Pankration

This article is about the sport. You may be looking for the memory of Kassandra.

Kassandra and Dorieus competing in a pankration match

Pankration was a sporting event introduced into the Greek Olympic Games during the 7th century BCE. An empty-hand submission sport with scarcely any rules, it consisted of two opponents using a combination of boxing and wrestling techniques, as well as kicking, holds, locks, and chokes on the ground, to try and incapacitate each other. The only illegal moves were biting and gouging out the opponent's eyes.

History

During the pankration event in the 564 BCE Olympics, Arrachion was pronounced the winner posthumously after he was illegally suffocated to death by his opponent during a bout.

By the time of the Peloponnesian War, the majority of Greek poleis had a pankration champion representing them at the Olympic Games; in 428 BCE, the pankratists participating in the event included Orion and Erastos, while Rhodes was represented by the reigning champion Dorieus, and Sparta was represented by the misthios Kassandra, who had to take the place of Sparta's Testikles following his untimely death.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Odyssey