One characteristic of the ancient Hellenic world, unfamiliar to our ethics, values, and morality, was the use of punitive whippings, or rather, "educational" flogging. This practice was widespread, valued, and occasionally abused across all social sectors. From schools to barracks, from markets to gymnasiums, from temples to the agora, flogging was a central symbol of the strict and "egalitarian" respect that disciplined men. Athletics, forming the basis of paideia—that is, the cultural education, values, and ideals of Hellenic learning for both boys and citizens—mainly upheld and promoted this practice, both in the gymnasium and the palaestra, as well as in public competitions. The "educational" flogging aimed to maintain discipline or punish acts of disobedience or insubordination. For the Greeks, discipline through physical pain was the ultimate method of controlling human instincts and enforcing social rules. In athletics, judges and coaches are often depicted in imagery holding a whip, the rhabdoi. This instrument was made from a retama shrub, the lygos, which was both sturdy and elastic, with two V-shaped ends that cracked upon impact, producing a sharp sound and intense pain, yet avoiding serious injury. The blows were never struck on the condemned person's head but almost always on the back and arms.

During competitions, an official was assigned to this duty: the mastigophoroi, the whip-bearers, and the head judge, the hellenodikai, had their official responsible for flogging, the alytai, who wore their uniform. Perhaps the origin of this "educational" whip from the classical era was the harsh traditional flogging of the archaic period, using an olive wood stick, which was employed in previous centuries for punishment and to leave a mark, rather than for educational purposes. Sometimes, the flogging of athletes was also carried out against high-ranking athletes and champions, because no one was supposed to be above the law, even when they were away from competitions and training, as in the case of the wealthy and famous Athenian Alcibiades, punished for maliciously commenting on the victory of an athlete at the Olympics. Flogging could also be used against the crowd attending the competitions and their rites. An inscription found in southern Turkey informs us about the organisation of the athletic festival of the small town of Oenoanda: "In the same way, twenty floggers must be chosen by the organiser of the festival to open the way for the procession, wearing white clothes without underwear and with a whip, and will be responsible for maintaining order as instructed by the organiser." It is noted that the absence of underwear indicates that the whippers could also have been high-ranking coaches.