Sports And Competition In Ancient Greece In ancient Greece, sports and competition were very important. The Greeks believed that physical exercise and mental training were connected to each other. The Greek word for education meant the development of the entire human being and could not be divided into physical and mental education, because the mind cannot exist without the body, and the body has no meaning without the mind. Their rule of thumb was, "Educate children with gymnastics and music." Religion encouraged this kind of education, and great athletic and musical contests were held in holy places, un