enswell thanks for bumping this.
DragonofMetsu I have a question that is more related to MMA/Pankration.
Still trying to get hold of that book you recommended, what I was wondering is how much grappling was involved in Spartan Pankration because that was real "no rules" not like UFC 1 "no rules but no eye gouging or biting". I have been trying to find any descriptions of how these ancient Spartan Pankration fights went but so far no luck.
Grappling was still a part of Spartan Pankration but it was much more risky obviously due to the risk of gouges and bites, but you have to also remember the Spartans disdained training in the heavy events for sport only, they wanted the competitions to correlate to real combat as much as possible, hence the literal allowance of everything.
also on a bit of a digression, but still related, the iconic pic for Pankration:
Is actually
not Pankration, but Wrestling.
Combat Sports in the Ancient World mentions three key ways to tell apart the heavy events in greek art:
Pankration:
Kicks, are the major way to tell a Pankration piece apart from Boxing and Wrestling, as those weren't allowed in either
Strikes on the ground are a way too, though usually those are rare, hence the confusion with the above pic
Boxing:
Look for Sharp Thongs on the fighters hands, and cauliflowered ears
Wrestling:
Holds, ground fighting, close grappling
these rules will typically help you distinguish them, but they're not absolute, and another problem is how ancient greek art pieces have been reinterperated or altered, completely changing the context of the piece, as in the "Pankration" example above.
