It was the Greeks who
first gave significance to the bath by combining it with cultural
activities and the gymnasium. Theirs was the inspiration for Roman
bathing, which came later. Of the many Greek gymnasiums, only some
had baths associated with them, their overall functions being far
more diverse. Aside from the Romans, nowhere else in ancient civilizations
did the bath take on such meaning as with the Greeks. But the story
of baths in antiquity must begin with the Greek gymnasium.
The gymnasium was first built as
an institution for military and athletic training of the young
Greek citizens. A free-born citizen’s education also included
intellectual and artistic subjects, all taught at the public gymnasia.
The gymnasium developed into the center of Greek social activity,
which included lectures on philosophy, medicine and poetry. Cults
of the traditional gods of the gymnasia were worshipped at these
facilities as well.
The Greek gymnasium had humble beginnings.
The first were mostly found in open fields located on the outskirts
of town, usually near a stream, river, or body of water to provide
easy access for bathing after strenuous exercise and games. As
these games became more popular they were developed into park-like
facilities. Sporting activities were the first use of these open
spaces. Ball games, wrestling, running and jumping were the most
popular sporting activities, but it wasn't long before the peaceful
atmosphere attracted orators, teachers and picnickers.
Small buildings were erected, large
numbers of trees were planted, running tracks were built and the
open spaces became smaller. As the cities increased in population
and territory, many of them with high walls built around them,
sometime around 400 BC, these open spaces were encroached upon
even more. There was no longer room to hold running races, and
so they were conducted on the streets of the city. These changes
all led to the building of huge gymnasium buildings more toward
the city center or near the seashore. And in turn, these buildings
changed the character of the Greek gymnasium.
An interesting side note regarding
the financing and administration of the Greek gymnasium is worth
mentioning. The gymnasium was a public institution, open to all
citizens 18 years of age or older. Administration of the many
gymnasiums in a city was provided by distinguished citizens. Usually
one person handled one facility. Their official title was gymnasiarch.
They selected and scheduled the gymnasium's teachers, trainers
and lecturers. Even the heating expenses and maintenance of the
hot baths, found in some of the gymnasiums, was the duty of the
gymnasiarch, as was the entire maintenance of the building. These
citizens needed to be wealthy, because they were responsible for
paying for all the operating expenses of the gymnasium - even
the religious and sacrificial rites, sporting games and the prizes
for athletic competitions. The city government did little to help,
nor were there funds available from their citizens except when
the administrator was able to solicit support from royal or private
patrons of the facility. The gymnasiarch, as a result of this
position, was also a person of considerable authority in the community.
There are several stories in Greek history that tell about the
ruin of the gymnasium administrators because expenses became too
much for them to handle. One story relates that the most costly
expense was providing free oil for the athletic patrons of the
gymnasium.
The buildings were palatial, with
a grand central courtyard for exercising, lecturing and holding
gatherings. Usually situated within high walls accompanied by
massive columns inside, the interior held classrooms, libraries,
and when they had them, baths with changing rooms. There were
cold-water washing rooms, sweating rooms and a room for oiling
the body, which also stored the oils. It was here that athletes
and citizens discussed the politics and games of the day, rested,
and as one account claims, massaged each other.
Properly named the Esclapeion, Greek
gymnasiums were everywhere, more than 300 in the country at one
time. A comparison with today's hospitals dramatizes their place
in the culture of the time. Ours are places of medical sterility,
tile and stainless steel, and from which we want to leave as soon
as possible. The Greek Esclapeion were built in an environment
composed of a natural setting dedicated to healing, education
and public discourse, a place where one would want to stay. Even
though there was an elite social class, the gymnasium was a public
place open to all free-born citizens, even those living outside
the city’s boundaries. The common citizen practiced his
exercises, bathed and competed alongside the sons of noblemen
and political leaders. Each shared in the spiritual, mental and
physical possibilities available at the Greek gymnasium.
The Greek gymnasiums at their height
of success, though, were primarily devoted to exercises, frictions
and baths. The exercises were wrestling, jumping, boxing, running
and throwing, and games played with balls, to name a few. To prepare
the young men for exercise, refresh them afterward and along with
or after their bath, frictions were applied. In his 1866 book,
The Anatriptic Art, Walter Johnson describes the use of
frictions in detail, and perhaps the first-ever description of
sports massage is provided by the ancient physician Galen (130-201
AD), as reported by Johnson.
Johnson writes, "The usual routine
was this: The youth was first rubbed by the paidotribes
with oil; this process was called the preparatory rubbing - tripsis
paraskeuastike. He then proceeded to some of the lighter exercises,
as playing at ball; after which he sprinkled himself with Egyptian
dust, and sought a companion (sungumnaste) to wrestle with.
When sufficiently exercised, he passed into the room of the anointer
(aleiptes), who by aid of the stlengis, a curved
instrument with a handle used to scrape the skin of oils and debris
after exercise or competition, or strigil, as the Romans
called it, helped him to scrape off his dust, oil and sweat, and
then rubbed him again with oil, which process was called apotherapeia.
This done, he entered the warm bath, and after a short stay proceeded
to the cold bath, and from the cold bath he returned to the aleiptes,
who anointed him a second time, and sent him about his business.
It ought never to be forgotten that the aleiptes regulated the
diet of every pupil, prescribing in the exact quantity and quality
and time of every meal. It is not my intention to enter into details
on the subject of the gymnasium; but I am compelled thus briefly
to allude to it in order to render intelligible what remains to
be said about gymnastic friction. Gymnastic or hygienic friction,
then, consisted in the preparatory friction - tripsis paraskeuastike
- and the friction which followed the exercises - apotherapeia.
"The former is thus described
by Galen:
'Hence if anyone, immediately
after undress, proceed to the more violent movements before he
has softened the whole body, and thinned the excretions, and opened
the pores, he incurs the danger of breaking or spraining some
of the solid parts. [Galen refers here to pre-event massage meant
to warm the muscles by activity and increased circulation, which
in turn loosens them to help avoid injury from the muscles being
cold.]
"'There is danger also of the
excretions, in the rush of moving spirits, blocking up the pores.
But if beforehand you gradually warm and soften the solids and
thin the fluids, and expand the pores, the person exercising will
run no danger of breaking any part, nor of blocking up the pores.
[Again, increasing circulation, but here also opening the pores
so elimination can occur without obstruction through the process
of sweating.] Hence, in order to insure this result, it is proper,
by moderate rubbing with a linen cloth, to warm the whole body
beforehand, and then to rub with oil. For I do not counsel the
immediate application of the grease before the skin is warmed
and the pores expanded, and, generally speaking, before the body
is prepared to receive the oil; and this will be accomplished
by a very few turns of the hands, without pain and moderately
quick, having in view to warm the body without compressing it;
for you will perceive while this is being done a blooming redness
running over the whole skin; and then is the time to apply the
grease to it, and rub with bare hands, observing a medium hardness
and softness, in order that the body may not be contracted and
compressed, nor loosened and relaxed beyond the fitting extent,
but be kept in its natural state. [The application of oil after
warming the skin was to help absorb the healing qualities of the
oil.]
"'And one should at first rub
quietly, and afterwards gradually increasing it, push the strength
of the friction so far as evidently to compress the flesh, but
not to bruise it. But it is not proper to apply such strong friction
for a long time, but once or twice to each part; for we do not
rub so as to harden the body of the boy, whom we are now training
for the exercises, but to excite it to activity and augment its
tone, and contract its porousness; for it is proper to preserve
his body in a medium state, and by no means to make it hard or
dry, lest we should by chance check somewhat of the natural growth.
[This is classic pre-event sports massage - not too much massage
to soften or relax, just enough to heighten the body for activity,
but not overexcite it so it loses energy.] But in the process
of time, when the youth is entering upon manhood, then we shall
use harder friction and cold baths, after the gymnastic exercises;
but of this we will speak again. In using friction preparatory
to the gymnastic exercises, the use of which is to soften the
body, the middle quality between hard and soft should prevail,
and all else should take its fashion accordingly. And in the imposition
and circumflexion of the hands the rubbing should be very varied,
and not merely directed from above to below, nor from below to
above, but also slanting and oblique, transverse and sub-transverse
... and it will make no difference whether you use the expression,
tripsis (rubbing), or anatripsis (rubbing up, or as we should
say, rubbing down), seeing that the latter is more usual among
the ancients and the former among the moderns ... ["ancients"
refers to those who came before the Greek physicians, "moderns"
to those since Hippocrates.] Rubbing which prepares for gymnastic
exercises, and that which follows the same, is subservient to
the exercises. The former heats and moderately opens the pores,
and liquefies the excretions retained in the flesh, and softens
the solid parts, and this is termed preparatory or paraskeuastic
rubbing. But the other is termed after-ministering (apotherapeutic);
and as it is applied with a larger amount of oil, it at the same
time moistens by means of the grease, and softens the solid parts
and carries off what is contained in the pores … "
[The term flesh meant muscles.]
If you are familiar with the pre-event
and post-event concepts of modern-day sports massage, Galen's
descriptions are so close to our own one might think we've copied
his techniques. For those not familiar with the theory
of sports massage as practiced today, I’ll explain it briefly.
Competitive athletes organize their training session according
to a schedule of competitions throughout the year or season. They
train to advance through a series of events most often leading
to a championship of some kind. Bicycling is a good example, and
since I’ve raced at the national and contended for the Olympic
level in this sport, as well as trained others to do sports massage
on these athletes, I have personal experience of the subject.
Cyclists race mostly on weekends,
similar to runners, and so their training is oriented to a weekly
schedule most of the time. They might eat protein-heavy diets
on Wednesday and Thursday; with carbohydrate loading on Friday
and Saturday during the race days; and then on Monday eat fresh
fruits, vegetables and a more normal diet. The diet is coordinated
with the workout regimen of light work on Monday, to recover from
the weekend of racing; a bit heavier or maybe a longer ride on
Tuesday; and then on Wednesday and Thursday the ride is very hard,
probably with added wind sprints and hill-climbing to build tissue
and increase endurance and reflexes. Weekend riding is, of course,
very strenuous because it is competitive.
Massage is applied in ideal conditions
in accordance with the diet and workout regimen. Ideally racers
receive massage at the end of each race day; preferably just before
bed time. If this is not possible, and for most athletes it is
not, Monday is the next best time. The massage is not vigorous
or deep but soothing, with long slow strokes used to milk the
muscles of the excess waste products manufactured from burning
up immense amounts of energy. If these wastes are left in the
system they can cause stiffness, soreness and decreased efficiency
for several days afterward.
Massage is usually given each day,
or during the week every other day, to professional riders. The
massage given the day before a race, the pre-event massage, or
in the morning before a race in the afternoon, is somewhat vigorous,
but not too deep. The legs must not be relaxed so much as to lose
their tone, or peak condition, but just enough to stimulate them.
Deep massage, or stripping, is usually done at midweek or, if
there is a several-week period off from competition this is a
much more ideal time to get the stripping massage done.
To summarize, pre-event massage stimulates
but does not relax the muscle tissues; post-event massage soothes
and moves toxins out of the muscles; and massage applied between
competitions is often deeper to work on the problem areas of toxin
build-up, connective-tissue adhesions, and aches and pains.
There is much more Galen wrote on this
subject, as he continued to describe the details of preparatory
massage, the duration of massage at each stage of exercise and finally
"the rubbing of the body - which ought always to follow the
exercises." Galen concludes by presenting an application of
massage techniques, staged in sequence, for the non-athlete who
is not in competition, for their better health. Galen was a student
of Hippocratic medicine, and his writings can be considered for
the most part, as they relate to massage, as representing five centuries
of Greco-Roman anatripsis theory and practice.