Ancient fighters and fighting.

[Marchegiano]

I'm going to attempt to write Euthymos of Lokroi's story myself. I've had a hard time finding a good source for a complete story online so I figured I'd write it. If you search out elements of the story I'm sure you'll find everything, or at least with in an understandable degree of human error, everything I claim is true and comes from historical records. I apologize if it's ****, i'm no author.

Euthymos won the Olympiad in 484, 476, and 472 BC. In the year 480 Euthymos was stopped by a young and very brash Theaganese of Thasos( also a mega badass, he even won fights from beyond the grave, no myth, no bull****) . After this embarrassing defeat Euthymos embarked on his way home to the village of Lokroi. While traveling he has to stop at various towns and villages to sleep and eat etc., he's on foot. When he comes to the small village of Temesa Euthymos is upset by the lack of villagers to greet him. He's an olympic champion and expects a champion's welcome especially in a place so close to his home. Euthymos questions villagers hiding in their homes who tell him the village of Temesa is haunted by a demon* who lives on a nearby mountain. Once a year the demon comes to the village in search of virgins to deflower and sacrifice at the peak of his mountain, and by chance or perhaps the grace of Lord Apollo ( God of Boxing and mythological inventor of the art) Euthymos' most welcome visit has come on the same day they expect the demon. Euthymos is shown the girls and young women they are protecting. Some stories claim he fell in love and took one for his bride, other simply state that he was aware of them and what was going on. Either way Euthymos waits for the demon outside along a path he claims it the most logical path for the demon to follow if he lives on the mountain the villagers claim he live on. Night comes and with it the demon. Euthymos, gives the demon the option to flee and never return, the demon refuses and they fight. Not much is said about what actually happened in the fight itself, but by its resolution Euthymos left this demon dead in a river. The villagers see him as a saviour but are skeptical of the demon's apparent death. They claim he'd been killed before and comes back, but after the body was consumed by the river the villagers pronounce Euthymos son of the River God. He's later honored with the status of a Hero and deified in his lifetime.

Euthymos, real deal Hercules.

I can't find it right now in my personal library to freshen up on it, but Euthymos's father was at the Olympic games, he was very proud of his son, and while he enjoyed his son becoming a god he also liked being recognized as his father. Unfortunately I can not remember his name or the time of Euthymos' birth. I'm pretty sure somewhere I have his momma's name too. If I find that stuff I'll update


* Sometimes in the story the demon is a ghost or the historian feel the need to explain it was likely a man. I wrote it as a demon because I'm pretty sure youse know it was likely a man. Some historians think he was a deranged soldier, most don't speculate on him much.

Thanks reading bud, I hope you enjoyed it. If you can add or have an edit to suggest I'd love to hear it.

[Marchegiano]

Melankomas The Original Undefeated

With this one I actually found a great article I think youse'd be interested in. Enjoy:

Victor in the 207th Olympiad, 49 AD.

The boxer Melankomas was from Caria, a region of what the Greeks called Asia Minor and is now known as Turkey. Born to an outstanding father, Melankomas was known for his handsome body and good looks.

This athlete, we are told, had a soul as brave as his body was beautiful. In an effort to prove his courage, Melankomas chose athletics, since this was the most honorable and most strenuous path open to him. Evidently some men believed that the training a soldier must endure is less difficult than that of an athlete, particularly that of a boxer.

Amazingly enough, Melankomas was undefeated throughout his career yet he never once hit an opponent or was hit by one. ( He went unpointed against. Not just didn't lose a fight, he didn't lose a round, a minute, or even a second. There be no ****ing shelter here you know what I mean? )

His boxing style was to defend himself from the blows of the other boxer and avoid striking the other man. Invariably, the opponent would grow frustrated and lose his composure. This unique style won Melankomas much admiration for his strength and endurance. He could allegedly fight throughout the whole day, even in the summer, and he refused to strike his opponents even though he knew by doing so he would quickly end the match and secure an easy victory for himself. ( He was tiring them out. Melankomas still scored KOs but he didn't hit his opposition to get KOs. If a guy was too stupid to give up on his own he'd become too tired to stand ...I'm a huge Money fan and I love Marciano, but they can't even front on that ****. RJJ, can't be touched? RJJ you've waged a war of nerves, but you can't crush the kingdom )

No doubt his success was due in large part to his rigorous training. Melankomas exercised far more than the other athletes. Indeed, one story relates that the boxer went for two straight days with his arms up, not once putting them down or resting.

Unfortunately, Melankomas died at a young age. Always the eager competitor, the boxer, lying on his deathbed, asked a friend how many days of the athletic meet were left. He would not live to compete again. Even so, his name lives on for his remarkable boxing skills.

Source: Tufts and obviously the blue bits are just my personal thoughts and notes.

For a more indepth look into Melankomas peek on my man Shelton: http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/blog/?p=15856

Easily one of my favorite boxers of all time, and without a doubt a certified badass. In all hypothetical match ups I give the nod to the mythical figure that is the untouchable Melankomas.

As far as the validity of his story goes, it's the Roman period and he was very, very famous. If someone touched Melankomas you'd know. For how often he fought look into the Games more open ended. They fought more than the Olympic games and honored more than Zeus/Jove and the Emperor. Perhaps in the future I'll add records to these threads, but at the moment I do not have that research prepared. I can tell you that information is online though. I think Wiki has most of it and outside of that I'd go to The Foundation for the Hellenistic World FHW.gov I believe. Sorry I rushed the end, I've work to do.

[Anthony342]

Also, an entertaining '80s group.

[Marchegiano]

Kleomedes of Astypalaia. Bringer of Death.

Kleomedes, from the Greek Island of Istanbulya (Astypalaia), killed Ikkos of modern Epidaurus, Greece during the 492 BCE Olympia. (by stabbing him in the heart with his fingers with an open hand jab to the heart a bit like that character in indiana jones and the temple of doom, that kali ma guy.) The umpires (*Hellano-d-i-k-ai) disqualified Kleomedes for “foul play” (open hand strikes are against Onomastos rules) so that Ikkos, in death, was declared the victor and champion. Kleomedes was overwhelmingly distraught with not being awarded his prize. He returned to Astypalaia, and enraged over his Olympia failure pulled down a pillar, with his great strength, that held the roof of a school. Sixty children were crushed and smothered to death. Local citizenry were understandably outraged and began pelting the boxer with stones. Kleomedes fled for safety until placing himself inside a heavy chest. Astypalaian’s were initially unsuccessful with their attempts to open the chest and slay the child-murderer. Finally, they pried the chest open only to find the boxer was not there. Astypalaia locals sent envoys for advice from the Priestess of Delphi who told them, “Last of heroes is Kleomedes of Astypalaia. Honor him with sacrifices as being no longer a mortal.” It appeared that the missing Kleomedes was dead, but without body as proof. The citizens of Astypalaia did as told and began to worship the boxing disgrace and child-murderer as a hero.


Source: CBZ and Chris Shelton -
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/blog/?p=21060

* hellano***ai gets star'd by the overbearing censor here sort of like poor English great Don ****ell C-o-c-k-ell despite being legend in the ring.

Hellano***ai may be absolutely essential for explaining boxing history but balls to that we mustn't have d.i.k. legible no matter what....on a god damned boxing forum. I wasn't putting hyphens in for any sort of pronunciation reason or anything like that just getting around the censor.

If you're wondering why I don't honor the ancient judges decision and list Ikkos in my champions thread, I used to. My BA thread listed Ikkos, but The Foundations of The Hellenic World, http://www.fhw.gr/fhw/ , lists Kleomedes so this time around I went with Kleomedes. I figure, they're historians, they may know something I don't.

[Marchegiano]

Glaukos of Karystos - Hammerfist

Glaukos claimed to be descended from the marine god Glaucus. It is said that while still a boy, Glaukos fixed a ploughshare by driving stakes with the blows of his fist, and without the help of a hammer. His father, observing this feat, had him participate in the boxing competition at the Olympic games.

Having had no previous training, Glaukos was severely injured by his opponents, and was about to pass out during the final fight, but his father encouraged him with the words "Son, the plough tough", whereupon Glaukos defeated his opponent with a final blow. He subsequently became a renowned boxer. His statue at Olympia was made by Glaucias of Aegina. Glaukos was said to have been buried on an island which later bore his name.

[Marchegiano]

Pythagoras of Samos - Scientifically Precisioned.

In 588 BC, a young man from Samos made his way to the Olympic Games with the goal of winning the youth division in boxing. However, when registering, the officials told the young man that he was too old to compete amongst the boys. Spectators and competitors began to mock the Samian for his long hair and purple robes, accusing him of effeminacy for attempting to compete with the younger boys. Undeterred, the young man signed to fight with the adult boxers. Despite the contemptuous ridicule he had suffered from the crowd, Pythagoras won bout after bout, and was crowned victorious at the 48th Olympiad.

According to the ancient historian Diogenes Laertius, this was the same Pythagoras of Samos who would go on to found the Brotherhood, a unique school of philosophers in Greek history. The Pythagoreans were incredibly well-respected, and their work influenced that of all the great philosophers who would follow them– including the famous trio of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Music and mathematics played especially important roles, to the Pythagoreans. These fields informed their philosophy, while their philosophy simultaneously inspired their musical and mathematical discoveries.

Eratosthenes says, as Favorinus quotes him in the eighth book of his Universal History, that this philosopher, of whom we are speaking, was the first man who ever practised boxing in a scientific manner, in the 48th Olympiad

Pythagoras was said to be the son of Apollo, god of boxing, logic, and music.

[Marchegiano]

Kleomachos of Maiandros - Poet

A lyric poet, was at first a boxer and victor of the 82nd Olympiad, but having fallen violently in love with a kínaidos and a prostitute, whom he supported, he began to write in the obscene language of the kínaidoi.

He devoted himself to the composition of poems of a very licentious character. From the resemblance in character between his poetry and that of Gnesippus, it might be inferred that he is the same person as the father of Gnesippus; but Strabo mentions him among the celebrated men of Magnesia in such a way that, if he adheres in this case to his usual practice of giving the names in chronological order, this Kleomachos would fall much later than the time of Gnesippus.

Source: Brill and Tufts

[Marchegiano]

Kleitomachos of Thebes - Ancient Abstinence

His achievements were recounted by Pausanias, who notes that he won the boxing and pankration at the 141st Olympiad in 216 BC, the pankration at three Pythian Games, and the wrestling, boxing, and pankration at an Isthmian Games. This latter achievement, victory in all three so-called "downing" events, was regarded as especially impressive, and was only achieved by one other athlete, Theagenes of Thasos. Aelian praised Kleitomachos for his temperance, holding it to be the key to his athletic prowess. In particular, he noted Kleitomachos' abstinence from sex, saying that he would even avert his eyes if he saw two dogs coupling.

[Marchegiano]

Also, an entertaining '80s group.

really? A band?

[Anthony342]

Yeah, the Eurythmics, you never heard of them?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeMFqkcPYcg