Wrestling, as depicted in mythologies around the world 

If you are a fan of combat sports, you must know about the fame of WWE. Yes, it refers to the World Wrestling Entertainment and is the leading professional wrestling ventures in the world. As most of you are aware, wrestling is a sport in which two unarmed individuals aim to earn a position of advantage over their opponents inside a ring using grappling-type techniques like clinch fighting, throws, knockdowns, takedowns and joint locks among others. It is one of the most ancient combat sports and is believed to have emerged 15,000 years ago in the hands of ancient Egyptians and Babylonians. But that’s a story for another day. Today, we shall focus on how this martial art has been depicted across various global mythologies.  

The Mahabharata 
As we all know, The Mahabharata is a popular Indian epic which is famous for its plot twists, heroic characters, prolonged battles and more. But what you may not have realised so far is that it also features wrestling. It is described as “malla-dwanda” or “malla-yuddha” (wrestling match) and happens between Bhima, one of the Pandava brothers known for his exceptional strength and King Jarasandha of Magadha, a minor antagonist in the epic. In fact, if one goes through the original text in Sanskrit, the scene describes the opponents as already accomplished wrestlers who were grappling each other using their arms, kicking, and striking at one another’s breasts with clenched fists. They are even compared to two mad elephants combating each other using their trunks.  

The Epic of Gilgamesh 
You may not know much about Sumerian mythology, but it’s time to change that. In one of the most notable epic poems from ancient Mesopotamia called The Epic of Gilgamesh, its hero and protagonist Gilgamesh resorts to wrestling to ascertain his position and credibility as a newly appointed king of Uruk. Wondering who does he fight? Well, that has to be Enkidu, his friend and former king of Uruk. Interestingly, according to the myths, Enkidu voluntarily offered to wrestle Gilgamesh and didn’t use his full strength in order to let his friend win. Contrary to the above-mentioned account of blood bath and violence in The Mahabharata, this was more of a friendly wrestling. 

The Iliad  
One of the two epic poems credited to Homer, The Iliad has Odysseus, its protagonist and the legendary King of Greek city Ithaca, wrestling against Aias, a Greek mythological hero best known for his great courage. They fight as part of the legendary Trojan War and many believe that Odysseus defeated Aias on the battle-field. Another theory is that Odysseus forgave him and let him go, after which Aias completely disappeared. Historians believe that Homer was inspired by Zeus who is known to have wrestled against his father Cronus to become the ruler of the earth.