The Martial Arts of Ancient Greece: Modern Fighting Techniques from the Age of Alexander

After two relatively short chapters on history and terminology, the bulk of the book consists of a massive third chapter, occupying 153 pages. This is my favorite part of the book, as it examines depictions of various martial arts techniques from Egyptian and Greek sources, then analyzes and recreates them with photographs of modern practitioners. The final chapter is a bit more esoteric and involves the so-called “inner path.”I had seen limited depictions of ancient martial artwork, such as the wrestling art in the tomb of Baqet III, more popularly known as part of the Beni Hasan tombs in Egypt dating to the 21st century BCE. The 1995 book Combat Sports in the Ancient World by Michael B. Poliakoff was the first serious work that I read on the topic, and it included some of the Beni Hasan art, as well as depictions from Greek pottery and the like. In this book, however, Dervenis and Lykiardopoulos go to an entirely new level.The authors include dozens of photographs of ancient art, with many close-ups of the Beni Hasan techniques, for example. They then reproduce the technique with modern human practitioners, usually offering several photos showing the technique in action. The photos are clear and easy to follow, which I do not take for granted in martial arts books. The authors’ interpretations and analysis are reasonable and thorough.The Kindle version is clear enough to read, even on a small-screen e-ink device like the Paperwhite. However, when I learned that the print edition was a rather large 8 inch by 10 inch paperback, I decided I had to buy it. It was worth the price and made it even easier to follow along with the art and interpretations.I have very few concerns with this book. It is evident the authors have strong feelings about competing modern interpretations of pankration. Then again, martial arts have a tendency to evoke strong opinions! I also didn’t completely follow the trail of logic that the authors outlined in the early chapters, but that did not greatly worry me. I was less interested in the spiritual and energy aspects of the final chapter. Readers like me can probably skip that section and still derive maximum value from the remainder of the book.The Martial Arts of Ancient Greece will undoubtedly be on the recommended reading lists compiled by Martial History Team. It’s the best book I’ve seen that combines historical research with compelling modern recreation and interpretation. There is no need to have a specific interest in history to enjoy the book, either. Readers know that there are limitations to learning martial arts or combat sports techniques from books. Nevertheless, the content in this one is so well-delivered that you may indeed pick up a few tricks from the Egyptian and Greek practitioners who lived and fought thousands of years ago.

It was one of the best books I have read. It discussed the origin of pankration and also of warfare. The detail and description used in explaining the techniques was fantastic. The authors also compared Western martial arts with Eastern martial arts which was quite interesting.I think if anyone reads this book, they will get a lot out of it.P.S: It even provides exercises so you can perform some of the wrestling skills.Best book ever!,David

Diese Arbeit gefällt mir gut. Der kleine Wermutstropfen ist das nicht immer optimale Meinungsbild, was die Autoren von der griechischen Kampfkunst haben. Mehr will ich ihnen nicht anlasten. Die Techniken lehnen sich zwar viel an die Fresken des ägyptische Beni Hassan an, doch die komplette Kampfkunst der Levante beeinflusste sich gegenseitig. Dazu kommt, dass die Techniken naturgemäß begrenzt sind. Effektive Kampfkünste sind sich in der letzten Konsequenz recht ähnlich. Ob deshalb der Titel geändert werden müsste sei dahingestellt. Buchtitel werden oft von den Verlagen ausgesucht und die Autoren haben nicht immer Einfluss daraus.Das Buch ist jedenfalls durchaus informativ, und auch als Lehrbuch besitzt es einigen Wert.

a great history and overview of pankration.

Anyone interested in ancient war or modern grappling will be interested in this book. It could also be said that it tackles problems ancient art historians never knew they had. The core of the volume has a simple premise. There is a picture or drawing or a Mediterranean antiquity (usually Greek or Egyptian) and modern illustrations that show how it was applied. Some of the grappling techniques are rather complicated, but I think the authors have seen what the ancient artists were trying to depict. Modern people not so familiar with grappling might have had some trouble before this book!This is experimental archaeology at its best. The last part of the book deals with contact between China and the Mediterranean that one might not agree with. I will take pleasure in exploring the techniques in this book for years to come.

Amazing book. Really well sourced, maximizing use of art and artifacts from Ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt, and comparing it to modern fighting styles and medieval Germanic and Italian Ringen/Abrazare.This will give you a plethora of techniques, both striking and grappling, to try, with sources and modern applications shown for each movement.Moreover, it will distinguish between Greek 'sport' fighting (Pankration) and lethal 'military' fighting (Pammachon). Definitely recommend!My sole gripe with this excellent source is that, as a striking-oriented fighter, it could have covered the very basics of grappling (for example, by starting with basic guards such as in Fiore) before going on to expose individual techniques. But this is likely just because I've preferred striking to an impractical extent.Do buy if you're interested in genuine Greek HEMA!

Great book, would definitely recommend for any true martial artists out there.

Questo libro è incredibile, sono davvero entusiasta! Abito in una zona che tanto tempo fa era la Magna Grecia, sono un atleta di Pancrazio Athlima/Pankration e sono sempre alla ricerca degli antichi segreti e sistemi di combattimento dei miei antenati..Consigliatissimo, 5 Stelle..Gli autori hanno tutto il mio totale rispetto, e li ringrazio per questo magnifico lavoro.