Recreation: Sports
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Archery To
start of, let us examine the composition of the bow and arrow, during Pre- and Dynastic At
the start of the Enter
the composite bow, which was an adoption during the New Kingdom sometime during the Second Intermediate Period and was of
Asiatic Hyksos design; at this time, bows were imported from the Middle East rather than made within Egypt. Such bows could
be as long as 1.45 meters. The central part of the composite bow was most likely made from the wood of the acacia tree and
was brought together with fish glue on two wood slats. The outer part of the bow was covered with sinew and the inner part
was covered with antelope horn plates. The string that the archer drew back to make fly his arrow was made of four intertwined
animal intestines. Evidence of composite bows has been discovered in the tombs of Amenhotep II and the famous Tutankhamun.
From these bows, we can see how elaborately decorated some could be, bedecked with leather or even gold, inscribed with the
greatness and skill of the owner. In addition to bows and arrows, archer’s rings have been discovered; they were finger
rings that an archer put around his thumb in order to shoot arrows from his bow. Here, we can see how the ancient Egyptians
pulled the strings—with their thumbs, rather than with three fingers as is done in modern times. Even though this sort
of bow came into use and was more modern than either the horn or simple bow, the latter two were not abandoned. For one thing,
composite bows were much more difficult and expensive to produce than horn and simple bows because the archer was able to
draw the bow at a greater length than he could with a horn or simple bow, whose maximum draw length never exceeded the length
of the archer’s arm. In other words, composite bows were more flexible and could withstand the tension of drawing the
string back than could the earlier bows. What is more, the expense of the composite bow depended on the amount of care required
to keep it in perfect condition: being vulnerable to moisture, one needed to cover it and, when not in use, the archer would
have to unstring his bow, then restring it when he used it again—sometimes two people were required to carry out this
process. With these requirements it is evident that peasant archers or hunters with bow and arrow could afford only the horn
or simple bow. This does not mean that Pharaoh himself snubbed his nose at the thought of using one, no; because of its simplicity,
pharaohs like Tuthmosis III and Amenhotep II were not beyond using such objects for archery practice, hunting or combat. However,
the composite bow was a weapon most commonly employed by the chariot drivers during battle, so as to better penetrate through
the enemies armor. Arrows
used with most styles of bow were made of reed and were fletched with feathers—usually three. For its point, flint,
hardwood, or bronze—which replaced flint and hardwood in the second millennium—were used. Ancient arrows could
measure up to 50 cm in length. The sharpness of the point depended on its use: sharper points where made for archery, for
battle, and for large-game hunting, whereas more blunt heads were for small-game hunting. Archery
was both a means of battle and of sport; we are concerned here with it sportive employment. During ancient times, archery—more
precisely, target archery—was a sport played in public and such scenes were very much illustrated on the walls within
tombs. Skill was not the only element measured in archery competitions but also, the princes’ or princesses’ ability
to use their strength to draw and arrow; from the descriptions above concerning the types of bows used in ancient times, some
bows were harder to draw than others, so it would have been impressive to witness an archer being skilled at the bow that
was the most difficult the handle. A record of an ancient archery competition records that Amenhotep II pierced a thick brass
target with four arrows and would offer a prize to anyone who could equate the feat. Evidence
of this sport can be found at the In
ancient times, rowing was a means of testing strength, one of many activities the ancients measured this. Races during ancient
times are similar to those of modern times: a team of mean would move their oars at the same time to a systematic and high-pitched
call from the leader, whose place was at the rudder, where he held that boat’s appendage and steered the vehicle. Other
than for sport, boating had another, more religious significance: mostly used for hunting and catching birds and fish, a man
and possibly his wife and children would set out on their merry way down the marshes of the Nile either collecting lotus flowers
or catching birds in nets or using whatever equipment the man employed; the former symbolized new life or rejuvenation and
catching birds symbolized the successful taming of chaos. Such scenes with this religious significance can be found in the
tomb of Queen Meresankh III, granddaughter of Khufu and wife to Khafre; her burial place resides on the eastern side of Khufu’s
pyramid, in the Boxing, Weightlifting, Wrestling Wrestling
was a sport mainly for boys and men as well as animals—there is a representation of a cat boxing a mouse at the Carlberg
Museum, its date of origin unknown, and was most likely a symbolic illustration rather than an actual boxing match set up
between the two—which we know to be true from wall reliefs and from hieroglyphic inscriptions inside the bellies of
some pyramids. In the latter location, we may view possibly the first recordings of this sport, some 3,000 years old, from
the Old Kingdom—and through the During
the Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 18 to be exact, and at the tomb of Kheroef at During
the On
the other hand, it may have also been the case that wrestling matches that were for anything other than military training
was to illustrate the ancient Egyptians as more superior than the Nubians, representing Egypt’s suzerainty and prowess
over Nubia, an ethnocentric, boastful, fancifully imaginative, and derogatory illustration of their power over their southern
neighbors. We see an example of this caliber on a relief, found in the tomb of Meryre—dated around 1355 BCE, at Akhetaten—modern
El-Amarna—who was the palace steward to the wife of the pharaoh who built this city, Nefertiti. On the relief, there
is a depiction of a sequence of four scenes, which were carried out as a “tribute” match in front of Akhenaten,
foreign ambassadors, nobles and soldiers. The first scene depicts the Egyptian wrestler in military garb; the second scene
depicts the Nubian in a head-lock; in the third, the Egyptian reaches through the Nubian’s legs and pulls his head down;
and the final scene shows a victorious Egyptian, raising his hands in triumph, and the defeated Nubian, over which the Egyptian
stands. The
third evidence of Nubians depicted in wrestling scenes appears also at Aketaten and date just five years after the depiction
at the tomb of Meryre. This shows not a tournament for royal affairs, but that of a general match between two Nubians, at
which a woman and a dog gaze. In the same area, we see also Nubians welding sticks, evidence that wrestling and stick-fighting
could be seen used together. The location the sandstone carving shows is the countryside, an informal setting compared to
the king’s court. The
fourth and fifth evidence of Nubian wrestling in Egyptian art can be seen at the Similar
to the relief in the tomb or Meryre, the depictions of a wrestling Egyptian and a Nubia opponent at Medinat Habu are shown
in a sequence of scenes, of which there are three. In the first scene, the Egyptian has the Nubian in a choke-hold, as the
referee reinforces the rules to ensure fair play before the king. The second scene shows the Egyptian forcing his defenseless
opponent to the ground, taunting him all the while—a similar scene is show on the depiction at the Ramesseum. The way
in which the Egyptian weakens his opponent appears to be thus: he forces the Nubians left arm into submission and holds him
tightly, leaving the Nubians legs crumple beneath him. According to one source, this move would most likely not drive an opponent’s
face to the ground as it does the Nubian in this depiction. It might have been the ignorance of the artist that this move
was not properly documented. Rather than follow this sequence of moves to defeat the Nubian, in true Egyptian technique, the
Egyptian would have employed the following moves: twisting the left arm, forcing the opponent’s thumb down, causing
the bent arm to straighten all the while localizing all the pressure on the back of the Nubian’s arm. This maneuver
would more than likely have hunched the Nubian’s shoulder than the maneuver depicted, but hunch his shoulder the depiction
undeniably. And finally, the last scene shows the triumphant Egyptian in a victorious pose similar to the one depicted on
the relief at the tomb of Meryre. Unlike the relief at Meryre, however, the one at Medinat Habu depicts the winner chanting
a victory hymn as the defeated Nubian genuflects to kiss the ground before Pharaoh. Bull Fighting Being
an agricultural civilization, cattle-breeding was eminent in the development. Depictions of cattle and other breeds of oxen
seem to grace nearly every tomb depiction, whether in a sacred setting, such as the celestial cow or Hathor be, or in the
every day setting, such as herding, branding, grazing, and, in this case, fighting. What is perhaps the most unusual about
the Egyptians is their association of the bull as a strong, resistless creature; where they compared several of their gods
to the “strong bull,” other civilizations compared theirs to the mighty lion. Granted, the ancients revered the
lion just as much as the cow either was equally strong in their eyes. Now
to the matter at hand: bull-fighting was a sport that was held in an arena usually during an event known as the gymnastic
games and the bull-contenders, much like in horseracing, had epithets such as “the favorite” or “broad striker.”
To entice the bulls into fighting, two men acting as umpires to their own bull would use short sticks. When a clear winner
was observed, this bull would then compete against another with even longer horns and swaddled with a festive cloth. A representation
of this sort can be seen at, where else but, Beni Hassan and dates to the Middle Kingdom. Other representations of bullfights
can also be seen at a funerary temple in Kerma, just recently discovered. Along with bullfights, these scenes also depicted
fishing, crocodile, and rows of giraffes and hippopotami, the latter two being depicted rarely during ancient times. Such
scenes seen at Kerma are also seen in the Chariot Racing Chariot
racing was another sport of the public kind. There are no depictions anywhere to suggest the manner the ancients organized
this sport, but we do know that aristocrats who were charioteers enjoyed engaging in this activity, mainly for the glamour
and honor that a chariot rider was seen. As in all things, the ancients were sticklers for perfection, and this is what they
did when they drove chariots; they strove to perfect the art of it. Although
the horse was not introduced into Egypt until the New Kingdom, the ancients picked up its usage plenty quick and became masterful
horseman, as they did in all things. Originally, donkeys were the main form of transportation of both royal and non-royal;
this animal was a great means of transportation, especially good for usage in The
most surprising here may be that the ancient Egyptians were the first to institute a form of sport known to most Europeans
as football, or soccer to Westerners. As is the case for evidence of handball, evidence of football in ancient Egypt can be
seem depicted on the walls of Beni Hassan where the girls who are shown playing handball with each other also play football,
kicking a ball with their legs and executing passes with it. What a great reason to give the next World Cup concession to
Some
depictions at Beni Hassan in Minya, especially at the tombs of Khiti and Baket, which date to Dynasty 11 circa 2000 BCE, offer
us a glimpse at what a handball game might have looked like, who played, how many played, and with what equipment the players
played the game. The most likely way players of handball set themselves up to play handball was to have two or more bend their
persons over, while carrying a person on each of their backs. Once there are two or more persons on piggy-back, they would
then toss around and catch a handball or juggle two to three balls at once. There is evidence of this particular game on one
wall painting at Tel-el Amarna, ancient Akhetaten. This painting shows a group of girls—most likely of royal status,
as the headdresses each wears denotes. Not only did girls play this sport but also boy; one theory voices that the beauty
of a girl was measured by the strength of her back—her ability to play this game, to carry another person on her back,
would give credit to her beauty. According to the ancients, women were in charge of bearing heavy burdens such as birthing
children and carrying heavy things—they were thought to be the stronger gender, whereas men were the directors. The
prime area from where the evidence of this sport is can be found in tombs at Beni Hassan; drawings in Menia Governate illustrate
hockey players, holding bat-like sticks, most likely made from the wood of palm or tamarisk branches or stalks. At the end
of such sticks was a bent edge, which resembles the form of the modern day hockey stick. As for the ball used for the ancient
game, it was made from papyrus fibers, which were compressed within two pieces of leather, shaped in a semicircle. At times,
the ball was tinted to make its color contrasting to the ground on which it was played; usually it was dyed in two or more
colors. Hunting Ends To The Means Perhaps the most beloved sport in which royalty and peasant alike engaged was hunting both in the marshes and on land
for either sport or for leisure; peasants hunted mainly on foot in order to provide their families with food, whereas kings,
courtiers, dignitaries, and other folks of royalty hunted in order to display their strength, courage, valor, and mastery
over all animals they hunted. Peasants would not have hunted to prove anything, but being a successful hunter without a doubt
symbolized his strength, courage, valor and mastery. In general, hunting had a ritualistic connotation for anyone who engaged in it; it can be said that no greater civilization
has ever revered more the animals they hunted than the ancient Egyptians, with the exception of the Native Americans. Like
them, the ancient Egyptians prayed to various gods and goddesses of animal images—say, praying to Bastet or to Mafdet
for success in hunting wild cat…or praying to Sobek that they may avoid being eaten by crocodile—ere going out
on the hunt, to ensure their safety and the bounty for which they hoped would come in plenty. Not only did success come in
praying for it, but also it came by knowing their prey well; they knew how each species of animal mated, ate, by what means
each normally died, and other personal traits they felt important to know in order to ensure success on the hunt. It usually
worked. What is more, animals such as the lion, represented royalty and there was something more to hunting lion than just
for the fun of it. Being the image of the pharaoh’s power and leadership and the dangers that came with hunting such
a beast, the lion embodied the pharaoh’s ability to triumph over his enemies and further symbolized the pharaoh’s
courage. Type Of Game On Land The ancient Egyptians hunted both on the waters of the River Nile and in the red sands of the desert. The game after
which they chased on land varied from dynasty to dynasty. For example, during the pre-dynastic period—the time before
the unification of Type Of Game In The Marshes Just as the ancients were great hunters on land, they were also just as great in the marshes and waters of the River
Nile. The animals the Egyptians hunted at this time included any of the following: fish, duck, crocodile, or hippopotami;
one artifact that makes known the type of animal hunted in or by water is a fragmented papyrus named The Pleasures of Fishing
and Fowling. Let us first examine fishing. To us westerners, fishing for sport—or for food, to some, one-in-the-same—doesn’t differ from fishing
for sport or for food—always one-in-the-same—in ancient times. Examine how you fish, next time you go; how fish
market venders sell their fish; and how they prepare fish to sell: almost a replica of how the ancients used to do it, however,
with far less technological advances as are evident now. Like most recreational activities in which the ancients engaged, in particular peasants, fishing was depicted on many-a
tomb painting; the ancient fishers, much like today, could be seen lazily lounging about in chairs alongside the Nile or beside
their garden pools—if they were so lucky to have one—waiting for a single tug. Depictions also have shown us the
playful side of fishing: on another tomb painting, we can see fishermen jostling each others’ fishing rods with theirs—the
fishing rod, a New Kingdom technique used for so many things. On the other hand, fishing was a measure of professionalism;
these sorts of fishers stood on canoes made of papyrus, welded harpoons, and waited for the right opportunity to strike. As is no doubt evident, fishing was a great pastime and sport among the Egyptians and having an abundant supply of
species of fish helped in the matter. Among the many fish caught for sport—a count of around 20 different species, as
shown on tomb paintings and reliefs—were the following: Nile perch; eel; catfish; carp; mullet; tilapia or ‘bolti’; elephant-snout; tiger fish; the amphibious
clarias; the electric catfish, called malapterurus
electricus, which packs a powerful 200 volt punch; and moonfish—the Nile
perch and eel being considered the most sacred of the lot and the best at that. Just as there were a great many fish after which both royal and commoner hunted either for sport of for necessity,
there was an equal amount of fowl after which they hunted. These included the ser, which was a rather fat goose; the terp;
the hoopoe; crane; ducks; quail; the much sought-after bird off Arabia, which supposedly smelt of myrrh; and many others.
Whether hunting or sporting in the water, there were dangers all the same, be it from crocodile or other fish-eating
aqua dwellers such as poisonous catfish; crocodile finding a fish on a line could without effort make a meal out of the fisherman—if
he should fall overboard—on whose line this fish was caught. It was not only in the mind of a hunter to be wary of the crocodile to keep from being injured by such an animal, but
also to be seen as brave in hunting such a dangerous and sacred beast. In ancient times, it was an honor and a feat of which
to be proud if one successfully hunting the crocodile. However, no depictions of such a sport exist, which gives one reason
to believe that the crocodile was revered with such respect that depicting it being hunted was not conducive to their reverence.
One the other hand, the hippopotamus—an even more dangerous creature after which to hunt because of its size
and powerful jaws that can crush a crocodile—was extensively shown being hunted, a beast as dangerous and sacred to
the Egyptians as the crocodile. Successfully hunting a hippopotamus, which took several jabs of the harpoon at times, was
also cause for great pride to whoever hunted it. It must have been the best mode of feeling proud and gaining great recognition
and reverence from one’s people, owning to the fact that Old Kingdom depictions are plenty. Preparation Of Food After Hunting If a fisherman had caught his fish without incident, he could prepare to eat it by first cleaning it and then cooking
it by doing any of the following: pickling, roasting, salting, drying in the sun, or boiling. It was also usual for a fisherman
who was part of a group of men working for a master to collect their lot of fish, string the fish through their gills, attach
their catch of fish in rows on a stick, and then carry it all to the fish dealers. Just as a lone fisherman might prepare
fish for his family’s next meal, so also did the fish dealers: they sat low to the ground, near a small table, where
they would clean out and cut up the freshly caught fish. Afterward, he would hand the fish on strings in order for them to
dry out in the sun. Sometimes, to spare the dealer this preparation process, to prevent spoiling, and if the fishermen’s
trip was a rather long one, the fishermen would do the cleaning and cutting on their boats. Hunting Techniques; Equipment Used During the earlier dynasties, hunting on land was done on foot; only until the advent of the usage of horse and chariot—a
2000 BCE adoption, thanks to the Hyksos—did Pharaoh and his colleagues hunt this way. For either means of hunting, the
key technique that the ancients employed to hunt their prey resembled that which a wild animal hunting would use: to lie-in-wait
for or to lure a large number of animal to a specific locale such as a body of water or a valley. Once this step was followed
through, the hunters attacked their prey en bloc with throwing sticks, boomerangs, or nets to catch birds; spears or arrows
to catch land or water animals; or nets specially made to capture fish. Another approach to hunting was to use dogs—perhaps
a type of greyhound, so tomb paintings illustrate—or tamed cheetah as accompaniment on the hunt. When the ancients hunted in the marshes, especially for fish, they used nets, traps, pens, hooks, or harpoons; this
type of equipment was in great employ during the Old and Middle Kingdoms. In its earliest usage, the harpoon was a common
tool to spear fish, usually two at a time—one fish caught on either end of the double-edged harpoon, which was made
of a thin piece of wood 3 yards long with barbs attached to either end. Later on, however, the spear was used in a more recreational
setting, where fishing for necessity was not the aim; rather skill and technique were measured. It was also during the Old
Kingdom through the New Kingdom that hunters of hippopotami used harpoons, which was designed so that, if one punctured the
skin of this animal, the shaft of the weapon would separate from the spear, which was attached to a string, sort of like a
hippo fishing pole. Being such powerful creatures with killer jaws, hunters of this animal dared only to approach it by boat—what
fool would jump in the water with it, aside from the Crocodile Hunter. The method of killing the animal came in more than
one jab of a harpoon, but in several. When the hunter first strikes his prey, releases the spear point from the shaft, and
if the hippo retreated to the depths of the water, out of sight of it’s hunter, the hunter would allow the hippo to
go under as the hunter lets out his line to permit this turn of events. Having the ability to hold its breath under water
for so long, the hippo would eventually come up for air; at this moment, the hunter would wound the creature again. When the
hippo gave in to weakness, the hunter would tie a rope round the animal’s head and then drag its body to shore. Another sort of tool the ancients used to fish for either recreation or for necessity were bow- and drag-nets, which
was a favorite and more convenient piece of equipment mostly used by the common fisherman and that started its usage during
the Old Kingdom. These nets are almost similar to modern ones in design, where corks (on top) and weights (on bottom) were
fastened to either end of the net. Once it was situated upright in the water and when a good amount of fish were wading within
the net’s boundaries, the fishermen would pull on strings that were attached to either end of the net, trapping a good
thirty heavy fish of various kinds, previously mentioned. When they used hooks, they were simple in structure, made of bone
and attached to a line. A typical bone hook would measure anywhere from 8mm to 18mm. By Dynasty 12, the ancients started to
make their hooks from metal, which was in lieu of bone, some of these hooks would also be with or without barb. The ancient Egyptians also enjoyed hunting or sporting for fowl, which included crane, duck, geese, and quail; the
nobility employed throwing sticks to knock their prey out of the sky—it illustrated their skilled aim, not necessarily
their success in hunting for food—and the common Egyptians preferred to net fowl as they would fish. Otherwise stated,
Egyptians of royal blood would use spears, throw sticks, or harpoon for hunting fish, bird, or hippopotami for recreation,
respectively, equipment efficient enough to kill one animal at a time, hardly; the commoner would use nets or snares for hunting
for the need of food, equipment efficient enough to catch a large amount of animal. The way the common Egyptians would lure
either was to bait the trap with corn, maggots, or worms. Really, when royals used spears, throw sticks or harpoons, it was
not necessary to provide bait; his skill was the only thing that was required of him during the hunt. Typically, the royal Egyptian would wear his honorable costume when he went out to hunt any animal he pleased, accompanied
by his wife and his children. This costume was composed of his royal skirt, a beautiful wig, and his false beard. His wife
might wear a sheath dress covered by a beaded collar and a wig of longer length than that of her husband’s. The royal
man’s children would usually be naked with a number of bracelets, armlets, or anklets on. As mentioned before, if the
royal was hunting bird in the marshes, he would float through the forest of papyrus reeds and then fling his boomerang-like
throw stick, typically made from a small piece of hard wood that was bent in a certain way so as to cause it to return to
the thrower after he threw it, at the neck of a bird, breaking it if he was so skilled. When the bird fell to the water, his
wife would collect it as her husband scoped the air for more targets. The children, on the other hand, would playfully swivel
the water with their fingers as the boat sailed through it. The
commoner, whose aim at hunting was of the necessary sort, would not trouble himself with decorating his person with unnecessary
clothing, such as a skirt, a wig or a false beard, the last being one he would never have worn. It was commonplace to start
off with wearing a skirt, but it was not an unusual event to discard this, leaving nothing concealed, when hunting became
intense, especially when the bird and fish nets were full to the brim with bird and fish. Rather than be accompanied by wife
and children, a man was accompanied by a handful of his best mates. Sometimes, a master had a small group of men who worked
for him in hunting. In either case, the group of hunters would far exceed that of the royal group, whose only master at hunting
was Pharaoh himself. The costume and number of hunters in a group were not the only aspects that differed between royal recreation
and common persons hunting for food, but also the way the latter group of people caught their birds and fish. As mentioned
before, snares and nets were mostly used and were baited either with maggot or other type of food or with a decoy bird. It
is difficult to be certain of the actual bait used, as most of the scenes depicting such hunting occur at the moment a group
of men catch their lot of prey. However, just from observation, we can determine that bait was used and that the nets and
snared, especially for bird-catching, measured about 10 feet by 12 feet. Much like how modern-day hunters trap their prey,
during the Old Kingdom, the common Egyptian concealed his net or snare beneath the reeds floating on the water. In silence,
the men would wait until a great many bird sat their fannies on the traps to delight themselves with the bait. Once the number
of bird within the concealed net or snare was to the master’s liking, usually around 30 or 40 birds, he would wave a
piece of linen in the air to signal to his men to start pulling on the string that was attached to the net or snare in order
to close it. The master or leader would also help in closing the net as well as break some of the wings of the birds inside
in order to prevent any from escaping. Once caught, the trapped birds would be sorted and put into cages, ready for transport. Marathon Running In ancient times as well as modern times anyone of any class knows how to and can run, but it was the king for whom
running was of the utmost importance, especially to measure his ability to rule. Typically, the king and those born on the
same day participated in a marathon race of sort, where each runner fasted until having covered 180 stages of the race. Whether
or not this was part of the following festival, which is of a more sacred significance, is not certain. The heb sed festival The heb sed festival, also known as the ‘royal jubilee festival,’
was the most famous and ancient of all running sports of ancient The point of the exercise was to renew the ruler’s royal powers and potion as king. As a means of illustrating
his right to rule, Pharaoh would sometimes be depicted running in step with an Apis bull, the living image of Ptah when alive
and of Osiris when dead. When pharaoh successfully executed the race, re-coronation took place. It was not only in life that
Pharaoh would run the heb sed, but also he was to do the same during the Afterlife,
renewing his power and position even in death. Evidence of the heb sed during the
Afterlife can be found depicted on an alabaster vase, which was found in a chamber under Djoser’s pyramid. A great example of a heb sed court—where Pharaoh would engage in this
ceremony—can be found at The earliest evidence of this festival can be found on a small ebony label, which used to be attached to an oil jar
perhaps belonging to King Den of Dynasty I, in whose tomb at Other
evidence of this festival taking place span all the way to Dynasty 22, where Osorkon II is depicted in his heb sed uniform—usually a short wrapped skirt, a crown, a false beard, a flail, and an object yet to be
identified. This depiction of Osorkon II is located in scenes on the wall of the temple dedicated to Bastet, at Bubastis.
At Kom Ombo, Ptolemy VIII, a foreign king, is depicted on carved reliefs; here he is receiving gifts from Horus. Tennis, Badminton Similar to the execution of handball, girls and boys and even Pharaoh and his wife, played a game that resembles the
modern tennis or badminton game. Evidence of such matches can be found in paintings at Tel-el Amarna, ancient Akhetaten. Although
it is far from clear, Egypt—along with Greece and Rome—may have been one of the first ancient civilizations to
engage—invent?—the game of tennis; others accredit the origins of tennis to French monks of Medieval France. That
which is in ancient Egypt’s favor is the apparent similarities between Arabic words—dating from ancient times—and
English derivatives; Tinnis or Tanis—the city near the Delta—and rahat—meaning
‘palm of the hand’—corresponding to “tennis” and “racquet,” respectively. |
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Bibliography:
Aris & Phillips: Specialist Humanities Publishers. The David Brown Book Co., Griffith Institute of the University of
Oxford, Australian Centre for Egyptology.
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