Melankomas

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Melankomas, or Melancomas, of Caria is an ancient boxer known to us from a single source, 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; and, with regard to his boxing, claims for him a unique style: he would totally avoid the punches of the other boxer without throwing any himself. Dio says he never lost a match nor was struck by an opponent. Dio also reports he was the lover of the emperor Titus.

Some scholars believe Melankomas to have been a real person; others — since there is no trace of Melankomas in any other literary or epigraphical source — that he was an invention of Dio's; there is nothing allowing a firm conclusion either way.