Coragus (Κόραγος) of the Macedonian army was a celebrated warrior and companion of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

. He is best known for his defeat at the hands of the

Athenian Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

Dioxippus, practitioner of pankration. During a banquet thrown by the

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled b ...

ian emperor, Coragus challenged Dioxippus to single

combat Combat (French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, o ...

, which he accepted. Coragus attended the duel in full body armor and weaponry, including javelins, a spear, and a

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed t ...

, while Dioxippus appeared with a simple club. After having his javelin dodged and his spear shattered by Dioxippus, Coragus approached the warrior to engage him with his sword, but before he could draw his blade Dioxippus utilized his pankration techniques to topple the Macedonian warrior. With Dioxippus' foot on his neck, Coragus was spared and released, and Dioxippus was declared the winner of the

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

, much to the chagrin of the Macedonians (and the joy of the Athenians in attendance.)Quintus Curtius Rufus, "The History of Alexander", Penguin Classics (c) 2004, pg. 229 Whether Coragus was involved in the later conspiracy that led to Dioxippus' suicide is unknown.

References

{{Reflist 4th-century BC Macedonians Pankratiasts