History of Diving
Men and women have practiced breath-hold diving (Free-diving) for centuries. Indirect evidence comes from ancient artifacts of undersea origin found on land (e.g. mother-of-pearl ornaments), and depictions of divers in ancient drawings. In ancient Greece, breath-hold divers are known to have hunted for sponges and engaged in military exploits. Of the latter, the story of Scyllis (sometimes spelled Scyllias; about 500 B.C.) is perhaps the most famous, as told by the 5th century B.C. Greek historian Herodotus (and quoted in numerous modern texts).
