Coroebus of Elis

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Coroebus of Elis (Greek:Κόροιβος Ἠλεῖος) was an Elean humble baker[1] and athlete who won the stadion race in the first recorded Ancient Olympic Games in 776 BC. The stadion race (about 180 meters) was the only competition in the first 13 Olympiads. He was the first recorded victor in the Olympic games, and from this time onwards, the dates of the Greeks seem to have been accurately recorded.[2]

According to tradition, he defeated the demon Poene, whom Apollo had sent into the country of the Argives. He was represented on his tomb in the act of killing Poene, and his statue, which was made of stone, was one of the most ancient that Pausanias saw in the whole of Greece.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Robert Garland. Celebrity in Antiquity: From Media Tarts to Tabloid Queens. London: Duckworth, 2006.
  2. ^ Eusebius. Chronicon (English translation from Latin, original Greek lost) at Attalus.org
  3. ^ William Smith, ed. "Coroebus" entry in the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, 1870. Available online at the Ancient Library.