Archery is an ancient practice; that is why it’s a popular feature in fiction and non-fiction stories.
Over the years, there have been many great archers.
It is believed that archery started in Egypt around 3,000 BC.
Other stories claim that the practice began in India, although this is unproven.
If you have a passion for archery, you need to know some of the best archers in history.
Let’s have a look at some of the best individuals to have ever touched bows and arrows.
Arjuna
Arjuna is widely regarded as the best archer in history. He’s the protagonist in Mahabharata, an ancient Indian movie.
Furthermore, he is popular for his role in the Bhagavat Gita.
Guru Drona is the master behind Arjuna’s expertise.
In fact, he chose Arjuna as the best student and participated in sparring sessions with him.
Under Drona’s guidance, Arjuna became so good that he could shoot a bird’s eye while it’s perching on a tree.
Additionally, Arjuna was a close friend to Lord Krishna.
Their friendship was too intense that Krishna claimed that he would sacrifice his family and fellow citizens for Arjuna.
When Krishna died, Arjuna migrated to Indraprastha, a city in the Kuru Kingdom.
Darrell Pace
Darrell Pace is the only person to have won multiple gold medals at the Olympics.
The first time he won was at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, and he repeated the feat eight years later in Los Angeles.
Despite missing out on an individual medal in the 1988 tournament, Pace helped his country win a silver medal in the team event.
This made him one of the most significant people in archery. Besides the Olympics, Darrell also has eight Pan-American gold medals.
Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a popular character who features in several books and movies.
His origin is England, and he is said to have lived in the 15th century.
In most stories, Robin Hood is shown to return from the Crusades to fight for the land that the Sheriff of Nottingham grabbed from him.
Robin combined forces with Merry Men and Maid Marian, his lover, to stop the Sherriff from assisting Prince John to take King Richard’s throne.
One of Robin Hood’s most heroic acts was when he shot an arrow at a tree and then another straight into it.
This is portrayed in the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The story is so popular that this skill is nowadays known as ‘Robin Hood.’
However, it is rarely used because it is wasteful.
Hiroshi Yamamoto
Since he began archery in high school, Yamamoto has won seven national trophies. To this date, this record is unbroken.
Hiroshi made his debut in 1981 and also represented his country in the 1984 Olympics.
In Los Angeles, he won a bronze medal himself, and four years later, he helped his country finish on the standings.
The 1992 and 1996 Olympics in Barcelona and Atlanta, respectively, were not as fruitful, as Japan finished 17th and 19th.
Regardless, Yamamoto is still among the best archers in the history of the sport.
Cupid
Cupid’s image is among the most recognizable things, both online and offline.
The myth states that when his arrow strikes the heart of the intended target, they fall in love with him. This is love at first sight.
Cupid had different type of arrows. Some of them would shoot a person and make them criticize the first person they meet.
For this reason, some people used the arrows for fun to see how the target would react.
Romans believe that Cupid is Eros, one of the Greek gods.
Eros was previously depicted as a slim, winged boy, but this later changed to a fatter and younger boy with a passion for archery.
Cupid is the god of affection, attraction, desire, and eroticism.
Some artists depict him as blindfolded to show that ‘love is blind.’
Heracles
Like Cupid, Heracles is a revered Greek hero. Word has it that he defended humankind from fracas, monsters, and even other gods.
Heracles was the son of Zeus, the king of Greek gods, and Alcmene, the mortal.
In the west and Roman mythology, he was known as Hercules.
Interestingly, Heracles’ name is ironic because it means ‘the pride of Hera.’
Hera is the goddess wife of Zeus who hated Heracles so much that she went out her way to make his life miserable.
The reason behind this hatred is that Heracles suckled Hera hard when she was suckling her.
Throughout his life, Heracles had many achievements.
Besides helping his armies win numerous battles, he was also an excellent shooter.
What’s more, his unrivalled strength enabled him to shoot using heavy bows.
Hou Yi
Hou Yi, also called Shen Yi, is a great archer who features in many Chinese mythological stories.
Due to his incredible accuracy with the bow, he is often referred to as the patron god of archery.
Similar to Heracles, Hou Yi also liked defending the rights of others, primarily by killing monsters.
One of the most famous stunts done by Yi occurred during the first days of Earth’s formation.
At the time, there were ten suns, and Yi guided his men to win many battles.
King Yao told Yi to deal with the sun, and he fulfilled the task by shooting them down, thanks to his divine archery skills.
Artemis
Artemis is the Greek god of archery, hunting, and the moon.
She was the daughter of Zeus and sister to Apollo, the co-inventor of archery.
When she matured, Artemis asked her father for some wishes.
The most notable ones include wanting to have a bow and arrow made using Cyclops and remaining a virgin throughout her life, albeit with 60 children.
Artemis loved protecting young girls when she was alive and was actively involved in their treatment whenever they got sick.
She also wished to have the ability to make giving birth a painless experience.
Conclusion
Whether real or mythological, there have been several great archers in history.
What sets them apart from others (like you) is their unique ability to concentrate when shooting an arrow.
