Milon, the son of Diotimos, is considered the most famous athlete of the ancient world. In addition to his Olympic victories, he won 7 times at the Pythian Games, 9 times at the Nemean Games, and 10 times at the Isthmian Games. Milon also won the boys’ wrestling title in 540 BCE. After one of his Olympic victories, he slipped and fell when he stepped forward to receive his olive wreath. The crowd gasped and demanded that he not be awarded the title. Milon then cried out that wrestling involved the best of three falls, and he challenged any spectator to cause him to fall again.
Milon’s strength was supposedly developed when he was a young boy and began carrying a wild heifer on his shoulders. As the heifer grew, Milon continued to carry him for exercise and his strength became legendary. His strength eventually killed him. In a forest, he saw a tree that had been cut open with wedges in it. He decided to pull open the trunk with his massive hands. He did this but the wedges flew out and the trunk trapped his hands. He was caught in the tree and wild beasts tore him to pieces that night.
Kroton