S10E10 - Ancient Olympics Part Deux

Interactive Transcript

spk_0 The stories featured in Greek out are original adaptations of classic Greek myths.

spk_0 This week's story features groundbreaking athletes, pioneering villains,

spk_0 statue lore, the rage of fandom, and a sporting event which shall not be named.

spk_0 We're back with this season's final episode of Greek out the podcast where we talk a lot

spk_0 about Greek mythology, but today we're going to talk about something coming up right around the

spk_0 corner. Something sporty, something that happens every few years in different places all over the

spk_0 world, something which we will not name. We are not naming this big global sporting event for

spk_0 legal reasons. Right, so in celebration of nothing in particular, we're going to talk about a series

spk_0 of games held in the ancient world called the Ancient Olympics, which are legally distinct from

spk_0 anything that may or may not be happening in the world right now. That's right, we're back with

spk_0 more ancient Olympic legends. The first known ancient Olympic games were held in the summer of

spk_0 776 BCE in honor of Zeus for the first 13 years. It only consisted of one foot race.

spk_0 Now, we've already talked about the mythical beginnings of the ancient Olympics a little bit,

spk_0 but here's a quick recap in case you don't remember. King Pilots, whose dad tried to feed him to the

spk_0 gods and who was super cursed, entered a chariot race to win the hand of the beautiful hypodemia.

spk_0 Hypodemia's father already had a prophecy that if his daughter got married, it would mean his own

spk_0 death, so he made all of her suitors race him and he would kill all the losers. Pilots cheated to

spk_0 win and it resulted in the death of hypodemia's father neatly fulfilling the prophecy. He also

spk_0 killed the person who helped him cheat, just heaping more curses upon his already cursed family.

spk_0 But some ancient people credit Pilots with organizing the first Olympian games.

spk_0 Another competing story is that Heracles organized the games in honor of his father

spk_0 after completing his 12 labors. The ancient Olympics were just one of four different quadrennial

spk_0 ancient games happening in the Greek world. That's right, that's why the Olympics were

spk_0 originally every four years because there were three other games going on the rest of the time

spk_0 that formed kind of a circuit. The Nameen games, the Pithian games, and the Ithmeen games.

spk_0 Our first ancient Olympic champion is theogenes of Thassels. As a child, theogenes was so strong that

spk_0 he actually picked up a statue from the town square, I just decided to carry it home. Since this was

spk_0 the statue of a god, the townspeople weren't very happy with him, some of them actually wanted to

spk_0 put the kid to death for such an insult. Fortunately, why is town elder intervened and simply asked

spk_0 theogenes to put it back? The kid was just nine years old after all, he needed some guidance.

spk_0 The people of Thassels would eventually go on to witness this former juvenile delinquent

spk_0 become one of the greatest sports figures of the ancient world. He apparently won

spk_0 1400 matches over the course of his 22 year competitive career. In the ancient Olympics,

spk_0 theogenes became the first athlete to win in both boxing and pancreation in the years 480 and 476 BCE.

spk_0 And yeah, I just said pancreation in the last sentence, but in our previous Olympics episode,

spk_0 I pronounced it as pancrati on as it turns out both are right. I'm just mixing up a little bit.

spk_0 You decide which one you like better. Anyway, in addition to that, theogenes also claimed victory

spk_0 in some 21 other games in the circuit. But that's not all. Just for Variety's sake, he decided to try

spk_0 running and even won a long distance race in the city of Fifthia. He was a legend and a formidable

spk_0 presence, but not everybody loved him. I mean, for every victory you achieve, that means somebody

spk_0 else takes a loss, right? With a career like Theogenes, there were a lot of losers, so that means a

spk_0 lot of people probably resented him at least a little bit. Maybe this is why when they built a giant

spk_0 bronze statue to honor the fighter after his death, an old rival decided to vandalize it. But Theogenes

spk_0 was victorious even in death. As the legend goes, while the criminal was attempting to deface the

spk_0 statue, the bronze structure came loose from its base and actually fell upon the vandal, killing him

spk_0 instantly. For those of you keeping score at home, that would be victory number 1,400 and one.

spk_0 And that's when things get wacky because the heirs of the dead guys sued the statue, like

spk_0 petitioned the court that the statue had wronged them. The statue was then judged guilty and

spk_0 sentenced to be thrown in the sea, which it was. The statue only killed in self-defense.

spk_0 I think this was a little bit of an overreaction myself. After the statue went into the sea,

spk_0 the people of Thaussos experienced a famine. They didn't have anything to eat and their crops were

spk_0 failing. Someone thought to consult the Oracle of Delphi and the answer was clear. Bring the statue

spk_0 out of the sea and put it back just like Theogenes did when he was a kid. After that, the famine ended,

spk_0 and the people erected more statues to Thaogenes believing that they had healing powers.

spk_0 Our next legend is an Olympic champion in his own right, but he might actually have preferred

spk_0 to be known as a proud dad. His name was Diagoras of Rhodes and he won the boxing crown twice

spk_0 in the ancient Olympics. In the ancient Olympics, competitors were given a crown of leaves from a

spk_0 loral tree to celebrate their victory. In the modern day, Olympic athletes get medals. Diagoras was

spk_0 not only an Olympic champion, he was also a champion in the other three games in the circuit as well.

spk_0 A poet named Pindar commemorated one of his victories with a poem that listed the names of the

spk_0 20 games he won. And with a record like that comes kind of an immortality. Diagoras is still

spk_0 celebrated today. There's actually a soccer team named after him. Diagoras FC and the Rhodes

spk_0 International Airport is known as Diagoras in his honor. You know, you're a legend when they

spk_0 name an airport after you. But despite all of the honors and fame, Diagoras was clearly most

spk_0 proud of his children. His sons were both athletic competitors and looked to their dad as a role model.

spk_0 This was something Diagoras encouraged in all of his kids, even his daughter, but we'll get to that

spk_0 later. So after years of practicing and training, Diagoras's two sons were ready to start competing.

spk_0 Diagoras was bursting with pride when his oldest son won the ancient Olympic championship in

spk_0 Pancration twice. And then his second son won the same event a few years later.

spk_0 Most similar to the modern mixed martial arts.

spk_0 Yes, thank you for clarifying that, Oracle.

spk_0 You were not allowed to fight in the Pancration.

spk_0 Oh, okay. Or poke someone's eye out.

spk_0 Yes, sure. Those are some good rules. I mean, you can't just have people biting and poking

spk_0 eyes out, Willie Nilly. Anyway, after his second son won the Olympics in 448 BCE,

spk_0 Diagoras was beside himself with joy. As soon as the match ended, the crowd erupted with

spk_0 cheers. The two brothers lifted their dad on their shoulders and carried him around the stadium

spk_0 to even greater fanfare and cheers. It's a moment that's been captured in classical style art

spk_0 paintings and bronze statues that still stand in the city of Rhodes to this day. The joy was obvious

spk_0 on Diagoras' face and the legend goes someone in the crowd shouted out to him something like,

spk_0 even if you ascend to Olympus in the afterlife, it probably won't get any better than this.

spk_0 Those words proved to be an omen though because as the story goes, Diagoras died at that exact moment.

spk_0 I am not programmed for emotion, but even I can tell that this is sad.

spk_0 Yeah, it is sad and kind of ironic, but I guess if you're going to go out, at least Diagoras

spk_0 went out happy. But that is actually only part of the story of the children of Diagoras.

spk_0 You see, Diagoras also had another son and a daughter. His third son, Dorieus, had just as many

spk_0 athletic accolades as his father. According to Aristotle, Dorieus won 20 crowns on the circuit alone.

spk_0 He was so famous that his name came to mean athlete. He also had a hand in politics, and at one point

spk_0 was condemned to death for convincing Rhodes to leave Athens' League of Greek States, which is kind

spk_0 of like an ancient gang of city-states formed to defend against the Persian Empire. Because he was

spk_0 such a beloved athletic competitor though, he was later pardoned of his crimes. Diagoras's daughter,

spk_0 on the other hand, was not necessarily as decorated as the rest of her family, mainly because

spk_0 well, she was a woman, and women weren't allowed to even watch the Olympic Games let alone

spk_0 participate in them. Her name was Cali Patria, and she was also the mother of an athlete,

spk_0 shocker. After the death of her husband, something that Cali Patria began to take a direct hand

spk_0 in training her son. When she finally got her son registered to compete in the ancient Olympic

spk_0 Games, there was no way that Cali Patria was going to miss this. So she disguised herself as a man

spk_0 and posed as her son's trainer. And she actually might have gotten away with it, but of course,

spk_0 her son was victorious. Suddenly, every eye in the crowd was on her as they roared and cheered with

spk_0 approval. Cali Patria was so excited that she jumped into the competition area, and in the process

spk_0 revealed more of herself than she would like, let's say, she was immediately discovered and arrested.

spk_0 Specifically sports. Right, but it's actually called title nine. That's what I said. No, you said

spk_0 title I X, but it's actually referred to as title nine. You don't do I need to explain Roman numerals

spk_0 to you. No, no, I get it. I'm just saying that you don't pronounce the actual, you know what,

spk_0 never mind. Let's just move on. Anyway, Cali Patria was dragged before the judges of the games

spk_0 who would decide her punishment. According to law, she could be put to death for such an offense.

spk_0 But when the judges challenged her, Cali Patria proclaimed that if any person should be allowed to

spk_0 see the games, it was her. She had a father, two brothers, and a son who were all Olympic champions.

spk_0 The judges thought it over, but not for long. They quickly decided to forgive Cali Patria and let her go.

spk_0 After this incident, the judges put a new law in place that then required all trainers to strip

spk_0 naked before entering the arena. Yeah, they definitely had some weird rules in the

spk_0 ancient Olympics and they seem to feel really differently about nudity than we do, but at least

spk_0 this story has a happy ending. There was no death. So by comparison, yes. Any story you can walk

spk_0 away from I'll say, you know what? It's break time. Yeah, I think we need a break. Let's take a

spk_0 moment. We're going to regroup. I'll have a sip of water. Talk amongst yourselves. We'll be back

spk_0 after this short message right here on Greaking Out. Hey parents, Greaking Out book two is coming out

spk_0 in September, but you can pre-order now. Get ready to encounter a god kidnapped by pirates.

spk_0 Sheep uses camouflage, a super shiny fleece, some dangerous metalworking, the world's most perfect

spk_0 animal, a really heavy boulder and much more. Greaking Out Heroes and Olympians is available

spk_0 wherever books are sold.

spk_0 Nat Geo Kids Greaking Out Tales of the Underworld is coming to a bookshelf near you on October 7th,

spk_0 2025. Greaking Out Tales from the Underworld brings you spooky, scary and fun stories from all over

spk_0 the world. You'll encounter ill-advised kidnapping, measurements of goodness, and literally death

spk_0 defying heroes. Available for pre-order now wherever you get your books.

spk_0 Okay, I feel better. Yes, thanks for the break. We're back with more Greaking Out.

spk_0 Our next Olympic legend is named Melanchomas of Carria, and yes, he was another boxer,

spk_0 and yes, he was descended from another Olympic champion, his father, also named Melanchomas.

spk_0 Melanchomas is a name that refers to a person's appearance. In this case, they were both black-haired.

spk_0 This wasn't like 49 CE, so it was about 500 years after Diagoras and family, but Melanchomas was

spk_0 different from any other fighter in any other sport. I guess he wasn't the biggest or strongest

spk_0 fighter in the ring, but he certainly seemed to have the heart of a champion, and he had a plan.

spk_0 Some scholars believe that Melanchomas was not a real person. We mostly know of him through the

spk_0 writings of a philosopher named Dio of Prusa, and some believe he was a character Dio created to

spk_0 deliver his philosophies. Yeah, so keep in mind this is a legend it may or may not be true.

spk_0 Melanchomas had an interesting strategy for fighting, which was, in a way, to do nothing.

spk_0 He didn't punch at all. He was 100 percent defense. Instead of practicing punches or kicks or

spk_0 throws, Melanchomas focused his training on stamina, endurance, and quickness. He became an expert

spk_0 at blocking punches and avoiding blows. He would move quickly around the ring to make his opponents

spk_0 chase him and tire themselves out. And if he did get cornered, Melanchomas excelled at blocking

spk_0 and repelling punches and kicks. Some say he could hold his arms up and block continuously for two

spk_0 straight days. In fact, there's a legend that says he could fight through an entire day with ease.

spk_0 After a while, probably a very long while, his opponents would simply give up, and Melanchomas would

spk_0 be declared the winner. In contemporary boxing, when the fighters seem to hug, it is called

spk_0 clinching. This is usually initiated by one of the boxers to rest and tie up in opponents arms,

spk_0 so they can't punch. Our next sports legend was kind of a villain too, depending upon who you ask.

spk_0 His name was Astulus of Croton, and he might be the first free agent in the history of sports.

spk_0 Astulus was a runner, and he was fast. At the Olympics in 488 BCE,

spk_0 Astulus was a big winner, and he returned to Croton as a champion in two races, Stadion and Dialos.

spk_0 And he won those races multiple times over the years. So Astulus was a very popular man in Croton.

spk_0 He was kind of like a local hero. They built a statue in his honor. People called his name and

spk_0 waved to him in the street, and he probably got a lot of free desserts at restaurants. But eventually,

spk_0 Astulus became a victim of his own success. You see, the people of Croton weren't the only ones who

spk_0 were impressed with Astulus. He had friends who lived in Syracuse, a city on the island of Sicily,

spk_0 and they really wanted to bring an ancient Olympic victory or two, or seven to their hometown.

spk_0 So they began to try to convince Astulus to run in the next ancient Olympics for Syracuse instead

spk_0 of Croton. There are stories of bribes, money, fancy clothes, a nice house and Syracuse, etc. We

spk_0 don't know exactly what led to the decision, but eventually Astulus was convinced, and he decided

spk_0 to switch allegiances in the next Olympics and represent Syracuse instead of his home of Croton.

spk_0 Heal turn is when a character in a story who used to be good and virtuous starts acting badly,

spk_0 and for selfish purposes. This term is used in professional wrestling in the US.

spk_0 Exactly. Yes. Astulus performed kind of a heel turn here. And not surprisingly,

spk_0 the people of Croton were crushed when Astulus took his crown home from the ancient Olympics in

spk_0 484 BCE because now his home was in Syracuse. You can also probably imagine how they felt four

spk_0 years later when he did it again. The entire city of Croton was more than a little bit upset with

spk_0 their former favorite son. What happened to loyalty to your hometown, to your family?

spk_0 Astulus was a total celebrity in Syracuse, but in Croton, things had changed. He was now

spk_0 Persona non grata. Persona non grata is a Latin phrase that means unwelcome person.

spk_0 You've probably figured that out already. In fact, in Croton, Astulus was not just unwelcome,

spk_0 he was downright hated. His family home was taken from him and turned into a prison, a great

spk_0 sign of disrespect. His statue was torn down and destroyed, and even his own family members had

spk_0 to publicly denounce him. He was so reviled in Croton that he was literally exiled from that city

spk_0 forever. He couldn't even come home for a visit. Though it is more accepted today, sometimes modern

spk_0 sports fans get very upset when athletes go to play for another team. However, it is a normal part

spk_0 of many modern sports. Yeah, today it's normal for most people who play sports professionally

spk_0 to play for many different teams throughout their career. So you could say Astulus was a pioneer

spk_0 of sorts. Unfortunately, while he was one of the greatest ancient Olympic sprinters, Astulus

spk_0 of Syracuse, formerly of Croton, had to stay far away from his hometown. Our last Olympic legend

spk_0 is a true groundbreaker. As we've mentioned a couple of times now, in ancient Greece,

spk_0 women were strictly forbidden to participate in the Olympic games. In fact, most women

spk_0 weren't even allowed to attend the games at all, but there were some grey areas where women could

spk_0 be involved at least a little bit. And one of these areas was chariot racing.

spk_0 Our legend's name is Kineska, and she was a princess of Sparta. You've heard a little bit

spk_0 about Sparta by now already. I'm sure it was a famous Greek city-state known for its

spk_0 independent streak and fierce warriors. Also, Helen and Glytumnestra were both royalty of Sparta.

spk_0 Right. Even the women in Sparta were trained in athletics. They weren't expected to train for

spk_0 combat specifically, but they still learned how to throw a javelin, hold a spear, and the like.

spk_0 This seemed to be true for all Sparta women, even royals like Kineska, but she was a little different.

spk_0 She was driven to be a champion. Kineska was determined to win an Olympic crown.

spk_0 She was born sometime around 440 BCE, and she was the daughter of the Spartan King.

spk_0 The name Kineska literally means female puppy. Maybe it was given to her as a nod to her playful

spk_0 spirit, but it's more likely that the name was a tribute to her grandfather, whose name was

spk_0 Kineska, which means male puppy. Either way, Kineska certainly had a playful and adventurous spirit.

spk_0 Not much is known about her childhood, but when her father passed away and her brother became

spk_0 King, he encouraged Kineska to pursue her interests. Specifically, he noticed that she had a talent

spk_0 with handling horses and may have nudged her in that direction. Kineska dedicated her life to

spk_0 raising and training resources. But of course, everyone, even the Spartans, knew that married women

spk_0 were forbidden from attending the Olympics. You still remember what almost happened to Calipatria,

spk_0 right? But Kineska would not be denied. She cleverly found what we in the business call a loophole.

spk_0 A loophole is defined as an ambiguity or an adequacy in a system of rules, laws, or security,

spk_0 which can be used to circumvent or avoid the purpose of the system. You see, in most ancient Olympic

spk_0 sports, the winners were the competitors who showed up and competed on the field. The boxers,

spk_0 the wrestlers, the guys who threw the javelin, the dudes who threw the discus, the runners ran

spk_0 around the track, etc. They were all there competing in front of the crowd. But it was different

spk_0 for horse racing. Just like in today's races like the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness Stakes,

spk_0 the victory goes to the horse and its owner, not the athlete who rides the horse. Kineska didn't

spk_0 have to drive the chariot to win an Olympic round. In fact, she didn't even need to show up to

spk_0 claim Olympic victory. Kineska competed in the four horse chariot race called the Tethrippan.

spk_0 It was a dangerous sport to participate in, even just practicing it was risky. You had to train

spk_0 four horses to work together to pull a chariot as fast as possible.

spk_0 It is commonly held wisdom that a single horse can pull an average of six thousand pounds. But

spk_0 two horses pulling together will be able to pull three times that. Right, so four horses could pull

spk_0 six thousand and four and then a lot. Yes. Kineska was up to the task. She trained the horses

spk_0 personally and entered her best team into the ancient Olympics. She came out victorious in two

spk_0 successive games, the first in 396 BCE and the second in 392 BCE. Now she may not have been able

spk_0 to be in the stadium herself, but that didn't mean that people weren't talking about Kineska.

spk_0 News of her victory was carried by messengers all across Greece. In Sparta, there was a great

spk_0 celebration prepared in her honor. Soon, people all over Greece were talking about how a woman

spk_0 had won an ancient Olympic contest. The Spartans honored their princess in a sacred grove,

spk_0 the first woman to receive this honor. There were life-size bronze statues of Kineska,

spk_0 her chariot, her horses and the chariot deer erected at Olympia by the princess herself. In fact,

spk_0 and the inscriptions read,

spk_0 Kings of Sparta were my fathers and brothers. I, Kineska, vitorious at the chariot race with her

spk_0 swift footed horses erected this statue. I claim that I am the only woman in all Greece who won this

spk_0 crown. But it didn't stay that way. Kineska's achievement began to inspire other female athletes and,

spk_0 as time went on, other women would compete in the chariot races. To this day, there are a lot of

spk_0 sports organizations dedicated to women named after the Spartan princess Kineska. And so there you

spk_0 have it. A whole bunch of bonafide legends who had nothing to do with magic or gods or mountain

spk_0 Olympus or anything like that. They were regular mortals who found success with talent, ingenuity,

spk_0 and a lot of hard work. I'd say these were well-earned Olympic crowns.

spk_0 That's it for this season listeners. Enjoy whatever global sporting event may or may not be

spk_0 happening this summer. We'll see you next season.

spk_0 National Geographic Kids Greaking Out is written by Gillian Hughes and Kenny Curtis,

spk_0 and hosted by Kenny Curtis. With Tory Curr is the Oracle of Wi-Fi, audio production and sound

spk_0 designed by Scotty Beam and our theme song was composed by Perry Grip. Dr. Meredith Safron is our

spk_0 subject matter expert Emily Birkett and Laurie Broda are our producers and Emily Everhart is our

spk_0 senior producer.

S10E10 - Ancient Olympics Part Deux

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