PANKRATION IN ANCIENT GREECE

Παρουσίαση

Greek mythology tells us that pankration was devised by Theseus to overcome the Minotaur in the Labyrinth. In reality, its origins have been lost in time. Pankration began as a form of self-defense, to be sure. It may well have evolved from the most primitive form of conflict used by humans against other humans or animals. As pankration developed, the instinctive movements acquired structure and became a technique to be learned as part of the training of warriors. In its fullest form, it included techniques from boxing, throws from wrestling, kicks and strikes with the knees and elbows, strangleholds and choke holds, dislocations, immobilization, and defensive strikes and holds. Pankration was the first scientific method of unarmed combat in the world.
As an official sport at the great "sacred games" of antiquity, it was the most popular. Its techniques were refined and tactics were incorporated as training became a science, with added dimensions of diet, medicine and philosophy. At the Olympian, Isthmian, Nemean and Pythian games, and at another 500 games held annually, pankratiasts demonstrated their courage and strength, without weight classes or the benefit of protective equipment, as they sought to achieve a knockout victory. They earned the admiration of spectators and victors became glorious heroes. Poets praised their achievements and sculptors created statues that enshrined them in eternity.
This book has endeavored to gather all of the information on pankration in its original form, from the time when it first appeared through the development of technique and methods of training. It presents a look at the social and cultural environment in which it flourished, the great competitions and lists for the first time all of the names of the great victors with information about their life. The honors they received and their social origins are documented, along with the influence of pankration on education and its course through Asia and Europe.
The history of ancient Greek civilization rises out of the history of pankration and we are given a look at how its impact has extended to the modern day. (From the publisher)

Περιεχόμενα

PREFACE
THE BEGINNING
Prehistory of competitive games
Athletics and religion
Athletics in time of war
Nudity
Creto-Mycenaean Era (2100 - 1200 BCE)
Homeric Age (1200 - 776 BCE)
Violence in ancient games
PANKRATION
The technique
The rules
Ephedros and anephedros
"Dustless" victory - akoniti
Sacred draw
Training
Paidotribes, gymnastes and aleiptes
Wages of the paidotribes
Diet
Injuries
Medicinal treatment
Offenses
Sarapion
The palestrae
THE GAMES
Sacred - panhellenic games
The sacred truce
The Hellanodikes
The Olympic prorrhesis
Number of participants
The Olympian Games
The Isthmian Games
The Nemean Games
The Pythian Games
THE ATHLETES
The Olympic Victors
The Isthmian Victors
The Nemean Victors
The Pythian Victors
The Periodonikes
The aph' Heradeous athletes
HONORS FOR THE CHAMPIONS
Honors for winners at Olympia
Honors for winners returning home
Fame beyond the palaestrae
Professional associations - Guilds
Paradoxos
Money prizes for pankratiasts
Hero cults and deification of pankratiasts
THE SOCIAL BACKGROUND OF THE CHAMPIONS
Limited to aristocrats
Restricted participation
Famous aristocrat pankratiasts
Pindar
The change in social class of the participants
Funding for athletes from lower classes
How the ruling class saw athletics
PANKRATION IN EDUCATION
Organization of the education system
The institution of the ephebeia
Spartan athletic festivals
PANKRATION AFTER 393 CE
Olympism
The Roman period
Christianity
The internal breakdown of the games
Byzantium
Middle Ages - Renaissance
PANKRATION IN THE EAST
EPILOGUE
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX