Every story has a beginning, and so does that of the Ancient Olympic Games, of course. In this case, it all started with Coroebus, a baker from the city of Elis, whose territory included Olympia (which is still located there today).
According to some sources, he was also involved in cooking and food preparation, but fate decreed that he would not be remembered for his recipes, but for being the first Olympic champion recorded in history.
He achieved glory at the Olympic Games held in 776 BC, when he was crowned the winner in the only event of that edition, the stadion, a race of 600 feet, approximately 192.27 meters in length (equivalent to a stadium, precisely).
This event was the only sport in those Games, and his victory marked the beginning of a tradition that, over time, became one of the most important in Greek civilization: the recording of the winners of the events.
Some authors consider him the first winner of the first Olympic Games, although others, like Eusebius, suggest that he was merely the first recorded champion, and that Olympic Games must have been held earlier, during the so-called Heroic Age, 27 or 13 Olympiads before.
Thus, Coroebus would have won in the 14th Olympiad, which had been established 52 years earlier by Iphitus and Lycurgus, something that borders on the legendary. The fact is, by the time of Polybius, Coroebus’ victory was already recognized as the first recorded, and it was established that it had taken place in the 28th Olympiad.
In Coroebus’ time, athletes still competed clothed, as the custom of running naked did not take hold until several decades later, around 720 BC, when Orsippus of Megara broke with this convention.
The prize for his victory was a simple olive branch, and with it, he earned the admiration of his hometown, Elis, whose people came to revere him as a local hero.
The traveler and geographer Pausanias, writing several centuries after these events, recounted that Coroebus’ tomb remained a known and respected site on the borders of Elis and the city of Heraea. This tomb stood as a physical testament to the athlete’s greatness, perpetuating his memory for generations to come.
When the uninterrupted tradition of the Olympic Games began, the foot race (stadion) was the first event held, and Coroebus of Elis was the winner (776 BC). There is no statue of Coroebus in Olympia, but his tomb is found at the borders of Elis. Later, in the fourteenth festival, the double foot race was added (724 BC)… In the eighteenth, the pentathlon and wrestling were introduced. In the twenty-third festival, prizes for boxing were reinstated… In the twenty-fifth, the race for adult horses was included… In the eighth festival after this, the male pankration and horse racing were recognized.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 5.8.6-9
However, not all details of Coroebus’ life are clear. Some ancient writers, like Athenaeus of Naucratis, mention that Coroebus was merely a cook, the son of another cook, reinforcing his humble origins. This detail does not appear in other sources, leading historians to question its authenticity.
On the other hand, there are legends that confuse him with another mythical Coroebus, a hero who defeated the monster Poena, sent by Apollo to the land of the Argives. Such confusions were common in Greek mythology, where the line between history and legend often blurred.
This article was first published on our Spanish Edition on October 1, 2024: Corebo de Élide, el panadero que ganó la primera carrera de los Juegos Olímpicos
SOURCES
David Matz, Famous Firsts in the Ancient Greek and Roman World
Valerie M. Warrior, Greek Religion: A Sourcebook
Eusebius, Chronicon
Pamela-Jane Shaw, Discrepancies in Olympiad Dating and Chronological Problems of Archaic Peloponnesian History
Wikipedia, Corebo de Élide
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