Astylos of Croton (Ἄστυλος/Ἀστύαλος ὁ Κροτωνιάτης) was an athlete from ancient Croton who starred in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

of the 5th century BC. He was mentioned in records from General

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

that claim he excelled in three successive Olympic games from 488 to 480 BC, in the running events of '' stadion'' and '' diaulos''.

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history '' Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which ...

calls him Astylos of

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy * Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' * Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

and uses his third victory to date the

Persian invasion Persian invasion may refer to: * Persian invasion of Scythia, 513 BC * Greco-Persian Wars ** First Persian invasion of Greece, 492–490 BC ** Second Persian invasion of Greece The second Persian invasion of Greece (480–479 BC) occurred duri ...

in 480 BC. In Italy, Astylos was famous for equaling the achievements of previous champion athlete

Chionis of Sparta Chionis of Sparta or Chionis of Laconia (; ; ) was an ancient Greek athlete who won multiple events at the ancient Olympic Games representing the city of Sparta in Laconia.Christesen 2010 p. 67 Eusebius of Caesarea lists Chionis as victor in both t ...

. Astylos matched the achievements of Chionis by winning the stadion and diaulos events on three occasions, as well as winning the ''

hoplitodromos The hoplitodromos or hoplitodromia (Greek: , English translation: "race of the Hoplites") was an ancient foot race, part of the Olympic Games and the other Panhellenic Games. It was the last foot race to be added to the Olympics, first appearing a ...

'' event. Despite his fame, Astylos died a lonely man. When he agreed to participate in the 484 and 480 BC Olympic games as a

Syracusan Syracuse ( ; it, Siracusa ; scn, Sarausa ), ; grc-att, Συράκουσαι, Syrákousai, ; grc-dor, Συράκοσαι, Syrā́kosai, ; grc-x-medieval, Συρακοῦσαι, Syrakoûsai, ; el, label=Modern Greek, Συρακούσε� ...

citizen in honor of the tyrant

Hieron Hiero or hieron (; grc, ἱερόν, "holy place") is a holy shrine, temple, or temple precinct in ancient Greece. Hiero may also refer to: Places and jurisdictions * Hieron, Caria, an Ancient city and former bishopric in Asia Minor, now ...

, the people of Croton expelled him from the city and demolished his statue in their city. It is also said that Astylos was bribed by officials in Syracuse to compete under their name, making Astylos the world's first

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. His house was also turned into a prison as a sign of disrespect, while his family also renounced him.

References

Sources

*
Foundation of the Hellenic World (FHW), ''The Olympic Victors''
5th-century BC Greek people Ancient Crotonian athletes Ancient Syracusans Ancient Olympic competitors {{Greece-athletics-bio-stub

See also

References

Sources