Muhammad Ali once said, “I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was. I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I was really the greatest.” This quote not only showcases Ali’s wit but also highlights the self-confidence and attitude common among many athletes. Since the advent of sports media coverage on radio and television, and now with social media offering a closer look at athletes, it has become evident that boasting, confidence, and attitude are integral to the athlete persona. These attitudes, however, are not a new phenomenon. Sports, as practiced worldwide, have roots in both real and mythical ancient Greece. Historical and literary records from ancient times indicate that athletes’ attitudes have long been a part of their identity.
Ancient Greek athletes faced a unique challenge compared to modern athletes: without the internet, television, radio, or any widespread communication methods, they struggled to make their successes known to a broad audience. Unlike today’s elite athletes, athletes in antiquity were less focused on highlighting their sporting prowess. Boasts rarely centered on how fast they ran, the ease with which they defeated an opponent in wrestling, or the distance they threw the discus. Instead, they focused on the proclamation of victory announced by a herald at athletic games, such as the Olympics, which officially recognized them as victors. This proclamation, similar to today’s medal ceremonies but infused with more ritual and religious significance, included everything necessary to celebrate an athlete: his name, his father’s name, his city of origin, and the event he won.
Such proclamations are repeatedly mentioned in the victory poetry of Pindar, an ancient Greek poet from Thebes. Epinikian poetry, which translates to “upon a victory,” consists of songs composed to celebrate a victory. In Pindar’s Nemean 5, written for an athlete named Pytheas, the herald’s proclamation is nearly repeated: “Sweet song, go on every merchant-ship and rowboat that leaves Aegina, and announce that Lampon’s powerful son Pytheas won the victory garland for the pancratium at the Nemean games, a boy whose cheeks do not yet show the tender season that is mother to the dark blossom.” This simple representation of the herald reflects the athletes’ determination to spread their achievements through word-of-mouth.
In Olympian 8, Pindar attributes an athlete’s victory to his physical beauty and deeds seen by an eyewitness: “He was beautiful to look at, and his deeds did not belie his beauty when by his victory in wrestling he had Aegina with her long oars proclaimed as his fatherland.”
Boasts and accomplishments also appear in numerous ancient Greek epigrams (poems inscribed on stone). These often reference the proclamation and claim special success. For example, Drymos, who won a running event at the Olympics in the early fourth century BC, erected a statue with an inscribed poem: “Drymos, son of Theodoros, proclaimed here, on that very day, / an Olympic contest, running into the famous grove of the god, / an example of manliness; equine Argos is my homeland.” Despite their simplicity, these poems often carry deeper meanings.
An example is the epigram of Kyniska of Sparta, one of the few epigrams celebrating a woman’s victory at that time: “Spartan kings are my fathers and brothers, / but, victorious with a chariot of swift-footed horses, / Kyniska set up this statue. And I declare that I alone / of women from all of Greece seized this crown.” Kyniska’s focus is on her unique achievement, though the rhetoric is traditional, emphasizing how ancient athletes documented their accomplishments.
Perhaps most illustrative is the extensive inscription and poem commemorating the career of Theogenes of Thasos, one of antiquity’s most successful athletes. The poem claims his unmatched supremacy by documenting his victories in boxing and pancration at Olympia, stating that he achieved what no one else had. He also secured three Pythian Games victories without competition, accomplished by simply deterring opponents. Additionally, he won two crowns at the Isthmian Games on the same day. His victories were immortalized in poetry and inscribed on stone, listing his numerous achievements over a 20-year career.
As the world gears up for another Olympic year, with television networks and social media highlighting athletes’ competition, boasting, and rivalries, it is clear that such attitudes have long been intertwined with athletics and athletes.