Wall Painting of Roman Women Playing Sports and Exercising
source: Wikimedia Commons
author: Kenton Greening
Description
A wall mosaic depicts ten women in garb comparable to bikinis. One is holding dumbbells, three are playing a ball game, two are passing another ball, and three are holding a small array of plant life and wreaths. The image of the tenth woman is cut off above the knees.
Date
Artifact: 4th–5th century AD
Photo: July 2013
Information
This mosaic was discovered in an excavation of the Villa Romana del Casale in Sicily. It depicts ten scantily clad women, six of whom are participating in sports and/or exercise in some form. This serves as evidence that Roman women participated in sports and exercise to some degree.
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Scanlon, T. F. (2014). Sport in the Greek and Roman worlds. Vol 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press.