Akrotiri Boxer Fresco
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The Akrotiri Boxer Fresco, discovered in 1967, is one of the
Wall Paintings of Thera The wall paintings of ancient Thera are famous frescoes discovered by Spyridon Marinatos at the excavations of Akrotiri (prehistoric city) on the Greek island of Santorini (or Thera). They are regarded as part of Minoan art, although the culture ...
and a leading example of
Minoan painting Minoan art is the art produced by the Bronze Age Aegean Minoan civilization from about 3000 to 1100 BC, though the most extensive and finest survivals come from approximately 2300 to 1400 BC. It forms part of the wider grouping of Aegean art, ...
. It is a
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
depicting two young boys wearing boxing gloves and belts and dates back to the
Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
, 1700 BCE. Around 1600 BCE, a disastrous earthquake, followed by a volcanic eruption, covered Akrotiri in a thick layer of pumice and ash, which resulted in the remarkable conservation of frescoes, including the Akrotiri Boxer Fresco, from multiple buildings throughout the town. This particular fresco was found in room B1 of Building Beta along with the Antelope Fresco. The boys' shaved heads and stray locks indicate their youth, while their darker skin tone indicates their gender. The boy on the right is completely nude except for a belt, whereas the boy on the left has jewelry; most likely markers of a higher status. They appear to be slightly over life size at roughly 5'10". In order to create such vibrant frescoes, a smooth lime plaster was applied to the walls and then painted over. It is unsure if the match was a competitive one or simply a routine sport.


Volcanic eruption

The
volcanic eruption Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often ...
on the island of Thera, now known as
Santorini Santorini ( el, Σαντορίνη, ), officially Thira (Greek: Θήρα ) and classical Greek Thera (English pronunciation ), is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast from the Greek mainland. It is the ...
, was one of the largest Plinian eruptions in the past 10,000 years, with a range of 30–40 cubic kilometres. An eruption of this size would have most likely generated a
tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...
over 100 feet tall, travelling across the Aegean Sea and decimating populations in its path. The size of this eruption had far-reaching impacts on the environment and civilizations in the region, primarily the Minoans. The thick layer of pumice and ash from the volcano covered the island and preserved much of the ancient civilization for thousands of years. As a result, several pieces of Minoan artwork, primarily the frescoes, were preserved as fragments in the rubble, and have been reassembled by archaeologists. These frescoes provide modern society with an invaluable insight into the daily lives of the Cycladic people.


Role of boxing in Minoan culture

The Minoans practiced several sports including wrestling, bull jumping, acrobatics, and of course: boxing. This is apparent in multiple pieces of art, ranging from other
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
es, such as the
Bull-Leaping Fresco The bull-leaping fresco is the most completely restored of several stucco panels originally sited on the upper-story portion of the east wall of the palace at Knossos in Crete. It shows a bull-leaping scene. Although they were frescos, they were ...
, to
pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...
. The youth of the boys in the Akrotiri Boxer Fresco hints that athletes began training very early on in life, suggesting that sports were extremely important to Minoan society. It has even been suggested that athletics played a religious role in society due to their widespread practice. The youth of athletes in many pieces of artwork indicates that athletic competition may have been a rite of passage into adulthood for the Minoans. Although there is much scholarly debate as to whether or not the gloves that the boys are wearing were meant to provide protection for the bones of the wearer or increase the amount of damage inflicted on the opponent, it is clear that with the exception of gloves, jewelry, and belts, competitors wore as little as possible. Due to the simplicity of the sport, it is quite possible that boxing was created as a means to settle disputes and eventually evolved into an athletic competition.


Spinal deformity

The Akrotiri Boxer Fresco may have been the first example of a sports-related deformity ever recorded. According to a medical writer, the young boy on the right appears to have
spondylolisthesis Spondylolisthesis is the displacement of one spinal vertebra compared to another. While some medical dictionaries define spondylolisthesis specifically as the forward or anterior displacement of a vertebra over the vertebra inferior to it (or t ...
. But the anatomy in Minoan painting is often not very realistic.


How frescoes are made

In order to achieve such vibrant coloration there are several techniques possible. In
buon fresco Buon fresco () is a fresco painting technique in which alkaline-resistant pigments, ground in water, are applied to wet plaster. It is distinguished from the fresco-secco (or ''a secco'') and finto fresco techniques, in which paints are applied t ...
, commonly known from Renaissance art, a lime plaster was applied to the walls and then painted over while wet with colorful paint. In Minoan art, frescos often employed another technique as well known as
fresco-secco Fresco-secco (or a secco or fresco finto) is a wall painting technique where pigments mixed with an organic binder and/or lime are applied onto a dry plaster. The paints used can e.g. be casein paint, tempera, oil paint, silicate mineral paint. I ...
. After the plaster and paint dried, extra paint was sometimes used to add details, and would be applied with a binding agent. Some frescos are entirely created using this technique. The most common colors used in frescoes were green, blue, yellow, white, red, and black, all of which were derived from minerals and later fixed with organic material. Advanced geometric patterns suggest the usage of mechanical tools to improve the accuracy of the designs as well as a grid system for proportionality. As is common in other forms of Greek art such as pottery, male skin is generally painted red while females tend to be portrayed as white. In the Akrotiri Boxer Fresco, the youths' red skin suggest their gender while their partially shaved heads indicate that they are still children.


References


Further reading

* *{{cite book , last1=Morgan , first1=Lyvia , title=The miniature wall paintings of Thera : a study in Aegean culture and iconography , date=1988 , publisher=Cambridge University Press , location=New York , isbn=0521247276 Minoan frescos