Pankration (Greek; all powers), a Greek martial art utilizing both striking and grappling, was created almost 3,000 years ago. It was practiced primarily as a sport, but found applications in combat, both on the battlefield and for self-defense. Pankration was designed to be the ultimate test of a person’s physical, intellectual, and spiritual capabilities. Pankration is one of the oldest confirmed martial arts practiced by human beings. The art had an extensive influence on Western martial arts, and possibly on Asian arts as well.
Pankration was an all-out form of fighting. The competitors were allowed to do anything except biting and eye-gouging. The Spartans, however, allowed even these techniques in their local athletic festivals. Punches and open-hand strikes with the hands, kicks, all types of throws and takedowns, joint locks and choke holds—all of these techniques were legal in a pankration bout. The goal of the pankration match was to get the opponent to signal defeat. Failing this, it was expected that one opponent would be knocked out or choked to unconsciousness.
The origin of pankration is the subject of speculation. The Egyptians developed high-level fighting arts, as evidenced by pictures of these fighting techniques displayed in the tombs of Beni-Hassan (Middle Kingdom period). One theory suggests that Egyptian traders brought these techniques to the Greeks, who eventually adopted them for their own use. Another theory speculates that pankration developed out of primitive, instinctual fighting for survival and eventually was systematized as a martial art. The Greeks themselves believed that the hero Theseus, who used pankration to defeat the Minotaur in the labyrinth, had created the art. The historical record, however, begins after approximately 1000 b.c. when the Greek city-states established athletic festivals whose events included pankration.
In 648 b.c., at the Thirty-third Olympic Games, pankration was accepted as an official sport. It quickly became one of the most popular events, so much so that pankration was later added to the boys’ Olympic Games. Practitioners of the art (pankrationists) received the highest honors and accolades from adoring crowds. Winners of the pankration became instant celebrities and were assured of income for the rest of their lives. Those few who won repeatedly at the games achieved legendary fame in the sports-obsessed Greek world and were sometimes even worshipped as semidivine beings.
Pankration enjoyed continued popularity throughout the Greek city-states. Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates all enjoyed the art. Plato, in fact, was a practitioner, but warned that this style of fighting did not teach its practitioners to “keep to their feet,” possibly a reference to the fact that most pankration matches were decided by grappling on the ground. Alexander the Great, a Hellenized Macedonian, was also a pankration expert. Alexander took many pankrationists with him when he set out to conquer the globe, including Dioxipus of Rhodes, one of the most formidable pankrationists in history. In addition, many of his troops were trained in the art. It has been argued that, during Alexander’s Indian campaign, pankration techniques were disseminated to the population of southern Asia. If this is the case, then these techniques might have influenced Asian martial arts. This theory remains a source of debate among scholars of fighting arts.
Pankration matches began with the two competitors stepping into the arena or onto a platform. There were no rings or barriers. Falling off the platform meant that the match would resume again; running away from the combat area was a sign of cowardice, which resulted in a loss. A referee armed with a switch supervised the match. If he observed an illegal maneuver, he employed the switch to break the competitors apart. In addition, it is speculated that the referee would employ the switch if the action between competitors lagged.
There were no weight classes in the art; it is not surprising, therefore, that pankration became the domain of heavyweight contenders who could use their superior size to their advantage. Competitors fought naked without any body or hand protection. Pankration matches had no time limit. The only way to end a match was to signal surrender by raising a hand or by being rendered unconscious through a choke hold or blow. The matches sometimes ended in death. With joint locks also allowed in competition, disfigurement and loss of limbs were also dangers.
Pankration had two basic forms: kato (literally, down) pankration and ano (up) pankration. Ano pankration was a less severe form of the art, in which the pankrationists had to remain standing. Ano pankration was essentially a form of kickboxing, in which blows from both the hands and feet were permitted. All types of hand strikes were permitted, not just those with the closed fist, and a pankrationist was allowed to hold his opponent and hit him with the other hand. Strikes to the groin and elbow and knee strikes were also permitted. When one competitor fell to the ground, the match ended. Ano pankration was usually restricted to training or to preliminary bouts before a kato pankration match.
Kato pankration was the all-out form of fighting that has come to be associated with pankration. Practitioners began the match standing, but as the fight progressed, falling to the ground and grappling techniques were used. The fight was not over until surrender, knockout, or death. It has been suggested that the great majority of kato pankration matches ended up being decided on the ground through grappling techniques. All the techniques from ano pankration were legal in kato pankration.
Pankration techniques were numerous and varied. Techniques were divided into four basic categories: arm techniques, leg techniques, throws and takedowns, and grappling. Arm techniques included all types of punches with the hands and elbows. Boxing techniques, the jab, cross, up-percut, and hook, were most likely the primary weapons. Elbow strikes were also used, which meant that hook punches were probably a secondary weapon when the elbow could not be employed. Open-hand strikes were also permitted; there is artwork on surviving Greek vases dating from 500 b.c. that clearly demonstrates chopping blows.
Leg techniques were kicks and knee strikes. At close range, a pankra-tionist grabbed his opponent and attempted to apply knee strikes in rapid succession in much the same way as a modern Thai boxer. It is unlikely that high kicks were used; most of the artwork demonstrates pankrationists employing rising kicks to the stomach, striking with the ball of the foot. Pankrationists also likely employed powerful kicks against the legs of opponents in attempts to either sweep the feet or strike the upper portion of the leg with enough force to cause the limb to collapse. Once again, a modern application of this technique is found in Thai boxing. When an opponent was doubled over or on the floor, pankrationists would then likely attempt kicks to the head. Because of pankration’s extensive use of kicks, pankration is one of the first documented complete fighting systems used by humans.
Throws and takedowns were numerous and varied. Pankrationists were free to employ the takedowns that are commonly seen in modern wrestling systems, in which practitioners attempt to seize one or both of the opponent’s legs and unbalance the opponent. However, pankrationists also employed throws that are seen in modern judo or jujutsu, in which the practitioner attempts to either throw the opponent over the shoulder or hip to the ground or sweep the leg out from under the opponent by use of the feet.
Holds used in pankration were those designed to force an opponent to submit. For this reason, the most popular holds employed were choke holds and joint locks. Choke holds are attempts to cut off either the blood supply or the air supply, or both, from the torso to the head. This is achieved usually by blocking the windpipe or the carotid artery and vagus nerve.
Joint locks attempt to hyperextend a joint of the body beyond its normal range of motion. Thus, a successfully applied joint lock can break an arm, leg, wrist, or ankle. The elbow lock was probably the most popular. Interestingly, leg holds were also used, which gives an indication of the many techniques that were available to the pankrationists. Leg holds have traditionally not been popular in most wrestling systems around the world, but because of the very nature of pankration combat, this skill was an essential one for pankrationists to master. This gives an indication of the versatility and demands of this art.
One of the unique aspects of the art was the fact that pankrationists were able to employ unusual holds against the fingers or toes of opponents, even breaking them when necessary. There were even standing grappling holds that were employed by pankrationists, in which one practitioner would literally climb on top of another, while the opponent was still standing, and attempt to get the opponent into a choke hold or use body mass to force him to the ground. These unusual techniques are rarely found in other combat systems.
The Greeks were very familiar with human anatomy. Surviving statues and artwork clearly demonstrate the attention to detail of the artists and the realism of the figures. It is likely that this knowledge was applied to pankration. Knowledge of human anatomy, especially the weak points of the body, was essential for pankrationists of any level to survive in competition.
It is likely that there were different schools, or academies, of pankra-tion located throughout the Greek world. These schools are believed to have specialized in certain techniques. Although pankrationists were expected to master all four aspects of pankration fighting, certain schools emphasized one aspect of fighting over others. The instructors for these academies were likely to be former pankration champions who retired into teaching. Those instructors who were former Olympians were highly sought out and were well paid for their instruction.
Training in pankration was accomplished through innovative techniques, some of which were not replicated for thousands of years. Pankra-tionists trained in special gymnasiums known as korykeions. Students learned striking techniques by hitting bags stuffed with sand suspended from the ceiling. Kicking techniques were practiced by striking heavier bags suspended about 2 feet off the floor. These were intended to make the student hit correctly, as striking improperly would be painful. These striking bags were known as korykos.
Students were taught wrestling techniques in sequence, that is, to master each move in a progressive order. Ultimately, students could learn the combinations of different techniques. Wrestling techniques were divided into separate categories. Thus, a pankrationist might first learn how to throw and take down the opponent in such a way that a hold could be applied. Later, ground-fighting techniques as a separate category would be introduced. Finally, all aspects of wrestling were practiced in conjunction.
When these basics were learned, the students combined both striking and wrestling in kato pankration matches. Schools held competitions to determine which students would have the honor of being sent to the games. Once again, with the enormous pressures for victory, only the best would have an opportunity to compete.
The Greek pankration schools employed masseuses to help the athletes recover from matches. It is likely that doctors also were employed, as well as dietitians and different types of coaches. In a way, the pankration schools would have been much like the gladiator schools of the Roman Empire, where a mini-industry of professions shared their experiences and expertise to help students learn how to win in their chosen art.
Competition among the city-states during the Olympic and other games was fierce. Competitors represented not only themselves, but also their particular city during a festival, and winning brought glory not only to the individual, but also to the city. Likewise, a losing competitor reflected poorly on his city. For these reasons, among others, athletes in these competitions were highly motivated to win, sometimes at all costs. Pankra-tionists often risked death or mutilation rather than acknowledge defeat, in order to avoid shaming their city by a poor performance. This helped to make pankration an event in which fatalities could be expected.
Pankration was thought useful by the ancient Greeks for two main reasons. First, it taught the practitioners about the art of war. Warfare was a constant threat in the Greek world (ca. 700 to 146 b.c.), and males were expected to be able to fight against external threats. Second, and more important, pankration helped its practitioners to develop arete (excellence). Greek males were expected to display this quality in all areas of their lives, and especially in combat. The possibility of dying in combat to protect a person’s city or friends was very real. A person who displayed arete would have no hesitation in making a personal sacrifice to protect his friends or city.
Although pankration was expected to develop arete in its practitioners, the Greek world’s obsession with sports led to much cheating and game fixing in various events. It is almost certain that this kind of behavior affected pankration as well. Although practitioners were expected to swear to compete fairly and honestly, the enormous pressure for victory would have led to instances of cheating. Authors from the period, such as Xeno-phanes, regularly decried the loss of pure athletic competition and the evils of professionalism in the local and Olympic games, indicating the magnitude of the problem.
It is unknown if pankration was taught exclusively as a sport or also taught as a means of self-defense in and of itself. Pankration experts obviously were sought out as bodyguards and instructors, just as was the case with retired gladiators during the Roman Empire. Evidence suggests that the emphasis would most likely have been on sport development. Roman sources sometimes did mention, however, the effectiveness of “Greek boxing” as a method of self-defense; whether they were talking about pankra-tion or Greek boxing proper is unknown. However, by the time of the Greek incorporation into the Roman Empire, the emphasis would have been on learning proper striking techniques so that the lethal cestus (a spiked metal glove) could be employed. This alone might indicate a loss of interest in grappling techniques for self-defense, suggesting that boxing proper was probably employed.
The Romans conquered much of Greece in 146 b.c. The athletic skill and combat spirit displayed by pankrationists were less appreciated by the Romans than the slaughter of the gladiatorial games in the Colosseum. Pankration was relegated to secondary status. Therefore, pankration gradually began to disappear from the mainstream of Greek and Roman life. With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, pankration continued to be practiced within the Eastern (Byzantine) Empire, but never achieved the same level of popularity as it had among the ancient Greeks.
The Olympic Games were banned in the fourth century a.d. as pagan rituals, and pankration was relegated to local athletic festivals. Soon, the chaotic circumstances following the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the constant struggle for survival by the Byzantine Empire against external threats, and the prohibition by the Church of any form of paganism discouraged the practice and transmission of the art. By the tenth century, pankration had, for all practical purposes, died out under the impact of social events of the times. Medieval Christianity suppressed events associated with the pagan world as well as prohibiting the study of the human body, critical for unarmed fighting systems. In addition, the nature of warfare in the Middle Ages, specifically the development of vastly superior armor and the counterdevelopment of innovative weapon systems to counteract the defensive abilities of armor, placed a much greater emphasis on weapons training. With the decline and eventual extinction of pankration, the Western world lost its preeminent unarmed martial art. Historical conditions in Europe did not allow for a revival.
With the explosion of popularity of martial arts in the 1960s and 1970s in America and Europe, pankration began a rebirth. Modern systems of pankration have been developed and are gaining popularity. In addition, the development and spectacular popularity of no-holds-barred fighting, also known as “ultimate fighting,” has created a demand for fighters remarkably similar to the pankrationists of antiquity. Ultimate fighters are allowed to punch, kick, and grapple, and many contests are decided through a choke hold or joint lock. The vast number of techniques and the innovative manner in which they are used resemble in many ways Greek pankration. Modern differences, such as the use of protective equipment and uniforms (notably judo or jujutsu uniforms), are often the only distinctions between ultimate fighting and ancient pankration.
Although pankration can be considered a “lost” martial art, it survives into the present day through re-creation. Just how much modern no-holds-barred events resemble the ancient art can never be established, but the spirit of total fighting with minimal rules certainly brings the ideals of pankration into the contemporary world.
Pankration is one of the pivotal events in the history of combat systems. It was developed to teach males the art of war and to develop an individual’s virtue and bravery. It led to the development of innovative and creative fighting methods that profoundly influenced the ancient world. Indeed, that individuals such as Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates were familiar with the art is a signal of the importance of this combat system in the Greek world. The contributions of the ancient Greeks to human society were incalculably important. Pankration is yet another example of the outstanding gifts the Greeks bestowed on the world. Although lost to history, ancient pankration was one of the critical steps in martial arts development and stands as an important milestone in the history of combat systems.
