. Greek athletic sports and festivals . ch case his only remedy isslipping. But the tactics are not particularly effective, and shoving is notallowed in modern boxing. I have a suspicion that Philostratus was very vaguein his ideas about boxing. As Jiithner has shown in his recent edition,Philostratus was a rhetorician, not a practical athlete, and he owed his athleticknowledge to some technical treatise on gymnastics, which he did not alwaysquite understand. ^ Bacchylides i. XIX BOXING—FOOT-WORK 427 Such appear to be the general characteristics of the Greekboxer as depicted on the vases. He u
. Greek athletic sports and festivals . ch case his only remedy isslipping. But the tactics are not particularly effective, and shoving is notallowed in modern boxing. I have a suspicion that Philostratus was very vaguein his ideas about boxing. As Jiithner has shown in his recent edition,Philostratus was a rhetorician, not a practical athlete, and he owed his athleticknowledge to some technical treatise on gymnastics, which he did not alwaysquite understand. ^ Bacchylides i. XIX BOXING—FOOT-WORK 427 Such appear to be the general characteristics of the Greekboxer as depicted on the vases. He used both hands freely,was active on his feet, and had a considerable variety of style resembled the freer style of American boxing whichhas recently become popular rather than the somewhat con-ventional almost one-handed style which so long prevailed inEngland. From later literature we learn that he was an adeptat dodging, ducking, and slipping. The defect of hisstyle appears to me to be the stiff, high guard with the left. Fig. 148.—Panathenaic amphora, in British Museum, B. 612. Fourth century. hand, which is best explained on the supposition that he hitonly at the head. This guard is stiffer, and the arm straighteron the red-figured vases than on the earlier black-figured vases,and this is still more the case on the Panathenaic vases of thefourth century (Figs. 135, 148). The use of the left hand forguarding cramped the attack and encouraged the use of downwardchopping blows, of which there are some traces on the is probably the reason why the forearm was protected byleather thongs. The introduction of the hard, cutting rimsround the hand at the close of the fifth century rendered thestyle of^ fighting still more artificial, and necessitated still 428 GREEK ATHLETIC SPORTS AND FESTIVALS chap. further protection for the forearm. How difficult it must havebeen to get within the guard of a big boxer with a long reacharmed with these weapons will be rea
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