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Tracing the origins of the modern Olympics (part 4)

Roar Rookie
30th July, 2008
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Mavlet Batirov, of Russia, wrestles Stepehn Abas, of United States, red, during the men\'s freestyle 55kg wrestling final bout at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Saturday, Aug. 28, 2004. Batirov won the bout and the gold medal. AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian

Heavy sports in the ancient Olympic Games included wrestling, boxing and the deadly pankration. None of these sports were for the squeamish. All three were violent, cruel, heroic, and even murderous, with few rules, no time limit and no weight class.

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Wrestling was clean-cut, elegant, not allowing torture holds and not requiring contestants to go to the mat. The object was to throw one’s opponent to the ground while keeping one’s own feet. It was the best of five throws.

In vase paintings can be seen standard throws still in use – flying mare, headlock, cross hip, body press and heave. Referees for wrestling carried a long stick to poke and hit contestants infringing the laws.

The most famous of the ancient wrestlers was Milo. Legend says he made himself strong by lifting a bull calf every day. In time the calf became a bull with Milo, reputedly still lifting it.

Read last week’s installment in this exclusive series

Milo’s statue at Olympia had him balancing on a discus, holding a pomegranate. For laughs, Milo used to hold a pomegranate in his outstretched hand, daring on lookers to take it. No one ever did. The fruit remained whole and unbruised. Also, standing on the discus he challenged people to push him off.

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Unfortunately, his confidence in his great strength led to his death. He was alone in his orchard, wedging open the trunk of a growing olive tree in order to make a graft. The wedges slipped. Without a thought Milo thrust his hand into the slit of the tree to hold it open. Suddenly the tree shut on his forearm, imprisoning him. Night fell. With it came a pack of wolves and the demise of an Olympic hero.

Boxing in the earliest Olympics barred blows below the neck. The boxers advanced with fists cocked at eye-level, bellies advanced, backs leaning back. There were no rounds, no rest periods and no points and contestants were permitted to hit a man when he was down. Each bout continued until one of the contestants was unconscious or raised his own hand, acknowledging defeat. Because Spartans never surrendered, it is most unlikely that they took part in Olympic boxing or the pankration events.

Instead of gloves, boxers bound their fists in a long rawhide thong. When Rome dominated the Games, the Romans added a sharp-edged knuckle-duster, the cestus, to enliven bouts. Obviously death must have been a constant visitor to ancient rings and a law was introduced that exempted fatal accidents from a charge of homicide. The effect of the cestus was to cut the give-and-take aspect of boxing to a minimum. One punch could terminate a bout. So crafty boxers learned the art of “circle and wait”.

One boxer, Melancomas, won the laurel wreath through keeping his head back, and his guard up, and keeping away from his opponents who, after hours of stalking, surrendered with frustration and exhaustion.

An epitaph discovered at Olympia commemorates a boxer called Agathos Daimon: “Here he died, boxing in the stadium, having prayed to Zeus for either the wreath or death. Aged 35. Farewell.”

The army supplied the majority of the boxers, though one great champion, Glaucus, came from a farm. When about 16, while ploughing his family’s land, the ploughshare fell out of its shaft. Without thinking Glaucus drove it in tight with the side of his fist. His father, who witnessed this, immediately started to train him for the Olympics. In his first fight, cut and bleeding badly, his father/trainer yelled to him, “Mend the plough!” Dutifully, Glaucus threw a chopping side-arm blow, which destroyed his opponent and he became one of the most famous of the Ancient “pugs.”

Pankration means “all powers”, and it was the most popular of the heavy events. Historians describe it as a combination of wrestling, judo and boxing. At the Olympics it meant barehanded combat where anything went, including bitting, eye-gouging, strangling, elbow in throat and knee in the groin. All were common. Breaking fingers, ripping flesh and torture holds were also permitted. Strangely enough, there were always willing contestants.

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Naturally, some of the greatest and grizzliest stories involve pankration bouts.

In 564 BC, Arrichion, who had won the previous two Games titles, was half strangled, on the ground receiving a shocking beating, including his opponent kicking in his rib cage. Then out of the darkness of pain, Arrichion caught his opponent’s foot, with a mighty heave he twisted. The ankle snapped and with his foot dangling from its socket his opponent surrendered. With a gasp Arrichion died. The victor’s garland was placed on his crunched body.

The 480 BC pankration champion was Theagenes. He was so powerful it was rumoured that he was the son of the god, Herackles. As a small boy he wrenched a sacred bronze statue from its pedestal and carried it home. When the villagers discovered the loss of the statue they set out to stone the thief to death. When it was discovered at Theagenes home no one would believe that the boy had taken it.

They were about to stone his father when the boy picked up the statue and took it back. From then on the village nurtured and encouraged their young Olympic hope.

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