In ancient times, there existed what we might refer to today as super athletes, Olympic champions whose physical prowess and feats were remarkable. One notable example is the wrestler Milo of Croton, from the region now known as Calabria in Italy -in the present-day Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania and Sicily were extensively populated by Greek settlers starting from the 8th century BC, the Magna Graecia (Great Greece)-, who lived during the 6th century BC (born in 557 BC).

Throughout his career, Milo was crowned as an Olympic champion six times. His first victory was achieved as a young man, with the subsequent five in the adult category. Milo’s potential seventh Olympic win was thwarted by fellow wrestler Timasitheus, who continually moved during the match, preventing Milo from gripping him with any holds. This relentless “chase” in the wrestling arena wore Milo out, leading to his withdrawal. Beyond being an Olympic victor, Milo was also a periodonikes¹, winning over thirty titles in a specific cycle of games, such as the Isthmian, Pythian, and Nemean Games.

From a young age, Milo enhanced his physical strength using a method of progressive overload, which he discovered almost accidentally. His training regimen included lifting a small calf onto his shoulders and walking a set distance while carrying it. As the calf grew, so did the weight Milo carried, building the strength that earned him numerous titles and a legendary reputation.

Much like today’s super athletes, Milo’s name is tied to feats that blur the line between reality and myth. It is certain, however, that Milo was an extraordinarily strong man and a legendary athlete. Aristotle even compared him to Hercules in his writings, amplifying the mythos around his name.

Scholars say Milo would tie a rope around his forehead like a headband, hold his breath, and swell his veins, exerting enough force to break the rope. Another demonstration of his strength involved holding a pomegranate in his closed palm without crushing it, while no one else could take it from his hand. Many believe this act is mythical, originating from a statue depicting Milo offering a fruit to the goddess Hera. The fame of the Pythagoreans and Milo, the most famous athlete who was a companion of Pythagoras during his long stay in the city, also added to its glory. It is said that during a symposium, when a pillar collapsed, Milo held it up and saved everyone, including himself.

According to Pausanias, Milo once smeared a disk with oil, stood on it, and challenged other athletes and spectators to move him, which no one could do. It is also reported that Milo carried a statue of himself over a great distance. Diodorus Siculus records that Milo led his fellow citizens in a battle against the people of Sybaris, defending the Crotonians with such force that he routed the enemy, wielding a club. Theodorus Hierapolites describes that when the neighboring city of Sybaris declared war on Croton, Milo, with a crown on his head, a lion’s skin on his shoulders, and brandishing a club, stepped forward to meet the enemies, followed by the city’s inhabitants. Their attack was so fierce that the Sybarites fled, leaving many dead on the battlefield.

Even his diet was noteworthy.

Athenaeus, the author of “The Deipnosophists” who lived in Rome during the 2nd century AD, mentions that Milo regularly consumed five kilograms of meat, an equal amount of bread, and three pitchers of wine (approximately 10 liters) at each meal. Milon of Croton, as Theodorus of Hierapolis tells us in his book upon Olympic Games, ate twenty minae (about 0.57 kg) of meat (!), and an equal quantity of bread, and drank three choes of wine.

And once at Olympia he took a four year old bull on his shoulders, and carried it all round the course, and after that he killed it and cut it up, and ate it all up by himself in one day (!). And Titormus the Aetolian had a contest with him as to which could eat an ox with the greatest speed, as Alexander the Aetolian relates. But Phylarchus, in the third book of his “Histories”, says that Milon, while lying down before the altar of Zeus, ate a bull, on which account Dorieus the poet made the following epigram on him:

Milon could lift enormous weights from earth,
A heifer four years old, at Zeus’ high feast,
[413] And on his shoulders the huge beast he bore,
As if it had been a young and little lamb,
All round the wondering crowd of standers by.
But he did still a greater feat than this,
Before the altar of Olympian Zeus;
For there he bore aloft an untamed bull
In the procession, then he cut it up,
And by himself ate every bit of it.

Modern researchers estimate that Milo consumed 9-10 kilograms of meat, 9-10 kilograms of bread, and 10 liters of wine daily, amounting to around 20,000 calories per day. Whether or not these exact figures are accurate, it is clear that Milo required large amounts of food to sustain himself.

As recounted by Strabo and Pausanias, Milo’s death was both abrupt and unforeseen. While strolling through a forest, he came upon a log that was partially split with wedges by carpenters attempting to halve it. Eager to demonstrate his strength one last time, Milo placed his hands into the crack to finish the job. At that moment, the wedges gave way, and Milo became stuck in the gap, unable to free himself, ultimately falling prey to wild animals.


Sources:

Pausanias, “Description of Greece”, 6.14.5-8

Phylarchus, “Histories” (fragments)

Strabo, “Geographica”

Athenaeus of Naucratis, “Deipnosophistae“

Diodorus of Sicily, “Bibliotheca historica“

Footnotes:

1. Τhe period in ancient Greece was the period of time during which the biggest sporting events were organized, those of the Olympic games, the Isthmian, Pythian, and Nemean games. Athletes who managed to become winners in all competitions of the period were called periodonikes. Milo was the only one who managed to be periodonikes for 5 times, while Marcus Aurelis Agathoppus from Aegina (2nd century AD) succeeded for 4 times. ↩︎