Which Ancient Athlete Are You?

You're so strong you can carry a bull on your shoulders and tear a tree in two! Milo was a wrestler from what is now Southern Italy. In addition to being a six-time Olympic winner, he won so many other contests that he was a five-time Periodonikes winner, which basically means 'grand slam' or 'world champ.' He was also a successful military leader. He was a student of Pythagoras.

Your versatility is legendary. Leonidas was such a talented and varied runner that he changed everything the ancient world knew about runners' body types and training needs. He was nicknamed Triastes, because he won three foot races in each of four consecutive Olympics. In his lifetime, he won 12 Olympics--a record unbeaten until Michael Phelps in 2016. That's a record that lasted 2,168 years.

For you, sports are a family affair. Diagoras was a two-time winner of Olympic boxing, in addition to several victories at other games, like the Pythian and Isthmian. He descended from royalty and was said to be 'the happiest mortal that ever lived.' His happiness was due to having male progeny that were all successful Olympiads. His daughter was the only female to ever see the event. When she was caught, the judges let her go, because she brought up the point that having eight living relatives who were winners should be reason enough that she be allowed to see it.

Legend has it that you might be arrogant or you might be a god. Theagenes became famous at nine years old, when he wanted a statue bad enough to steal it and carry it home. When he grew up, he entered the 75th Olympics and won the boxing competition. Then, in the same Games, he entered the pankration (UFC cage fighting of sorts) competition merely to spite the champion. He won but was fined for unsportsmanlike conduct. Later, in Pythia, he entered as a runner, just for the heck of it. He won that one too. When he died, a statue of him was erected. A former rival consistently tried to box, and one day, the statue fell on him and killed him. The statue was tried for murder (weird Grecian laws), found guilty, and thrown into the sea. Years later, they fished it out when the oracle told the people that the crops were failing because the statue was angry. They then offered Theagenes's statue with sacrifices, and he gained deity status.

You're a trailblazer with super-swift feet! Coroebus was the first-ever Olympic winner. He won the 210-yard sprint in the first Olympic Games in 776. It was the premier event of the pentathlon, and the winner was considered to be the winner of the entire Olympics until non-running events were added to the Games. His prize was an olive branch--medals weren't a thing yet. By trade, Coroebus was a baker and a cook.

You are the ideal athlete, both of the mind and of the body. Chrysostomus wrote that Melankomas was the best-looking of all athletes, with a brave heart and the philosophical ideal. He was an undefeated boxer, though he never threw a hit or took a punch. He invented the concept of quick dodging. The opponent would eventually tire out and forfeit the game. He was an ascetic who devoted his life to athleticism and abstained from too much pleasure or distraction.