A review by jakej
Combat Sports in the Ancient World: Competition, Violence, and Culture by Michael B. Poliakoff

informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

This is a great overview of ancient combat sports. Several areas are covered but the focus is Ancient Greece; on the "Big Three" of boxing, pankration, and wrestling. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in Ancient Greece or in the origins of mixed martial arts - pankration is particularly is not a well-known sport, so every little bit on it was interesting to me. There are lots of great historical anecdotes on how the sports evolved and relate to each other.