Ancient Greek athletes kicked butt… literally!

One sport, bibasis, required athletes to leap into the air and kick the heels to the buttocks. Both men and women did this in competition, sometimes jumping as many as 1,000 times. (Aristophanes wrote, “Naked I dance, and beat with my heels the buttocks.”)

Lovely ladies pose in a serene setting at the Baca. Participants in the Baca Mini-Blocka (men included) immersed themselves in Olympic lore and literature, wrote and performed odes to modern athletes, and competed in grueling athletic events like the pool-noodle “javelin” toss.

Then there was the pankration. The rules of this combat contest were simple and few: no biting or eye-gouging. Referees enforced the rules with a large stick. Victory was gained by causing one’s opponent to surrender or pass out.

Bloody, dramatic, odd, and, well, naked, ancient Greek sports make for fascinating study. Sixteen Colorado College alumni, spouses, and staff gathered at the Baca campus to learn more about the beginnings of these celebrated games.

The 2004 Baca Mini-Blocka — “Chariots of Fire: Olympic Myths and Hollywood Endings” — was held July 30 – Aug. 2 at the Baca campus near Crestone, Colo. The Mini-Blocka offers alumni a chance to study, discuss, explore, and socialize in a beautiful, retreat-like setting.

Alumni toured the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs; watched Olympic-themed movies; read and discussed Homer, Pindar, and Ovid; wrote and performed odes immortalizing modern athletes; and participated in an Olympic Games that would have made Milo of Kroton cringe. They tossed pool-noodle “javelins,” hurled a Frisbee® “discus,” and hula-hooped their way to victory not to honor Zeus, but simply for the fun of it.