More references to swimming is also found in ancient Babylonian bas-reliefs and Assyrian wall drawings that shows a variant of the breaststroke. Drawings that are considered the most famous of historic documents about swimming were found in the Kebir desert dating around 4000 B.C. The Nagoda bas-relief show images of swimmers that dates back to 3000 B.C.
Located inside the Indian palace Mohenjo Daro which dates around 2800 B.C. contains a swimming pool that measures 30m by 60m in length. Images of swimmers were also found in other civilizations such as the Hittites, Minoans, and other Middle Eastern civilizations.
The Greeks did not include swimming in the ancient Olympic Games, however they practiced the sport, often building swimming pools as part of their public baths. A common insult in Greece was to say that a person did not know how to run or swim (quite insulting, don't you think?)
FYI: the greek Scyllis was taken prisoner on a ship of the Persian king Xerxes I in 480 B.C. After he learned about an attack set for the Greek navy, he stole a knife and jumped overboard. At night Scyllis returned to the ships using a snorkel made from reed (very innovative there) and cut them loose. Also, it has been said that the ability to swim saved the Greeks at the Battle of Salamis, while the Persians all drowned when their ships were destroyed.
Finally, Julius Caesar was also known to be a good swimmer. There are a series of reliefs from 850 B.C. in the Nimrud Gallery of the British Museum that shows swimmers in a military context using swimming aids.
Stay tuned for part 3 of the history of swimming.
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