PŬGĬLĀTUS

( πύξ , πυγμή , πυγμαχία , πυγμοσύνη ), boxing, was one of the earliest athletic games among the Greeks, and is frequently mentioned in Homer. In the earliest times boxers ( pugiles , πύκται ) fought naked, with the exception of a girdle ( ζῶμα ) round their loins; but this was not used when boxing was introduced at Olympia, as the contests in wrestling and racing had been carried on there by persons entirely naked ever since Ol. 15. Respecting the leathern thongs with which pugilists surrounded their fists, see Cestus, where its various forms are illustrated by woodcuts. The Ionians, especially those of Samos, were at all times more distinguished pugilists than the Dorians, and at Sparta boxing is said to have been forbidden by the laws of Lycurgus. But the ancients generally considered boxing as a useful training for military purposes, and a part of education no le important than any other gymnastic exercise.