Pankration

The pankration was probably the most violent and demanding of all the Olympic

contests. It literally meant "all-powerful," and is most closely related to today's sports of kick-boxing and "The Ultimate Fighting Challenge." Furthermore, it was one of the last Olympic events to appear. Ironicallly, it was the event that represented the ancient greeks' violent nature and lifestyle the most.

The pankration had a minimum of rules and was a combination of boxing and

wrestling with no holds barred except for biting and eye gouging. The only other infraction a contestant could commit was time delaying and each of these offenses granted the guilty combatant a whipping from the referee.

In order to win the pankration, one contestant must force the other to either raise a

lone index finger in defeat, submit, or even kill his opponent. Furthermore, punching with wrapped fists, kicking, and strangleholds were most commonly used to accomplish this task.

Written By: Josh Gealy

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