But near at hand is a more pleasing contest. Youths of
the ephebus age are practicing leaping. They have no springboard, no
leaping pole, but only a pair of curved metal dumb-bells to aid them.
One after another their lithe brown bodies, shining with the fresh olive
oil, come forward on a lightning run up the little mound of earth, then
fly gracefully out across the soft sands. There is much shouting and
good-natured rivalry. As each lad leaps, an eager attendant marks his
distance with a line drawn by the pickaxe. The lines gradually extend
ever farther from the mound. The rivalry is keen. Finally, there is one
leap that far exceeds the rest.[6]
A merry crowd swarms around the blushing victor. A grave middle-aged man
takes the ivy crown from his head, and puts it upon the happy youth.
"Your father will take joy in you," he says as the knot breaks up.
William Davis, A Day in Old Athens
