PŬGĬLĀTUS (πύξ, πυγμή, πυγμαχία, πυγμοσύνη), boxing, was one of the
earliest athletic games among the Greeks, and is frequently mentioned
in Homer. In the earliest times boxers (_pugiles_, πύκται) fought
naked, with the exception of a girdle (ζῶμα) round their loins; but
this was not used when boxing was introduced at Olympia, as the
contests in wrestling and racing had been carried on there by persons
entirely naked ever since Ol. 15. Respecting the leathern thongs
with which pugilists surrounded their fists, see Cestus, where its
various forms are illustrated by woodcuts. The Ionians, especially
those of Samos, were at all times more distinguished pugilists than
the Dorians, and at Sparta boxing is said to have been forbidden by
the laws of Lycurgus. But the ancients generally considered boxing as
a useful training for military purposes, and a part of education no
less important than any other gymnastic exercise.