Olympian Field Events

32 THE OLYMPIAN FIELD EVENTS. CHAPTER IV. DI US THROWING. As an item of historical int re t throwing the di cu is of gr at importan , and is the most cla sical of all the sport pra tised at the pr sent day. Homer r peatedly ref rs t the pastime, and the m thod of throwing is exhaustiv ly described by taliu in Thebais. The first traces one finds of th sport as practised by the ancients is at the in tituti n of the Olympian Gam s, wh r we find it figuring in th ntathlon, which wa made up f 1 aping, wr s tling, running, dis us and jav lin throwing. As in all sport , th impl m nts us d in the very arly days w re .·c edi ngly rude. The ori inal f rm f discus may b st b d s rib d a · a st n plat . This would app ar to have been qui kly sup rsed d by a metal impl m nt. Judrring fr m spe im ns f und by excavators, the anci nt di us would app ar to hav Yari d in w ight from f ur to five pounds and in diamet r from eight t nin inch . ome f th se m tal is ii wer v ry b autifully ngraved. One dis us whi h i pr s rved in th British l\1u um \ ighs n arly nine pound . Fr m this spe imen it ha. been argu d that th anci nts had two distinct com– petitions, one with th light and one with the h avy discus, but my own opinon is that th spe im n now in the British l\I us urn is a trophy whi h was the reward of a sue ssful comp titor. till another form f dis us is said to have be n us d, ne that wa spherical in shap and provid d with holes through whi h a strip of hide was pa s d to aid th throw r.