... has evidence of a sporting history. Tomb paintings illustrate acrobatics, hop and jump, ball games and wrestling, and sport is thought to have been part of Egyptian lifestyle. Although there is not much evidence that the Egyptians participated in organised sport, there culture may have influenced the Minoans and through them the Greeks in the sporting idea. There is plenty of evidence of the existence of sport in Crete. Most of this evidence comes from representation in Minoan art. Vases, frescoes and figurines have been found that depict the participation in sports such as bull leaping and boxing. It is thought that the Minoans, unlike the Egyptians, held organised sporting events much like the ancient Olympics. All the four major palaces on Crete had theatres that could have held these events, indeed a fresco has been found that depicts a group of women siting in a grandstand watching an event in ...

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