Pantocrator

Son of Witz · 04 Dec 2008, 17:59 · from 2008-December.txt.gz

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From: sonofwitz at butcherbaker.org (Son of Witz)
Date: Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:59:46 +0000
Subject: (urth) Pantocrator
Message-ID: <W131297906196701228413586@webmail49>

>From: John Watkins [mailto:john.watkins04 at gmail.com]

>As intertextual evidence that Wolfe had pankration on the mind, well,
>I present Solider of Arete.
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Last things first, I have no idea what the Soldier of Arete is.
It's not in the Urth Cycle, which is the only set of Wolfe books I'm talking about.
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>I believe that the wrestling imagery comes from the word's Greek
>origin--it referred to athletes competing in the pankration--the
>blended boxing and wrestling that allowed combatants to use "all
>powers" at their disposal.
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It does come from the greek word, but if you look up the word's meaning, it goes up a notch to the meaning I've described. Ruler of All.  "All Power"

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from wikipedia on Pankration:
"Pankration (Greek: ?????????(?), Pagkratio(n), IPA: [pa?.'kra.ti.o(n)]) is a martial arts sport introduced to the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC and founded as a blend of boxing and wrestling. The term comes from the Ancient Greek ??????????, literally meaning "all powers" and that from ??? (pan) "all" + ?????? (kratos) "strength" or "power"."
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from wikipedia on Pantocrator:

"The most common translation of Pantocrator is "Almighty" or "All-powerful." In this understanding, Pantokrator is a compound word formed from the Greek words for "all" and the noun "strength" (??????). This is often understood in terms of potential power; i.e., able to do anything, or omnipotent.

Another, less literal translation is "Ruler of All" or "Sustainer of the World." In this understanding, Pantokrator is a compound word formed from the Greek for "all" and the verb meaning "To accomplish something" or "to sustain something" (??????). This translation speaks more to God's actual power; i.e., God does everything (as opposed to God can do everything)."
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You can clearly see here how both words come from the same root words.
If Wolfe wanted wrestlers, he would have written Pankration, or however that translates, Pankrators or something, I don't know.

Let's not write off another Theological cue as a typo.

~witz

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