The heroification of Greek Olympic champions.
Mythical beliefs - cultic adoration
Ancient Greeks showed reverence to their Olympic champions in several ways. For instance, they often erected life-size statutes for them in the Olympic grove or in their hometowns. They attributed magical power to these, making sacrifices to them, and they often attributed victories to their divine origin. From the earliest times, the following Olympic champions are known as heroes: Oibotas - running (756 BC ?), Euythycles - pentathlon (probably in 488 BC), Cleomedes - boxing (492 BC), Diognetus - boxing, too. Most cultic significance is associated with Theogenes of Thasos, who won in boxing in 480 (BC) and in professional wrestling in 476 (BC). He did not find his match in boxing for 22 years. According to legend, his father was no one else but Heracles. At his cultic shrine in Thasos, objects and inscriptions related to sacrifices made in his honour were elevated. Diagoras of Rhodes, who also won in boxing, in 464 BC, was famed for being a descendent of Hermes.
