Koutalianos: The 19th Century Strongman Who Became a Greek Legend

Panagis Koutalianos. Credit: National Historical Museum (Greece)

In the 19th to aboriginal 20th centuries, Panagis Koutalianos became good known for his feats of strength. In fact, Koutalianos was truthful beardown that decades aboriginal helium was immortalized done a well-known Greek song, revoked adjacent today, that said “Koutalianos is chewing iron.”

Though helium traveled each implicit the satellite and defeated galore large wrestlers of the time, including successful the United States, helium remained successful comparative obscurity successful Greece, which astatine the clip was tiny and poor. A website, dedicated to Greece’s legendary wrestler, done the extended probe by Kostas Michos is hoping to alteration that and reconstruct Koutalianos connected the podium of Greek champions.

Michos began his probe travel connected Koutalianos implicit 2 decades ago. He rapidly realized that determination was hardly immoderate genuine documentation connected the renowned jock and his estimation successful Greek fashionable tradition.

“To assistance capable the gap, I person created this webpage to broaden my quest for accusation and meanwhile, to supply wherever I can, historically documented answers to questions regarding the beingness and diversion achievements of Panagis Koutalianos,” helium says.

According to tradition, Koutalianos was calved connected the land of Koutalis successful 1847. His begetter whitethorn person been a Greek Cypriot called Giorgos Pallikaros, whom Koutalianos lone met during a travel to Cyprus in his adulthood.

Koutalianos’ spot became evident during his clip arsenic a sailor starting astatine the property of 19, erstwhile helium would untangle the ship’s anchors. This task would usually necessitate respective men, but Koutalianos was capable to execute it single-handedly.

He near shipping to bid nether the wrestling teacher Bernardt successful France. Equipped with this knowledge, helium traveled the satellite and made a sanction for himself successful wrestling and weightlifting successful Argentina, Mexico and the United States. There, it is said that helium killed a tiger with his bare hands and was past wearing its tegument connected each contention helium participated afterwards. He is said to person ended his vocation having ne'er mislaid a azygous fight.

After retiring from wrestling, Koutalianos continued to execute spot demonstrations. These included bending robust bars, breaking chains, and lifting rocks. His astir awesome feat was carrying 3 canons, which helium was purportedly capable to occurrence without losing his footing.

The legendary, Greek strongman who chose Greece arsenic his homeland

According to the biography of Koutalianos published by his 2 sons successful the United States, Panagis grew up successful the 2nd fractional of the 19th period arsenic a Greek successful the Ottoman Empire. Nationalism was the ascendant ideology of that time, with caller nations embracing warfare arsenic the way to palmy statehood. Weightlifters and wrestlers became the “flag bearers” of their taste groups, symbolizing the powerfulness of their nation.

Greece, Koutalianos’ chosen homeland, drew glory and greatness from the distant humanities past, but it was a newborn country, tiny and poor, with a national diaspora past politically insignificant. Greece’s comparative obscurity, his sons say, is simply a cardinal crushed wherefore Koutalianos’ achievements ne'er earned him the starring spot his sanction deserves successful the satellite sports bibliography.

Koutalianos, the Greek with the Herculean power, spent the last years of his beingness successful Istanbul, wherever helium died 2 years aft the Turks had forced retired the remaining Greeks of Koutalis, the spot wherever helium was born.