Theagenes of

Thasos Thasos or Thassos ( el, Θάσος, ''Thásos'') is a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea. It is the northernmost major Greek island, and 12th largest by area. The island has an area of and a population of about 13,000. It forms a separate r ...

( el, Θεαγένης ὁ Θάσιος) (typically spelled Theogenes ( el, Θεογένης) before the first century AD) was an Olympian of ancient Greece, famous for his victories.

Background

Son of Timosthenes, Theagenes was renowned for his extraordinary strength and swiftness. Aged nine, he supposedly carried home the bronze statue of a god from the agora, then carried it back again. As he grew up he became distinguished in every kind of athletic contest, and gained numerous victories at the Olympian, Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian Games. Altogether he was said to have won 1300 crowns. He gained a victory at Olympia in the 75th Olympiad, 480 BC. (Paus. vi. 6. § 5.) The popular story among the Thasians was that

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...

was his father. Thomas Green claims that in the course of winning 1,406

boxing matches Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

, Theagenes killed "most of his opponents".

Statue and hero-cult

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 ...

relates a story regarding a statue of Theagenes made by

Glaucias of Aegina Glaucias was a sculptor of Aegina, who made the bronze chariot and statue of Gelon. Gelon was the son of Deinomenes and a ruler and tyrant of Syracuse and Gela. The sculptures commemorated his victory in the chariot race at Olympia, 488 BC. The fol ...

. A man in

had a grudge against Theagenes for his victories, and scourged the statue by way of revenge. One night, the statue fell upon this man, killing him. The statue was put on trial for murder, found guilty, and exiled by being thrown into the sea, but was later recovered, because the

Oracle of Delphi Pythia (; grc, Πυθία ) was the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as the Pythoness ...

had declared that the country would remain in a period of barrenness until they restored the statue of Theagenes. Pausanias mentions having seen many statues of Theagenes among both the Greeks and the Barbarians, (vi. 11. § 9.). The statue in Thasos became the focus of a

hero cult Hero cults were one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion. In Homeric Greek, "hero" (, ) refers to the mortal offspring of a human and a god. By the historical period, however, the word came to mean specifically a ''dead'' ma ...

and was said to have healing properties.Green, Thomas, Martial Arts of the World: R-Z

Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001, p. 45, ISBN 9781576071502

Legacy

The football club of the island, founded in 1969, bears his name (A.O. Theagenes Thasou, Α.Ο. Θεαγένης Θάσου) and its emblem represents the head of Theagenes.

In modern fiction

*''The Olympian: A Tale of Ancient Hellas'' by E.S. Kraay, *''The Pugilist at Rest: stories'' by Thom Jones, ISBN 0-316-47302-2 * In the 2011 film ''Warrior'' (Dir. Gavin O'Connor (director), Gavin O'Connor) Tom Hardy’s character of Tommy Conlon is said to have tried to surpass Theogenes’ record of fighting victories.

Notes

References

* {{Ancient Olympic winners Ancient Thasians 5th-century BC Greek people Ancient Olympic competitors Ancient Greek runners Ancient Macedonian athletes Ancient Greek boxers Pankratiasts Greek male boxers