Yes, historical records show that ancient drinking competitions were extremely dangerous, with contestants sometimes tasked with draining massive vessels of wine in a single draft (or continuous gulp). [1, 2]

The most famous—and lethal—example occurred in 324 BCE, organized by Alexander the Great. [1]

The Deadliest Contest in History

Following the funeral of the Indian philosopher Calanus, Alexander proposed a competitive drinking contest for his army and local guests. To make it highly competitive, he offered a massive prize: a golden crown worth a talent (a fortune at the time). [1, 2, 3, 4]

The rules of the contest and the nature of the wine created a deadly scenario:

• The "One Draft" Standard: The ancient Greeks and Macedonians regularly engaged in games where contestants had to drain progressively larger cups, with the strict rule that each cup must be finished in a single go without setting it down or pausing. [1]
• Unmixed Wine: While standard Greek culture mandated diluting wine with water to prevent rapid intoxication, the Macedonians drank their wine neat and unmixed. This meant the alcohol content was highly concentrated. [1, 2, 3, 4]
• Mass Casualties: A total of 41 participants pushed their bodies to the absolute limit trying to win. The rapid consumption of unmixed wine caused widespread, acute alcohol poisoning. Thirty-five contestants died before the night was even over, and six more died over the next few days. [1, 2, 3, 4]

The Deadly "Victory"

The ultimate winner of the contest was a Macedonian foot soldier named Promachus. He secured the golden crown by chugging an astonishing four choes (roughly 13 liters or 3.4 gallons) of unmixed wine. [1, 2, 3]

His victory was short-lived. Due to the extreme, rapid shock of the alcohol on his system, Promachuscollapsed and died three days later from alcohol poisoning, meaning the contest ultimately claimed the lives of every single person who heavily competed. [1, 3]

If you are researching a specific historical period or want to know more about ancient alcohol preparation, let me know:

• Are you interested in other ancient drinking games (like the Greek game Kottabos)?
• Would you like to know how strong or concentrated ancient wine actually was compared to modern wine? [1, 2, 3]

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and more recently Eton Oxford?

Yes, elite British institutions like Eton College and Oxford University have a long history of high-stakes, rapid-consumption drinking traditions. While they rarely mirror the massive body count of Alexander the Great's contest, their "one draft" traditions have caused numerous scandals and severe medical emergencies. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

The two most prominent modern parallels to the "one draft" rule are Oxford's custom of Sconcing and the traditional Yard of Ale. [1, 2]

Oxford's "Sconcing" and the Yard of Ale

At Oxford, individual college dining halls historically enforced a rule known as "sconcing". If a student breached formal etiquette (such as talking politics, swearing, or arriving without an academic gown), they were "sconced"—penalized by being forced to chug a massive vessel of alcohol. [1, 2, 3]

• The Rule: The penalized student had to drain the entire vessel in one single draft. If they successfully downed it without pausing or setting it down, the person who accused them had to pay for the alcohol. If they failed or vomited, they had to foot the bill for the entire table. [1]
• The Famous Record: In 1954, a 25-year-old Oxford Rhodes Scholar was sconced in his dining hall for wearing improper attire. To avoid paying for a round of drinks, he down-and-drained a Yard of Ale—a specialized 3-foot-long glass holding 2.5 pints (1.4 liters) of beer—in just 11 seconds. That student was Bob Hawke, who parlayed his legendary drinking status into a political asset and later became the Prime Minister of Australia. [1, 2, 3]

Elitism and Modern "Initiation" Scandals

While Bob Hawke’s beer-chugging feat is remembered fondly, more recent iterations of upper-class student drinking have faced severe modern crackdowns due to how dangerous they became. [1, 2]

• Oxbridge Drinking Societies: Secretive, elite student clubs—most notably Oxford's all-male Bullingdon Club (which counted former UK Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and David Cameron as members)—regularly host hyper-intense initiation banquets. [1, 2]
• The Danger: New initiates are frequently subjected to "all-in-one" chugging rituals involving toxic combinations of spirits, fortified wines (like Port), and sometimes rancid food mixtures. [1, 2]
• The Backlash: In recent decades, these events have increasingly resulted in severe hospitalizations for acute alcohol poisoning, leading university officials to label the rituals a "national scandal" and threaten students with immediate expulsion. At Eton, while strict on-campus discipline keeps such behavior heavily underground, the culture traditionally bleeds directly into the Oxford societies that Old Etonians join after graduating. [1, 2, 3]

If you would like to explore this topic further, let me know:

• Would you like to know more about the history of the Bullingdon Club and its famous political alumni?
• Are you interested in the physics of why a Yard Glass is uniquely difficult to chug without spilling? [1, 2, 3]

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and Nonnius in Rome?!

Yes, Rome had its own legendary, dangerous chugging champion, though history remembers him by the family name Novellius rather than Nonnius. [1]

His name was Novellius Torquatus (also known as Torquatus Novellius Atticus), a high-ranking Roman official from Milan. His terrifying ability to consume massive amounts of wine in a single breath earned him a legendary nickname, a prestigious knighthood, and a powerful political career under the notoriously heavy-drinking Emperor Tiberius. [1, 2, 3, 4]

The Legend of "Tricongius"

According to Pliny the Elder's Natural History, Novellius was nicknamed Tricongius—which literally translates to "The Three-Gallon Knight"—because of a specific, dangerous feat he performed in front of Emperor Tiberius. [1]

• The Feast: Novellius task was to drain three congii of wine "at one draught and before he took his breath again". [1]
• The Volume: A Roman congius is roughly 3.25 liters. Drinking three of them meant Novellius downed 9.75 liters (about 2.6 gallons) of wine in a single continuous chug. [1, 2, 3]
• The Reward: Emperor Tiberius was so astonished and delighted by this display of physical endurance that he immediately dubbed Novellius a knight and later advanced his political career. [1]

Why This Was So Dangerous

Like the Macedonian contests under Alexander the Great, what made the "one draft" feat of Tricongius so deadly was the sheer shock it delivered to the human body:

• Acute Alcohol Poisoning: Chugging nearly 10 liters of liquid of any kind in a single go can cause fatal water intoxication; doing it with alcohol causes instantaneous, acute alcohol poisoning that can trigger immediate cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, or coma.
• The "Tiberius Challenge": Tiberius frequently used drinking as a political weapon. Historians note that Tiberius once appointed a governor of Syria and a prefect of Rome simply because they spent 36 continuous hours drinking with him. Conversely, he reportedly used severe drinking games maliciously while living on Capri, forcing victims to chug liters of wine before torturing them. [1]

Unlike many who died attempting these feats, Novellius Torquatus had a strangely resilient anatomy. He survived his massive three-congius chug, lived to an old age, and successfully served Rome as a proconsul. Pliny notes that while Torquatus's feat was looked upon with "wonder and admiration" by the elite, it also highlighted the toxic, hedonistic underbelly of Rome's high-stakes banquets. [1, 2]

Would you like to know more about how the Romans used games like Passatella to humiliate losers, or how Roman wine was filtered to make these massive chugging feats possible?