Olympics: Pankration opens with these ancient words:
The pankratiasts, my boy, practice a dangerous brand of wrestling. They have to endure black eyes … and learn holds by which one who has fallen can still win, and they must be skillful in various ways of strangulation. They bend ankles and twist arms and throw punches and jump on their opponents.
- Philostratos, On Gymnastics, second to third century A.D.
I love the ancient legends:
Among the most famous pankratiasts was Polydamas, victor in the 93rd Olympiad in 408 B.C. Little is known about his Olympic victory, his family, his background or his physical appearance, other than his statue was notably tall. But he was renowned for his feats.Polydamas once killed a lion with his bare hands. He once strode into a herd of cattle and, according to author Pausanias, “seized the biggest and fiercest bull by one of its hind feet, holding fast the hoof in spite of the bull’s leaps and struggles, until at last it put forth all its strength and escaped, leaving the hoof in the grasp of Polydamas.” He also reportedly stopped antiquity’s version of a speeding locomotive, a fast-moving chariot, merely by reaching out to grab it.
Ultimately, Polydamas’ strength contributed to his demise. One summer, he and friends were relaxing in a cave when the roof began to crumble. Believing he could use his strength to support the cave, he held his hands up to the ceiling. His friends ran to safety, but Polydamas was killed.
The Victorian-era strongman, Eugen Sandow, has a similar feat-of-strength story for how he died: his family and friends claimed he’d burst a blood vessel lifting a motor-car out of a ditch in the rain. More likely, he died of complications from syphilis.