Pankration, hand-to-hand combat, was also a mandatory part of the ancient Greek Olympic Games. Back then, there were far fewer rules than there are now – it was only forbidden to gouge out the opponent’s eyes and to bite, but everything else was allowed.
The biggest bet in the history of the ancient Olympic Games was an entire kingdom. However, that game wasn’t very fair: King Endymion put his kingdom on the line, but he allowed only his sons to compete. Thus, he simply chose an heir among them.
