The Great Wrestling Matches of Myth
A few of the most exciting wrestling matches from ancient legend and literature.
The world’s oldest sport and martial art, wrestling has long captured the imaginations of athletes and audiences alike. Is there anything more dramatic than two champions going toe-to-toe, with no armor or weapons to help them? Wrestling is the ultimate equalizer, and because of that its champions have been highly respected across many cultures.
The real history of wrestling is full of exciting matches, but few can compare to those of myth and legend. Gods and heroes grapple for supremacy in the tales of nearly all civilizations. These are just a few of the most notable wrestling matches across ancient legend and literature.
Gilgamesh and Enkidu
Wrestling plays a key role in the oldest known piece of written literature: the Epic of Gilgamesh. The story’s roots are over 4000 years old, though the version best known today was written several hundred years later. The hero of the tale is the semi-divine king Gilgamesh of Uruk, a Sumerian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia. Gilgamesh is young, strong, and uncontrollable. To humble him, the god Anu sends a wild man named Enkidu to confront him. When the two meet, they start to wrestle:
They met in the wide park of the land.
Enkidu held fast the door
With his foot,
And permitted not Gilgamesh to enter.
They grappled with each other
Goring like an ox.
The threshold they destroyed.
The wall they demolished.
Gilgamesh and Enkidu
Grappled with each other,
Goring like an ox.
The threshold they destroyed.
The wall they demolished.
Gilgamesh bowed
To the ground at his feet
And his javelin reposed.
He turned back his breast.
The two men, having finally met an equal, become fast friends. They share several adventures, before the untimely death of Enkidu sets Gilgamesh on his greatest journey—the quest for eternal life.
Jacob and the Angel
Another notable wrestling match can be found in the Old Testament, written approximately 2600 years ago. Jacob is the son of Isaac and Rebecca, grandson of Abraham, and father of Joseph. Born a second son, Jacob reached great heights through divine favor and a fair amount of deception. Having traveled widely, taken several wives, and built a small fortune and family, Jacob set out for home. Along the way, he encounters a stranger in the night and, naturally, they begin to wrestle:
And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.
Genesis 32:22-31
Zeus and Kronos
The modern Olympic games trace their origins back to the myth of Zeus and Kronos. Kronos, a Titan, fathered the oldest of the traditional Greek pantheon: Hestia, Hera, Demeter, Poseidon, Hades, and Zeus. But Kronos was never going to win any Father of the Year awards. Fearing his children would one day overthrow and replace him, he devoured them one by one. Only little Zeus, replaced with a swaddled boulder, escaped his jaws. Zeus of course grew up mighty and thunderous, leading a revolution against the Titans and rescuing his siblings from Kronos’s stomach. According to some versions of the myth, the struggle for the throne ended with a wrestling match between Zeus and Kronos at Olympus. Having defeated his father, Zeus reigned supreme. The Olympic Games, it’s said, commemorate this event.
Heracles and Many Foes
Perhaps no mythical hero wrestled quite as much as Heracles. One of Zeus’s many illegitimate sons with a human woman, Heracles inherited his father’s strength and bold temperament. He was a wildly popular hero among the people of Ancient Greece, and his feats tended to reflect public tastes. No surprise, then, that he excelled in the favorite Olympic sport of wrestling. Over the course of his career, Heracles grappled with the Nemean Lion, Antaeus, Triton, Nereus, Eryx, Apollo, and Achelous, among others. Heracles is notable among the Greek heroes in that, following his untimely death, he was granted immortality by the gods.
Bhima and Jarasandha
India possesses its own rich traditions of wrestling through the ancient style known as Mallayuddha. There are several notable wrestling matches in Ancient Indian literature, including the one involving Krishna pictured above. Krishna also features in an important wrestling match in the Mahabharata, though this one is between two human champions. Bhima and Arjuna, two of the five central brothers of the story, accompany Krishna to deal with the troublesome King Jarasandha. With his throne on the line, Jarasandha challenges Bhima to a match that lasts 14 days. In the end, with a little inspiration from Krishna, Bhima succeeds in killing Jarasandha bare-handed.
Rustam and Sohrab
The Persian epic poem the Shahnameh tells the semi-mythical history of Iranian kings before the arrival of Islam. Two of its most tragic figures are Rustam and Sohrab, unknowingly father and son. The two champions end up on opposing sides of a vicious war and are sent forth to wrestle each other on the battlefield. After a mighty struggle, Rustam breaks Sohrab’s back and fatally wounds him. Only then does he recognize the seal he gave to Sohrab’s mother, leaving him to mourn over his dying son.
Beowulf
Finally, there’s Beowulf, star of the Anglo-Saxon epic of the same name. Beowulf hears that the terrible monster Grendel has been attacking the hall of Danish King Hrothgar and arrives to help. In the dark of night, Grendel steals into Hrothgar’s sleeping hall to gobble up his warriors. Beowulf, however, grapples the monster and eventually rips Grendel’s arm off. The monster flees to die from his wounds, leaving Beowulf to deal with the monster’s vengeful mother.
These are some of the most exciting and widely known wrestling matches in myth, but they are just a few of the stories surrounding the sport. Do you have a few favorite tales of your own? Come share them here on TOTA!
References
“Genesis 32:22-32 (ESV).” Bible Gateway, www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+32%3A22%E2%80%9332&version=ESV. Accessed 20 Nov. 2020.
Murty, Sudha. The Serpent’s Revenge: Unusual Tales from the Mahabharata. Penguin, 2016.
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