Exercise in modern times: genesis
The tutor reflects on exercise in today’s context.
To my knowledge, the ancient Greeks were the first society to embrace exercise as self-improvement. Back then, everyday life meant exercise for almost everyone; the Greeks, however, put exercise into prominence as something better than necessary. To them, it was something you’d do even if you didn’t have to.
The Greeks famously resisted the yoke of Persia by force of arms. While the Greeks were outnumbered, history explains their triumph partly by their superior fitness. In a time when people attributed success to morality, the Greek victory proved that phsycial fitness is a moral pursuit.
The Greeks are prominent because they were the first western culture: western Europe and North America adopted the Greek architecture and way of thinking. You see the Greek influence in Roman structures and the US Capitol. It can be argued that England’s resistance of the Spanish Armada, and even the American Revolution, were echoes of the Greek refusal to capitulate.
Possibly the most profound influence the ancient Greeks have on us today, however, is their exercise ethic. The athletic Greek physique of the sculptures is jealously sought, or else maintained, by a volunteer army of hundreds of millions who want to be on the right side of the exercise dichotomy. For many, thin or fat is the new life or death; in many cases, the health authorities agree. Perhaps the seed of this urgency was the difference fitness made to those few thousand Greeks at Marathon, who won their freedom, changed history, and continue to shape our daily lives.
Source:
Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.