Pankration was originally a combat sport introduced into the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC. The term comes from the Greek παγκράτιον [paŋkrátion], literally meaning ‘all of power’ from πᾶν (pan) ‘all’ and κράτος (kratos) ‘strength, might, power’. Pankration athletes utilised boxing, kicking, and grappling methods, as well as wrestling elements such as locks and chokeholds. The sport was infamous for its ferocity with such tactics as knees to the head and eye-gouging. Severe injuries and death were very common.
One ancient account tells of a situation in which the judges were trying to determine the winner of a match. The difficulty lay in the fact that both men had actually died in the arena from their injuries. Eventually, the judges decided the winner was the one who didn’t have his eyes gouged out! Over time, however, manoeuvres like eye gouging were discouraged to prevent such unpleasant incidents.