Ancient Greek boxing Ancient Greek boxing Ancient Greek boxing ( "pygmachia", "fist fighting") dates back to at least the 8th century BC (Homer's "Iliad"), and was practiced in a variety of social contexts in different Greek city-states. Most extant sources about ancient Greek boxing are fragmentary or legendary, making it difficult to reconstruct the rules, customs and history surrounding this activity in great detail. Still, it is clear that gloved boxing bouts were a significant part of ancient Greek athletic culture throughout the early classical period. There is archeological and artistic evidence of ancient Greek boxing ("πύξ" - "pyx" or "πυγμή" - "pygme"
Ancient Greek structurally and in its vocabulary, to Ancient Greek not present in other varieties. As few as 5,000 people speak the dialect, and linguists believe that it is the closest living language to Ancient Greek. Ancient Greek is often used in the coinage of modern technical terms in the European languages: see English words of Greek origin. Latinized forms of Ancient Greek roots are used in many of the scientific names of species and in scientific terminology. Ancient Greek The Ancient Greek language includes the forms of Greek used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around the 9th century