Melankomas
| Personal information | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native name | Μελανκόμας | ||||||||
| Nationality | Ancient Greek | ||||||||
| Born | Caria (modern-day Turkey) | ||||||||
| Died | ~70 A.D. Naples, Italy | ||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||
| Sport | Ancient Greek Boxing | ||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||
Melankomas, or Melancomas (Greek: Μελανκόμας or Μελαγκόμας), meaning 'One with the Black Hair,' was an Ancient Greek boxer from Caria and victor in the 207th Olympiad (49 AD.).
Biography[edit]
Melankomas was born in Caria to an Ancient Greek boxing champion, of the same name, who lived during the first century C.E. He made a name for himself as an Ancient Greek boxer in the Olympiad, even winning in the 207th Olympiad in 49 A.D.[1][2][3]
Supposedly he had a unique boxing style, blocking and avoiding the punches of the other boxer without throwing any himself.[4][5] Once his opponents had run out of stamina they would forfeit, leaving Melankomas the victor.[6] It was related by Dio Chrysostom that he was able to fight like this by training significantly more than his contemporaries and having an unmatched endurance, being able to fight through a whole day or hold his arms up, in a static hold, continuously for two days.[3][7]
Melankomas died young, around the year 70 A.D. during the games in Naples.[2][3][8]
Legacy[edit]
Melankomas is known to us mainly from the 28th and 29th Discourses of Dio Chrysostom, in which that writer uses his life as a canvas for a discussion of the ideal athlete and the ideal man; Dio praises his athleticism, good looks, and brave heart. Dio says he never lost a match, hit an opponent, or was struck by an opponent.[7][8][9] Themistius reports that the emperor Titus was his lover (erastes).[10]
Some scholars believe Melankomas to have been a real person, while others believe that he or his record was an invention of Dio's; there is nothing allowing a firm conclusion either way.[2][5][8]
Melankomas was mentioned in a second-season episode of Sports Night as a contender for "Athlete of the Millennium."[citation needed]
References[edit]
- ^ Dictionary Of History By Ramesh Chopra Page 192 ISBN 81-8205-223-8
- ^ a b c "Ancient Olympics: Melankomas". ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be. KU Leuven. 2012. Archived from the original on 2021-07-21. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
- ^ a b c "Athletes' Stories: Melankomas of Caria". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Tufts University. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
- ^ "Ancient Olympic Athletes - Leonidas, Melankomas, Milon". International Olympic Committee. 2021-07-14. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
- ^ a b Delistraty, Cody (2020-08-20). "Lance Armstrong, Ryan Lochte and the Marketing of Controversy". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
- ^ Early, Gerald (2019-01-24). The Cambridge Companion to Boxing. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-65103-5.
- ^ a b Poliakoff, Michael B. (1987). "Melankomas, ek klimakos, and Greek Boxing". The American Journal of Philology. 108 (3): 511–518. doi:10.2307/294676. ISSN 0002-9475. JSTOR 294676.
- ^ a b c König, Jason (2005-04-21). Athletics and Literature in the Roman Empire. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-83845-0.
- ^ Melankomas is also mentioned in Themistius, Orationes 10 (=165 Dinsdorf) and alluded to by Eustathius. Michael B. Poliakoff, "Melankomas, ἐκ κλίμακο, and Greek Boxing", The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 108, No. 3 (Autumn, 1987), p. 511.
- ^ Heather, Peter J.; Heather, Professor of Medieval History Peter; Sozomen; Matthews, John (1991). The Goths in the Fourth Century. Liverpool University Press. ISBN 978-0-85323-426-5.
External links[edit]
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