How American Football developed from Ancient Games

Pigskin Dispatch’s Part 1 in the Series on American Football History

Where did football come from?

The game we call football in America is undisputedly a spin-off of rugby.  The primary influence of rugby is soccer, or football as it is called in the old world. To find the ancient roots of the US gridiron game, one needs to explore the shared history of rugby and soccer.

Historians tell us that the ancient Greeks developed and played a game called harpaston. Classical Greek literature frequently mentions Harpaston, often referring to it as a “very rough and brutal game.”  The rules of this ancient sport were pretty simple. There were two teams, and each would have a line to protect. The objective of the game was to score points by the player who would cross the opponents’ protected line in one of a few ways: kicking the ball, running with it across the goal line, or throwing it across the line to another player on his team. The other team’s objective was to stop them by any means possible. There were no real rules to this game. There was no specific field length, no sideline boundaries, and no specified number of players on each team.

Documented an Early Greek Football game?

The Greek game of harpaston is often referred to in ancient Greek literature as a “very rough and brutal game “. The Greek epic “Odysseus” of Homer tells the story of a character named Odysseus.  In one part of the story, Odysseus arrived on the island of Faiaken after being shipwrecked.  Nausikaa, the daughter of King Alkinoos, found him on the beach when she was playing a ball game with her servants.  Thereafter, King’s sons, Laodamas and Halios, started to play in honor of Odysseus.  The first one threw a giant purple ball with both hands, while the second caught it in the air.  Many Greek historians believe that this game, along with its close counterpart “Episkyros,” also known as “Ephebike,” was used for warrior training in Greece as early as 800 BC. The games helped develop agility, stamina, and strength in potential soldiers through their strenuous physical exercise. 

The military leaders had developed their troop training regimen into a sport, which not only kept the soldiers in tip-top shape but also kept their minds sharp in strategy and teamwork to complete tasks against an opposing force.

This Greek war game was not for the faint of heart; it was dangerous not only for participants but also for others. In one account of a game, a spectator once had his leg broken when he got caught in the middle of play. Now that is a rough sport when fans even share the pain! The Roman Empire’s conquest of the Greeks drastically changed the game, making it even more physical.

The series will explore the Roman influence on American football in part 2 of Pigskin Dispatch’s journey through football history, titled “Roman Roots of the Gridiron Game.”

Roman Roots of the Gridiron Game