |
| Archery contest | c. 1500 BCE | Egypt | Tomb art with targets and score tallies | Metropolitan Museum of Art |
| Swimming race | c. 2000–1500 BCE | Egypt | Painted lanes and paired competitors | British Museum |
- Evidence: I privilege direct depictions and inscriptions over inference from hunting scenes (Cambridge Archaeological Journal).
- Rules: I rate scored or refereed formats higher than informal trials of skill (Oxford Classical Dictionary).
- Continuity: I weigh long traditions that persist across centuries when sources allow it (UNESCO).
I lean on wrestling as the earliest sport with formal competition, if the choice rests on the oldest secure depictions and sequences that show rules and adjudication (British Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art).
How Do We Define A “Sport”?
I define a sport as organized physical competition with rules, adjudication, and repeatable formats, if evidence confirms those elements. I count an activity as a sport only when sources document contest structure, scoring or victory conditions, and participant roles.
- Define scope with physical skills, examples include strength, speed, coordination, and precision.
- Include competition with opponents, examples include one‑on‑one, team vs team, and race fields.
- Require rules with constraints and permissions, examples include legal grips, lanes, and target zones.
- Ensure adjudication with impartial oversight, examples include referees, judges, and timers.
- Measure outcomes with objective markers, examples include falls, times, distances, and points.
- Confirm repeatability across events, examples include festivals, seasons, and tournaments.
- Anchor proof in primary evidence, examples include inscriptions, rule lists, score tablets, and event calendars.
I prioritize documented organization over informal play, if activities show physical skill without codified contests. I accept ritual and play as part of context, if competition and rule enforcement remain clear.
Key reference definitions
| Source | Year | Core elements |
|---|---|---|
| Council of Europe, European Sports Charter | 2001 | Physical activity, rules, competition, organization |
| Oxford English Dictionary | 2024 | Competitive physical activity, skill, rules |
| IOC Olympic Charter | 2023 | Sport as governed competition, standardized events, eligibility |
| UNESCO, International Charter of Physical Education and Sport | 1978 | Organized physical activity, fairness, education |
I align my criteria with these baselines, if ancient claims match the elements above. I treat the first sport as the first activity that meets this definition with secure material or textual proof.
Earliest Evidence From Prehistory
I trace sport like patterns in rock art and tool contexts that predate writing. I anchor claims in dated sites and secure motifs.
Cave Paintings And Ritualized Combat
I see repeated body postures and face to face pairings that signal contest, not random motion. I highlight scenes with symmetric opponents, set distances, and audience like figures.
- Rock art, such as Wadi Sura swimmers and Tassili archers, shows organized movement linked to display and ritual (Wadi Sura Project, University of Cologne, https://wadisura.phil-fak.uni-koeln.de, UNESCO Tassili n’Ajjer, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/179).
- Rock art, such as Valcamonica dueling archers and San hunting runners, shows weapon use in framed encounters that resemble bouts and races (UNESCO Rock Drawings in Valcamonica, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/94, UNESCO Maloti Drakensberg Park, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/985).
I map the key prehistoric panels and dates for context.
| Site | Region | Date range | Depicted activity | Evidence type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wadi Sura I and II, Cave of Swimmers | Western Desert, Egypt | 10,000–8,000 BP | Swimming like figures in sequences | Painted panels | Wadi Sura Project, University of Cologne |
| Tassili n’Ajjer | Algerian Sahara | 9,000–2,000 BCE | Archers in opposed groups, hunting and combat | Painted and engraved panels | UNESCO World Heritage Centre |
| Valcamonica | Lombardy, Italy | 7,000–1,000 BCE | Dueling archers, processions, contests | Rock engravings | UNESCO World Heritage Centre |
| Maloti Drakensberg | South Africa, Lesotho | 2,000 BP–historic | Running hunters, group pursuits, ritual scenes | Rock paintings | UNESCO World Heritage Centre |
I treat these motifs as proto sport where pairings, stances, and sequences imply rules, where explicit score marks are absent.
Hunting To Competition: From Survival To Sport
I track how subsistence skills become games through practice, display, and rite. I link throwing, running, and grappling to measurable challenges and public witnessing.
- Practices, like persistence running and tracking by Kalahari foragers, create endurance races when groups test speed over set routes or timed chases (Liebenberg 2006, Current Anthropology 47, https://doi.org/10.1086/506365).
- Practices, like accuracy with spear throwers and bows, create target contests when communities set distance marks and tally hits on fixed boards or rocks, as Saharan and European panels suggest through clustered impact depictions next to archers (UNESCO Tassili n’Ajjer, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/179, UNESCO Valcamonica, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/94).
- Practices, like Arctic signaling kicks and balance drills, create codified events when gatherings formalize attempts and judges, as preserved in the World Eskimo Indian Olympics that document older roots in hunting practice (WEIO History, https://www.weio.org/history).
I treat these pathways as plausible mechanisms for the first sport candidates, where organization emerges from repeated trials, public watching, and ritual timing.
Ancient Contenders For The First Sport
I track ancient contenders that fit organized rules, adjudication, and repeatable formats. I keep the focus on secure depictions or texts that document competition.
| Candidate | Earliest secure evidence | Location | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wrestling | c. 2000 BCE, sequential bout scenes with holds and officials | Beni Hasan, Egypt | Griffith Institute facsimiles of Tomb 15, Newberry plates, British Museum notes |
| Running, stadion race | 776 BCE, victors list and event program | Olympia, Greece | Eusebius Chronicle, IOC Olympic Studies Centre |
| Archery contest | c. 1400–1425 BCE, royal contest inscriptions | Thebes, Egypt | Amenhotep II stela, Egyptian Museum Cairo |
| Spear throwing, akon | 708 BCE, pentathlon program and descriptions | Olympia, Greece | Pausanias Description of Greece, IOC Olympic Studies Centre |
Wrestling
I treat wrestling as the leading ancient first sport contender. I base that on Middle Kingdom wall cycles at Beni Hasan that show paired grips, reversals, and a match sequence that implies adjudication and rules, c. 2000 BCE (Griffith Institute, Newberry, British Museum). I add Mesopotamian and Aegean images that echo formal grappling, for example Old Babylonian plaques and Minoan scenes, though they lack the Beni Hasan sequence density (Louvre catalogue, Heraklion Archaeological Museum). I note literary support through the Gilgamesh and Enkidu bout that frames a settled outcome before friendship, Old Babylonian era, which signals a recognized contest type rather than brawling (Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet II, British Museum).
Running And Footraces
I place running near the core of any first sport map. I anchor formal racing to the stadion in 776 BCE at Olympia with named victors and event continuity across festivals, which meets repeatable format and public adjudication (Eusebius Chronicle, IOC Olympic Studies Centre). I reference earlier images of running in Egypt and the Levant that look ritual and processional, not scored competition, so they add context rather than proof of a sport under the strict criteria (Metropolitan Museum of Art, Petrie Museum). I include Homeric funeral games for Achilles that show heats, prizes, and judges in a narrative frame, Late Geometric horizon, which confirms Greek race governance by the 8th century BCE (Homer Iliad 23, Loeb).
Archery And Spear-Throwing
I log archery contests in New Kingdom Egypt with Amenhotep II claims of distance and accuracy trials before witnesses, c. 1400–1425 BCE, which fits organized performance metrics and public validation, though royal boasting complicates verification (Amenhotep II stela, Egyptian Museum Cairo, Allen). I track Zhou ritual archery in early China with prescribed rites, roles, and scoring language in Zhouli and Liji, Western Zhou to Spring and Autumn periods, which indicates codified competition in a ceremonial frame (Zhouli, Liji, translation by E Bruce Brooks, Harvard). I mark spear throwing as a formal event in the Greek pentathlon from 708 BCE with the akon, including the ankyle thong and measured throws, which meets rule clarity and adjudication through distance marks and judges (Pausanias 5.8, IOC Olympic Studies Centre).
What Archaeology And Texts Reveal
I read the ground and the glyphs to see how early contests looked. I track scenes, scripts, and dates to test claims about the first sport.
Sumer, Egypt, And The Indus Valley
- Tablets anchor a wrestling bout in the Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet II, where Gilgamesh and Enkidu grapple in a set contest, see Andrew George 2003, grounding first sport wrestling in a named scene.
- Reliefs document staged grips in Beni Hasan Tomb 15, Egypt, c. 2000 BCE, with sequential pairs that imply rules and adjudication, see Griffith Institute Topographical Bibliography, Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
- Inscriptions frame royal archery as formal display in New Kingdom Egypt, with Amenhotep II and Thutmose III hitting set targets before witnesses, see Urkunden der 18. Dynastie, The Metropolitan Museum of Art object dossiers.
- Seals hint at paired grapplers in the Indus Valley, for example Mohenjo daro figurines with clinch postures, yet texts remain undeciphered, see Archaeological Survey of India, Harappa Archaeological Research Project.
- Grounds mark training spaces in Indus cities, for example level courtyards with wear patterns, yet no rules appear in writing, keeping first sport claims provisional in this zone.
Early China And Mesoamerica
- Rites codify archery in Zhou ritual culture, with rank, targets, and officiants described in the Liji Book of Rites and Zhouli, compiled in the 2nd–1st centuries BCE and citing earlier Zhou practice, linking first sport criteria to ritual range contests.
- Texts record cuju football as organized play in the Warring States and early Han, with team structure and scoring in Zhan Guo Ce and Shiji, anchoring a ball game by the 3rd–2nd centuries BCE, see Shiji 34 and later Hou Han Shu notes.
- Terms place early wrestling jiao li in Zhou contexts, with later Han sources preserving formats, suggesting regulated grappling outside warfare, see Shiji and Hanshu sport passages.
- Courts define the Mesoamerican ballgame by c. 1400–1500 BCE, with formal alleys at Paso de la Amada and Chiapas sites, and rubber balls at El Manatí c. 1600–1200 BCE, see University of Arizona Press The Mesoamerican Ballgame, INAH reports.
- Iconography depicts teams, protective gear, and scoring markers on Classic Maya and Gulf Coast carvings, showing repeatable formats that fit first sport criteria, see Whittington 2001, and Smithsonian NMNH summaries.
| Culture or region | Evidence type | Activity | Secure date range | Example site or text | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sumer Mesopotamia | Cuneiform tablet scene | Wrestling bout | c. 2100–1200 BCE | Epic of Gilgamesh Tablet II | George 2003 Penguin Classics |
| Egypt Middle Kingdom | Tomb relief sequences | Wrestling grips | c. 2000–1900 BCE | Beni Hasan Tomb 15 | Griffith Institute, Egyptian MoTA |
| Egypt New Kingdom | Royal inscriptions and art | Archery contests | c. 1450–1400 BCE | Karnak scenes, Amenhotep II records | Urk. IV, The Met object files |
| Indus Valley | Figurines and seals | Grappling depiction | c. 2600–1900 BCE | Mohenjo daro, Harappa | ASI, HARP field reports |
| China Zhou and Han | Ritual texts | Archery rite | compiled 2nd–1st c. BCE, citing earlier Zhou | Liji, Zhouli | Liji, Zhouli critical editions |
| China Warring States–Han | Historical annals | Cuju football | c. 3rd–2nd c. BCE | Zhan Guo Ce, Shiji | Shiji 34, ZGC entries |
| Mesoamerica Gulf Coast | Organic finds | Rubber balls | c. 1600–1200 BCE | El Manatí | INAH, journal reports |
| Mesoamerica Pacific slope | Architecture | Ballcourt | c. 1500–1400 BCE | Paso de la Amada | University of Arizona Press 2001 |
Why There May Not Be A Single “First”
I see the first sport as a moving target. I track overlapping origins across places and fragile evidence that rarely survives.
Parallel Invention Across Cultures
I note that many societies built sport like forms in parallel. I point to wrestling grips in Egypt, formal archery in early China, the ballgame in Mesoamerica, and footraces in Greece as distinct lines of origin with local rules and judges. I align this view with comparative sport history surveys from the IOC Olympic Studies Centre and UNESCO that document independent traditions rather than one source [IOC OSC 2020] [UNESCO 2015].
| Culture | Activity | Earliest secure marker | Context | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt | Wrestling | c. 2000 BCE | Beni Hasan tomb sequences | British Museum, Oxford Handbook of Egyptology |
| Mesoamerica | Ballgame | c. 1400 BCE | El Manatí rubber balls and courts | INAH, Smithsonian NMAI |
| China | Archery rites | c. 1046–771 BCE | Zhou ritual texts and bronze inscriptions | Shaughnessy, Cambridge History of Ancient China |
| Greece | Stadion race | 776 BCE | Olympia victor lists | Oxford Classical Dictionary, IOC |
I treat these threads as concurrent candidates for a first sport claim if I accept culture bound definitions. I keep the global frame open if each tradition meets the same criteria of organized competition, rules, adjudication, and repeatable formats.
The Problem Of Perishable Evidence
I face a taphonomic filter that favors stone, clay, and metal over fiber, wood, and leather. I acknowledge that early balls, nets, sandals, and score markers decayed, which hides organized play that used organic gear. I rely on established archaeological bias models that show uneven preservation across climates and materials [Behrensmeyer 1978] [Lucas 2012]. I flag that desert murals in Egypt and dry caves in the Sahara survive more often than temperate open air scenes, which skews the apparent first sport map. I accept that absence of evidence under this filter does not equal evidence of absence if the context lacks durable media.
How Early Sports Shaped Human Culture
Early sport shaped identity, order, and memory across communities. I track how training, ritual, and group bonds formed around contests that met rules and public judgment.
Training, Ritual, And Social Cohesion
Training aligned bodies for war and work through repeated drills and measured contests. I note archery rites in early China that fused ethics and marksmanship as the Liji describes ceremonial archery with ranked roles and scoring, source Chinese Text Project. Ritual grounded contests in calendars and offerings, for example Panhellenic games at Olympia that honored Zeus with oaths, sacrifices, and truce observance, source Oxford Classical Dictionary. Cohesion grew from shared rules, common feasts, and named victors that bound villages, courts, and city leagues, source IOC Olympic Studies Centre.
- Training, early sport codified grips, stances, and distances that mapped directly to combat and hunting, source British Museum on Beni Hasan wrestling.
- Training, regimented races synchronized pacing and endurance for messenger routes and militia musters, source Oxford Classical Dictionary.
- Ritual, civic festivals anchored contests to sanctuaries and processions under priestly oversight, source Pausanias via Perseus Digital Library.
- Ritual, offerings and vow keeping framed victory as service to gods and ancestors, source Oxford Classical Dictionary.
- Cohesion, public adjudication and prize giving created reputations, alliances, and patronage chains, source IOC Olympic Studies Centre.
- Cohesion, ballcourts and stadia functioned as meeting grounds for trade, law, and diplomacy, source UNESCO on the Mesoamerican ballgame.
I connect these culture layers to the first sport frame through dated cases.
| Culture | Activity | Function | Evidence type | Secure date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt | Wrestling | Training, ritual display | Tomb sequences at Beni Hasan, British Museum dossiers | ca. 2000 BCE |
| Greece | Stadion race | Ritual festival, civic identity | Olympia victor lists, Oxford Classical Dictionary | 776 BCE |
| China | Archery rites | Moral training, elite education | Liji ceremonial archery, Chinese Text Project | late Zhou, 5th–3rd c. BCE |
| Mesoamerica | Ballgame | Cohesion, cosmology, diplomacy | Ballcourts, UNESCO World Heritage records | by 1400 BCE |
| Sumer | Wrestling bouts | Royal ideology, public order | Epic of Gilgamesh episodes, Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature | 2nd millennium BCE copies |
I frame social mechanisms that stabilized early sport culture.
- Oaths, athletes swore truth and fairness before sacred symbols to legitimize results, source Pausanias via Perseus Digital Library.
- Prizes, material rewards like amphorae and belts tied victory to economy and sponsorship, source British Museum, IOC Olympic Studies Centre.
- Calendars, fixed festival cycles synchronized training peaks with harvest slack and travel windows, source Oxford Classical Dictionary.
- Spaces, dedicated venues like palaestrae, gymnasia, and ballcourts institutionalized instruction and judging, source UNESCO, Oxford Classical Dictionary.
If sites differ in preservation, the cultural functions remain traceable through texts, venues, and ritual residues.
Conclusion
I see the hunt for the first sport as an open door not a finish line. New finds can flip the board. Old finds can gain fresh meaning. That keeps the question alive and worth asking.
What matters most to me is the shared thrill of rules play and pride. Those threads still stitch us together. They carry across ages and borders.
If you spot a site a text or a clue that shifts the picture I want to hear it. Share your take your sources your doubts. I will keep digging and I hope you will too.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the first sport in history?
Wrestling is the strongest candidate for the first sport. It has clear, early evidence of organized competition, rules, and adjudication. Egyptian scenes at Beni Hasan (around 2000 BCE) show sequences of grips and match flow, implying structured bouts. Texts like the Epic of Gilgamesh also mention wrestling contests. While running, archery, and ballgames are ancient, wrestling provides the earliest secure proof of formal competition that fits widely accepted definitions of “sport.”
How does the article define a “sport”?
A sport is an organized physical contest with rules, judges or adjudication, and a repeatable format. It must show structure beyond casual play, with evidence of scoring or decision-making and clear roles for participants. This definition aligns with standards used by the European Sports Charter and the IOC Olympic Charter, emphasizing documented organization rather than informal activity.
Why is wrestling favored over running or archery?
Wrestling has the oldest secure depictions showing technique sequences and implied refereeing, especially in Egyptian art around 2000 BCE. Running and archery are very old, but their earliest organized contests are recorded later: the stadion race at Olympia in 776 BCE and formal archery contests in New Kingdom Egypt. Wrestling gives the clearest early proof of codified competition and adjudication.
What is the earliest recorded running event?
The earliest well-documented running event is the stadion race at Olympia in 776 BCE. It includes named victors, a standard distance, and continued over centuries, meeting key criteria for organized competition. While humans ran long before this, Olympia gives the earliest securely recorded structure, rules, and public recognition for a footrace.
Did prehistoric people play sports?
Prehistoric rock art suggests sport-like behavior before writing. Sites like Wadi Sura, Tassili n’Ajjer, Valcamonica, and the Maloti Drakensberg show scenes of swimming, archery, running, and ritual combat. These images imply organized movement and repeated challenges. While scoring isn’t explicit, the patterns point to early contests that likely had rules, audiences, or ritual timing.
What evidence supports ancient wrestling as a sport?
Egyptian reliefs at Beni Hasan show paired grips, counters, and progression across panels, implying rules and judging. The Epic of Gilgamesh describes a decisive wrestling bout with social stakes. Indus Valley seals hint at grappling. Together, these sources provide visual and textual proof of structured competition earlier than many other sports.
How does the Mesoamerican ballgame fit into this?
The Mesoamerican ballgame is an early, well-structured sport with courts, equipment, and ritual roles. It features formal play areas, codified actions, and public witnessing. While very ancient, much evidence dates later than the earliest wrestling depictions. It remains a major early sport with strong proof of rules and organized competition.
Were early archery contests organized?
Yes. Inscriptions and scenes from New Kingdom Egypt describe and depict formal archery contests, with performance metrics and public validation. Early China also codified archery as a moral and technical discipline, blending ceremony with marksmanship. These cases show clear rules, roles, and repeatable formats—key markers of organized sport.
What about swimming as an early sport?
Rock art suggests organized swimming long before texts, and later sources mention structured races. While water-based contests likely existed early, secure proof of formal rules and adjudication appears later than wrestling. The evidence is promising but less definitive for being the “first sport.”
Could there be multiple “first sports”?
Possibly. Different cultures developed organized contests independently—wrestling in Egypt, archery in China, ballgames in Mesoamerica, and footraces in Greece. Each meets the criteria locally. Because evidence survives unevenly, several sports may qualify as “first” within their cultural contexts.
Why is evidence for early sports so uneven?
Organic gear like balls, nets, and wood decays, and some climates destroy records. Stone and durable art survive better than textiles or leather. This preservation bias means absence of evidence isn’t proof of absence. Our timeline reflects what survived, not everything that happened.
What criteria did the article use to rank candidates?
- Organized competition (not casual play)
- Clear rules or implied rule sets
- Adjudication or decision-making
- Repeatable formats and public witnessing
- Secure material or textual proof (not speculation)
Wrestling ranks highest because it meets these criteria earliest with strong visual and textual evidence.
How did everyday skills become sports?
Through practice, measuring, and public display. Throwing, running, and grappling shifted from survival tasks to contests by adding repeatable trials, witnesses, rituals, and performance targets. Over time, rules and roles formed, turning skills into organized games with social meaning.
How did early sports shape society?
They trained bodies for work and war, reinforced ethics through ritual (e.g., ceremonial archery in early China), and built community through shared rules and public judging. Events like the Panhellenic Games at Olympia bound cities together, created reputations, and forged alliances.
What are the earliest secure dates for key sports?
- Wrestling: Egypt, Beni Hasan, around 2000 BCE (depicted sequences)
- Running: Olympia stadion race, 776 BCE (recorded victors)
- Archery contests: New Kingdom Egypt, second millennium BCE (inscriptions/scenes)
- Spear throwing (pentathlon): Greece, 708 BCE (organized metrics)
- Mesoamerican ballgame: ancient, with formal courts; many secure examples later than earliest wrestling depictions
What sources back these claims?
Archaeological reliefs and paintings (e.g., Beni Hasan), rock art from Africa and Europe, inscriptions from Egypt, early Chinese texts on ritual archery and cuju, Greek records from Olympia, and literary works like the Epic of Gilgamesh. These provide material and textual proof of organized competition.