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At the Argonautica «Αργοναυτικά»
of Orpheus there is the verse 586 “…after the Pangration he gave
Hercules a silver shiny carved cup...”, «…αυτάρ
Παγκρατίοιο
πόρεν
γέρας
Ηρακλήι,
αργύρεον
κρητήρα
παναίολον…».
According to the eminent Greek astronomer Mr. Konstantinos
Chasapis, the Orphic include information ranging from the
twelfth up to the fourth millennium b.C.
Knowing that the Argonautic expedition took place before the
Trojan War it is also mentioned that according to the professor of
the University of Cincinnati (USA) Brian Rose, the War of
Trojan took place around the end of the fourth millennium b.C.
according to the written documents found. Brian Rose writes, “…Troy
was a great commercial center in 3070 b.C., when the war against
Hellenes who were from the same race, took place. After all, trading
could only be effective if writing was established…”
These are totally compatible to a text by Ioannis Passas
on the same topic. Based on those we can reach the following
conclusions:
a.
Hercules had won a trophy in an athletic (friendly!!!)
activity event thousands of years ago.
b.
Purely Hellenic athletic events have presented in the distant
past of the human history.
c.
We know that Orpheus had lived before the Trojan War. If
again we take under consideration the last studies about the actual
time, the war took place around the three thousand years b.C., we
come to the conclusion that the Orphics are indeed as ld it is
believed.
If anyone is aware of any similar kind of
event at that time, has nothing more to do than oppose this opinion.
It is mentioned that Hercules’ activity resulted in his wining a
trophy, we can say that Hercules’ victory was based on wrestling
techniques that had the form of an athletic (friendly!!!) event and
not of a martial –combat- art. Hercules implements an athletic
form of Pangration and not the military art that all ready existed,
and is mention by Apollonius from Rhodes.
The French historian Pierre
Henri Larser also presents specific information about one of the
many Hercules. What is, by all means, certain is that almost all of
the Hercules’s we have information about must have had knowledge
of Pangration, which was common education element for the ancients
Hellenes.
There was also a text written by Diodorus
from Sicily, according to which Hercules was founder of the Olympic
Agones «Ολυμπιακοί
Αγώνες»,
(in fact the one who renewed the very old sacred agonistic events
after he return from Crete with his brothers after the birth of
Zeus) and competed in al event in which he excelled. That on it’s own gives us the chance to reevaluate the age
of the Agones «Αγώνες», and their appearance at the
area around the Aegean on one hand, and their existence and
evolution by a person coming from Crete on the other, “…after
having accomplished this labor, he established the Olympic Agon…
and did that for his father Zeus, he create this event for the olive
crown, and he was the winner since he beat them all…because
compare the boxer and the Pangratiast with the runner…”, «…τελέσας
δε τούτον τον
άθλον τον Ολυμπικόν
αγώνα συνεστήσατο,
…εν ω τον αγώνα
τούτον των Διί
τω πατρίω καθιέρωσε,
στεφανίτην δ’
αυτόν εποίησε
…τα δε αθλήματα
πάντα αυτός αδηρίτως
ενίκησε
… τον γαρ Πύκτην
ή Παγκρατιαστήν
του σταδιέως δύσκολον
περιγενέσθαι…».
Furthermore, we should stress the fact that Achileys Drivas, a former Director of the Gymnastic Academy
and Iakovos Karioatakis,, the Chief of the Hellenic mission
at the Olympic Agones of Helsinki, have written that the ancient cup
(Ryton) of Crete from the 1700-1600 b.C., represents a scene of
Pangration. In accordance tot hem we will find both Hall and W.
Smith. Consequently, Orpheus who had lived before the Trojan War
justly reports the Pangration and Hercules, but also the Hellenes
Scientists assessed accurately those ancient Hellenic texts. As a
result, we have testimonies that Pangration existed both as an
athletic and military activity as early as the 4th – 5th
millennium b.C, and possibly before because it could not have
appeared suddenly, with out any background.
Therefore, Pangration veritably is the most
ancient military – combat art scientifically documented. We come
to this conclusion based upon verified information.
On the other hand, there is a total lack of
testimonies stating the opposite. Only few, those who are unaware of
the historical background claim that all martial arts stem from
India. In fact, representatives
from the ancient martial art of India, Kallari Payat13,
actually agree on the above since they believe that their art is
influence by Pangration after the conquests of Alexander the Grate,
or long before him from Dionysus
and Hercules.
Patrick Tampourini, a French karate athlete claims that,
“…every philosophy of the martial arts stems from ancient
Greece…”
The Hellenic Amateur Karate Federation
has the same opinion, “…karate is a dynamic and noble sport
and has philosophic roots in ancient Hellas…”
The primary
forms of conflict between two people begin from the arms and the
legs, Pyx – Lax as the ancient Hellenes prescribed meaning Pyx
–Box-and Lax Kick. So, in this sense, Pangration (or any of its
forms) is by far older than any other kind of defense and offence.
Texts of later writers report grips of the sport that has survived
up to the 1780 a.D.
In ancient
Hellas, there was the belief that a God or a Hero invented all
sports. In what has to do with Pangration they believed that the
Hero Theseus, who beat Minotaurus using Pangration invented
it according to Ploutarchos and others believe tat Hercules
gave birth to it according to Pausanias.
Regarding Theseus, Pindaros
commentator writes, “Theseus from Athens …won into the
labyrinth though he was weaker than Minotaur, as he beat him using
Pangration since he did not have a knife…”
According to Philostratos, “...when
their bows and their swords broke they started fighting with their
arms… and from all the fighting arts there are, Pangration was the
most preferred”. Here Pangration described as a
military art. Consequently, we can see that the ancient Hellenes
writers have preserved much of information about Pangration and
it’s roots.
It was
something natural because of its great history. It is worth noting
that in Sparti they had a special training place. In a Palaistra,
fighting area, named Platanistas «Πλατανιστάς»,
two teams entered. One team named Hercules and on the other, a team
named Lykourgos. Those who entered the field were isolated through
bridges that dragged. There, exhausting fights were taking place in
events like the Spartan Pangration. Therefore, it is not peculiar
that the Spartans dominated through they were always fighting
against numerous opponents.
13.
From the representatives of Kallari Payat in the 6th
world Martial Arts Festival in Korea.
TYPES
– FORMS OF PANGRATION
Pangration is dividing in two main styles
that had great differences between them. Same as nowadays, there
were many traits of the sport –athlima- «Άθλημα»
that used were during the training but not in the agon –fight-. As
Philostratos reports Pangratiasts, were fighting using twο styles. At the Orthostadin14 «Ορθοστάδη»
or Orthopaiia15 «Ορθοπαιία»,
which includes the standing fighting with punching, kicking, pushing
throwing and more, and Orthopali16 «Ορθοπάλη»,
standing wrestling, as also all kinds of strikes using arms and
legs, and Alindisis17 «Αλίνδησις»
or Kylisis17a «Κύλησις»
which was actually the Pangration on the ground. The last part of
Pangration was similar to the one of wrestling but also included a
variety of strikes. If we take these in order and analyze each style
we can understand clearly what exactly the Pangration was.
At the Orthostadin or Orthopaiia, the
athletes were free to use every part of their body to strike their
opponent. Their goal was to exhaust him so that he would state
Apagorefsin18 «Απαγόρευσιν»,
forbid, lifting his forefinger. The Pygmes19 «Πυγμές», the Olekranizein20
«Ωλεκρανίζειν»,
the Laktismata «Λακτίσματα»,
a main characteristic of the sport, the Othiseis21 «Ωθήσεις, the Exarthroseis22
«Εξαρθρώσεις»,
the Gonatizein23 «Γονατίζειν»,
even the Emvoli Kriou24 «Εμβολή
Κριού»,
were parts of the body implicated during the fight. So the name of
Pammachon «Πάμμαχον»
or Pammachion «Παμμάχιον»
was not by chance.
This name survived until our days in Cyprus
and was replaced in time by the name Pangration. At the Orthostadin
Pangration «Ορθοστάδην
Παγκράτιον»
standing Pangration, the athletes, if they wanted, and were more
efficient with their arms, could wear Imantes25 «Ιμάντες»,
so as not injure their articulations and consequently be forced to
leave the fight, but also so as not to injure their opponent. We can
see that, on pictures, which show Pangration where the athletes are
wearing stripes on one or both hands. The fact that they were
wearing stripes indicates the skill they had at their best hand, the
right or left one.
The Laktismata –kicks- were a
characteristic of Pangration only, and we cannot find them anywhere
else in the world during the same time. However, the Kato Pangration,,
was the one where effort for the final victory was taking place.
After all, this was the goal of the athletes. Throwing their
opponent to the ground where they would force him to quit. So, at
the Kato Pangration the athletes were free to use the grip for
dislocation they had practice in and also to strike the athlete who
as down. Pangration was included in the program of the Olympiacoi
Agones of 648 b.C., the 33rd Oympiad, as men’s event,
and Panration Paidon25 in 200 b.C. in the 145th
Olympiad. Still, the question remains, why, during the antiquity,
the Ilioi26 were late to include Pangration Paidon, while
at the Pythian27 and Nemean28 events
Pangration Paidon was included since the fifth-fourth century b.C.
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14.
Standing Pangration
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24. Forehead strike
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15.
Playing or striking one another.
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25. Children Pangration
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16.
Standing wrestling
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26. Citizens near Olympia
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17,
17a. Rolling in the mud or sand
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27.
Sacred agonistics devoted to God Apollo
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18.
Forbid.
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28.
Funeral sacred agonistics of Nemea area
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19.
Punches
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24.
Forehead strike
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20.
Elbow strike
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25.
Children Pangration
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21.
Pushing
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26.
Citizens near Olympia
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22. Pushing for dislocation
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27.
Sacred agonistics devoted to God Apollo
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23. Knee strike
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It is known throughout the world that the
nations of the East, especially the Indians, copied Pangration and
spread it to the regions of the Shaolin Temple in South China. A
region, which was named, maybe not by chance- Unan, which can easily
be translate in the name of Ionia.
This spreading took place by the Buddhist
monk Bodidharma or Ta Mo who traveled from India to China to spread
Buddhism during the 6th century a.d. A long time before
that, about a thousand years, a friend of Alexander the Grate and a
true follower of the Hellenic spirit named
Asoka spread
Buddhism throughout India and established Buddhism as a formal
religion.
Up until then
Buddhism was a form of cosmic teaching. In fact, through Buddhism,
exercising by the Hellenic prototype, spread too, because the
ancient Hellenic spirit and the Hellenic Pangration undoubtedly
influenced Asoka, and thousand years later Bodidharma.
At this point, we must report that both
Buddhism and Komfukianism, religions that spread in China almost
simultaneously began in the 6th century b.C. We know that
about the same time a rough form of martial art started to spread
which had a limited number of exercises and grips (eighteen), in
China, from the Shaolin Temple.
However, back in Hellas, Pangration was all
ready an official event at the Olympiakoi Agones, long before Buddha
and Komfukius who were born around the mid 6th century.
We note that Pangration had detailed rules and regulations,
something important but unknown to other nations.
The nature of Pangration made Pangratiasts
have a position, which would enable them to control both defense and
offence. This made possible by the selection of a body position that
is still quite effective.
The Pangration was hard, no doubt about it.
However, we must not take all that happened before 27 centuries with
today’s social demands and aspects. That is actually the mistake
to our synchronized society of the past wisdom and teachings.
Despite the hardness of Pangration, at an event as tough as this
there were not (at least not as often as the ignorant believe) any
injuries or deaths. The only written testimony is the one of
Arrachion or Arrichion, who could have been avoided if he himself
wanted so, but he complied with his proponitis29 Eryxias,
who shouted at him from the railing, “It is a good death not
forbid in Olympia” «…καλόν εντάφιον το εν Ολυμπία μη επειπήν».
Pangration was a noble event. The forcing to Apagorefsis –forbit-,
in Kato Pangration was accomplished through grips and not with
punches unlike boxing. After all this was the main part of athletes,
training moves. At the fighting part of Pangration there were
included the correct way of standing on one’s toes and the
circular movement of the head for the avoidance of blows
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