What is pankration?

Pankration: A Deadly Martial Art Form from Ancient Greece. Pankration was one of the most popular combat sports in ancient Greece.

Is pankration the most ancient martial art?

He takes us back to the 2nd millennium BC, which makes pankration one of the most ancient martial arts. According to the same source, pankration wasn’t only an Olympic sport (as most historians wrongly believed until recently), but a war technique that both the Spartan hoplites and Alexander the Great’s Macedonian phalanx used in battle.

Is Modern Pankration too civilized?

Even though Greek-American martial artist Jim Arvanitis continually refined the modern version of pankration with reference to historical sources, the modern sport is considered way too civilized and light compared with its ancient original.

Why did they change the pankration in ancient Greece?

For that reason, and as most Greek city-states were becoming more sophisticated and civilized, the men’s pankration was gradually replaced by the pankration for boys, which was a much less intense version of the sport. This version officially entered the Games in 200 BC.

However, pankration was more than just an event in the athletic competitions of the ancient Greek world; it was also part of the arsenal of Greek soldiers – including the famous Spartan hoplites and Alexander the Great ‘s Macedonian phalanx.

What is neoneo-pankration?

Neo-pankration (modern pankration) was first introduced to the martial arts community by Greek-American combat athlete Jim Arvanitis in 1969 and later exposed worldwide in 1973 when he was featured on the cover of Black Belt. Arvanitis continually refined his reconstruction with reference to original sources.

What is Arvanitis’ pankration?

Arvanitis’ work went on to make it famous around the world by the mid-seventies. Pankration scene: The pankratiast on the right tries to gouge his opponent’s eye; the umpire is about to strike him for this foul. Detail from an Ancient Greek Attic red-figure kylix, 490–480 BC, from Vulci. British Museum, London. ( Public Domain )

What did the pankratiasts do?

Nutrition, massage, and other recovery techniques were used very actively by pankratiasts. Bronze portrait of a pankratiast. Bronze statuette of a Pankratiast, from the Hellenistic period, currently held by the Louvre museum, Paris. Callias (Καλλίᾳς) of Athens, a statue of him was made by Micon.