Wrestling Arena

Wrestling is a very old sport and popular in Persian, Indian and Hellenic cultures, although rules and styles do vary. Wrestling 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 of wrestling is a Neolithic cave painting from the Bayankhongor Province of Mongolia showing two naked men wrestling, watched by onlookers. Centuries later, Greek wrestling became popular as part of the ancient Olympiad, and would eventually be absorbed into Roman culture and taken across the ancient world by Alexander and his armies.