Arichion of Phigaleia competed as a fighter in the sport of pankration—also spelled pancratium—during the Olympic Games of 564 BCE, reckoned the 54th Olympiad by the historian, Eusebius (c. 260-339 CE). Arichion was a heavy favorite, as he had won the event two times prior. But victory is never certain, especially for an aging athlete. Pankration’s brutal nature added to the uncertainty of the outcome, as it was an incredibly violent form of mixed martial arts, allowing punching, kicking, wrestling grapples, and almost every other brawling move besides biting and eye-gouging. It was a deadly sport, and competitors were known to die in the ferocious fights. Nevertheless, Arichion of Phigaleia, as a two-time Olympic champion, was well aware of the dangers and risks of competing against the best of the best in pankration.
Once the Olympic Games of the 54th Olympiad were formally set in motion and the pankration tournament brackets were set, Arichion of Phigaleia set off on his quest for his third Olympic victory. Still in dominant shape, Arichion made short work of his early competitors and ascended to the final stages of the tournament, eventually reaching the final bout. Only one more fight stood between him and his desired hopeful feat of becoming a three-time Olympic champion of pankration. The two remaining fighters were on the precipice of Olympic victory, but the brutal preceding fights left the finalists bruised, battered, and susceptible to further injury.
Shrugging off their fatigue and hurt, the finalists began their historic fight. Their battle was vicious, with great injury done on both sides. After a ferocious trading of blows, the fight eventually shifted into grappling and take-downs. In the rule-less wrestling, grievous damage was exchanged. Arichion applied enough pressure on his opponent’s leg that the bone snapped, and Arichion, too, found himself in a deadly stranglehold. The broken leg proved too painful for the champion’s opponent, prompting the man’s surrender and Arichion’s victory. Yet, sadly, that was not the end to the story.
A tragic and unfair twist of fate occurred in the time between the competitor’s signal of surrender and the official end to the pankration match. During that span of time, Arichion of Phigaleia succumbed to the stranglehold that had been applied to his neck, resulting in his death. On this, the aforementioned historian, Euseubius, wrote, “Arichion of Phigaleia was…strangled and died, while winning the pancratium contest for the third time, and though dead he was crowned as victor, because his opponent had already conceded defeat, after his leg was broken by Arichion” (Eusebius, Chronicle, Book II, The Greek Olympiads, entry for 54th Olympiad/564 BCE). As the quote conveys, Arichion of Phigaleia forced his competitor to surrender, but then perished to his opponent’s strangling before the fight could be ended by the Olympic authorities. Arichion of Phigaleia was posthumously awarded his third Olympic victory, and his death was evidently ruled as an accident, for no punitive measures or repercussions were reported for the opponent who had employed the stranglehold.
Written by C. Keith Hansley
Picture Attribution: (Terracotta Panathenaic prize amphora, attributed to the Kleophrades Painterca (c. 500 BCE), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons and the MET).
Sources:
- Eusebius’ Chronicle, translated by Andrew Smith after the Petermann (c. 19th century) Modern Latin Translation, included in Eusebius: Collected Works (Delphi Classics, 2019).
- https://www.britannica.com/sports/pankration
- https://www.britannica.com/sports/Olympic-Games
- https://www.britannica.com/place/Olympia-ancient-site-Greece
