The ancient Greek long jump, part of the Pentathlon, was never contested as an individual sport. Instead, information about the long jump was derived from written accounts and pictures often found on olive oil containers. For all the information we have about ancient records and distances, numbers were often exaggerated or were not uniform units of measurement. However, numbers and records did not matter to the Greeks as much as who won. To psych them into the right mental state, flute music was played to increase concentration, provide motivation, or even reduce distraction.

The Ancient Greek long jump had a jumping board to begin the jump sequence and leveled-out sand or soft dirt pit to land in. While the records of jump lengths may have been exaggerated, there seems to be a consensus between various sources that the length of the sand pit was about 50 feet. After the last jump, a wooden peg was used to mark the spot if the jump was one of the longest three jumps.

Athletes used weights or “halteres” to create a more powerful jump by increasing their momentum. The weights would initially be brought overhead, then swung down and back behind the jumper. Then, with as much power as possible, the weights would be swung forward, and the athlete would jump with the increased momentum from the weights at the right moment. At the top of the jump, the arms would begin to be brought back as a counterweight so the legs could be thrust forward. The weights create more horizontal thrust, which is converted into lift when the athlete jumps. In his work Progression of Animals, Aristotle wrote about using weights for additional power. The weights varied from 1 to almost 5 kilograms, but most recovered were between 1.5 and 2.5 kilograms. The shapes of the halters varied by the athlete’s preference, but the most common shape looked like a landline phone receiver. Some argue that these jumping weights inspired the modern dumbbell shape of today. There was speculation about whether the weights were ejected during the jump. It does not seem to be the case, as that might ruin the clean footprints needed for the jump to be considered “good.”

Chionis of Sparta was said to have jumped 52 feet! Several historical texts, including a victory record and an incomplete gravestone, corroborate the feat. Phayllos of Kraton was said to have jumped 55 feet, so long that he landed outside the sand pit! It has been confirmed in a historical text that Phayllos was indeed real (but possibly two different people) who notably served in the military. He was an exceptional athlete in running events. However, his fantastic jumping ability strangely was not mentioned. While this number is impossible for one jump, it does suggest that the event was probably multiple standing broad jumps. Logically the event would have been five jumps matching the Penta in the Pentathlon.

Some historians claim that the modern triple jump is more closely related to the ancient long jump than our modern version long jump. There is pictorial evidence of athletes appearing to run with weights because their legs are spread. However, some argue that this is an artistic license to make the picture more dramatic. If there were running involved, this would be more similar to the hop, hop, and jump movement of the triple jump. It is theorized that a short, powerful run-up could have been used to initiate the jump, requiring lots of practice. However, there is artistic evidence (statues) of jumpers with hands raised overhead holding the hectares, which looks like the beginning phase of a standing broad jump.

The modern long jumping technique does not work with the weights, but a standing broad jump does work. An experiment was conducted with modern athletes to replicate the jumping pattern with weights to see if they gave additional length to their jumps. Five successive standing jumps were performed, with the landing phase of one jump becoming the counterweight for the next jump. The four participants all jumped farther with the weights than without the weights. This experiment verified the various ancient sources of how the exercise may have been executed. The theory that weights would aid in the jump was they changed the center of mass at takeoff. Combined with increased takeoff velocity, this created enough biomechanical advantages to be superior to jumping without the weights.

This lesson is fantastic for the study of Ancient Greece, as well as the origin of the Olympics. It truly replicates an ancient way of how the sport was competed in. However, this lesson could also be excellent when studying the scientific method for the science fair. This lesson could be turned into an experiment to see if using weights can aid the standing broad jump. In conclusion, this lesson has lots of opportunities for application.

Materials: 

·      A light pair of dumbbells

·      A decent amount of space to jump (preferably on grass as opposed to concrete or an indoor gym, but if sand is available, that would be the best for the feet and knees)

Minimum Number of Students Needed: This lesson can be done with as few as one student. However, having an entire class to compare data will be more enjoyable.

Age: All Ages, but intended more for upper elementary