Pankration

Two athletes competing in the pankration. Panathenaic amphora, made in Athens in 332–331 BC, during the archonship of Niketes. From Capua
Focus	Boxing and Wrestling
Country of origin	Ancient Greece
Olympic sport	Introduced in 648 BC in the 33rd Olympiad

Pankration was a sport in Ancient Greece. Eight of Pindar's odes were written in honor of pankratiasts. The pankration was a form of wrestling with one difference: the athletes were allowed to use their fists. They did not wear boxing thongs however. Kicking and hitting were allowed but biting and gouging an eye or soft spot with a thumb or finger were forbidden. Umpires flogged athletes who violated these rules. In spite of this punishment, violations often occurred.