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Pankration (Greek:) a martial arts sport introduced to the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC and founded as a blend of boxing and wrestling. The term comes from the Ancient Greek παγκρ?τιον, literally meaning "all powers" and that from π?ν (pan) "all" + κρ?τος (kratos) "strength" or "power". It is also used to describe the sport's contemporary variations. Some tout it as the first all-encompassing fighting system in human history. It is also arguable that pankration competitions in antiquity were the closest an athletic event has come to outright, no-rules, empty hand combat. Modern mixed martial arts competitions have come to feature many of the same methods that were used in pankration competitions in the ancient Greek world
In Greek mythology it was said that the heroes Herakles and Theseus invented pankration as a result of using both wrestling and boxing. They are credited as the two "inventors" of panmachia (παμμαχ?α or π?μμαχον), "total combat", from π?ν-, p?n-, "all-" or "total", and μ?χη, mach?, "combat". The older term panmachia would later become disused in favor of the sport term pankration. Theseus is said to have utilized his extraordinary pankration skills to defeat the dreaded Minotaur in the Labyrinth.
Pankration was more than just an event in the athletic competitions of the ancient Greek world; it was also part of combat training for Greek soldiers - including the famous Spartan hoplites and Alexander the Great's Macedonian phalanx.
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