POLYDAMAS- Successor to Hercules
By Peter Vuono

    Certainly one of the fastest growing sports worldwide is mixed martial arts(MMA).
Companies such as the UFC, Bellator and Pride are household names as are many of the
combatants that fight in these leagues. What many MMA fans don't know, however, is that MMA is nothing new and appeared in the  ancient Olympic games approximately 648 BC. The sport was known at that time as Pankratium and it consisted of boxing, wrestling, throws, trips, arm locks and chokes. The only things that were not allowed were eye gouging and biting.
    One of the finest and best known Pankratiasts was Theagenes of Thasos who won the Pankratium in 476BC. He also won the boxing edition of the Olympics in 480BC. Theagenes was victorious in 2102 matches in which 1800 of his opponents died!
     Although is seems that Theagenes had the greatest record of wins, the title of the strongest Pankratiast had to have gone to the mighty Polydamas whose name in Greek means "many demons".Polydamas of Satoussa was a physical giant of 6'8" and weighed a solid 300lbs. It was said that his strength was so tremendous that he could prevent a horse drawn chariot from moving from the spot from which it started.
     Polydamas was strictly a Pankratiast and won the event in the 93rd  ancient Greek Olympics of 408BC.
Pankratium is interpreted as meaning "all powers" and Polydamas certainly possessed those attributes.
One of his greatest desires was to become like his ancient hero Hercules. It is said that Hercules killed the Nemean Lion with a Pankratium maneuver known as the forearm choke. Knowing this, Polydamas stalked and killed a lion with his bare hands! Since the existence of Hercules has not been fully proven and since Samson possessed God given help, Polydamas was the ONLY human on record to kill a lion without a weapon!
     Many devotees of ancient warfare know well the Battle of Thermopyle where King Leonidas and the Spartan 300 were overtaken by the Persian King Xerxes. Xerxes' father was King Darius I
When Darius heard the story of Polydamas and the lion he invited Polydamas to meet with him. Darius persuaded Polydamas to take on one of the Immortals which was the elite fighting unit of the Persian army. When the battle took place, Darius brought out 3 armed Immortals rather than the agreed upon one. In just a short time, Polydamas killed all three.
     Polydamas' last feat of strength was also one of intense bravery. One summer, he and his friends attempted to shade themselves from the summer heat by going deeply into a cave. After a short while, a cave -in developed and the rocks began to hurl themselves down. Polydamas, stood and held up the ceiling of the cave just long enough for his friends to escape. However, his strength, great as it was, was not enough to save himself.
     Some historians claim that Polydamas was killed because of overconfidence. This author would like to believe that the instinct of the great Pankratiast  was directed toward saving his friends without any regard for his own safety. Polydamas always wanted to be like Hercules. This final act of strength and heroism truly made him the successor to the ancient Greek hero.

"No greater love is there than when a man lay down his life for his friends"- John 15:13

Reference- David P. Willoughby- Iron Man Magazine -April-May 1956