Boxing
Boxing was introduced in the Olympic Games in 688 BC and is one of the oldest sports. The boys' event was added in the Olympic games in 616 BC. Boxing was first mentioned in Homer's Iliad as one of the games held in honor of Patroclus, the winner of which being Epeios. It is also mentioned in Odyssey, as part of the games held in the island of the Phaeaceans. According to Greek mythology, Apollo was the inventor of boxing; he defeated and killed Phorbas, a boxer who urged travelers passing through Delphi to compete with him. Apollo outboxed Ares in Olympia, as well.
The example of a boxing match in ancient mythology was the contest between Polydeukes and Amykos, the king of the Bebrykes, who lived in Bithynia on the Black Sea. This king would challenge all foreigners traveling through his country in a boxing match against him and killed them all. Polydeukes proved to be too tough a competitor for the king and he made him promise to leave the foreigners in peace.
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