what really happened at the ancient Olympics
- Written by Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, The University of Melbourne
The first recorded victor at the Olympics was Coroebus of Elis. A cook by profession, Coroebus won the event called the “stadion” – a footrace of just under 200 metres, run in a straight line.
Coroebus was victorious in the year 776 BC, but this was probably not the year of the first Olympic games.
A few ancient writers, such as...
