Bybon

Bybon was an athlete who lived in Ancient Greece during the early 6th century BC.

A single short inscription from Olympia records all that is known of Bybon. The son of a man named Phola, Bybon was apparently a weightlifter of remarkable capability. The inscription bearing his name was found on a block of sandstone with two deep notches carved out of it, forming a handle so that the stone could be used as a free weight; weighing approximately 143.5 kg, the stone's carved inscription reads:

"ΒΥΒΟΝ ΤΕΤΕΡΕΙ ΧΕΡΙ [sic] ΥΠΕΡ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΣ ΥΠΕΡΕΒΑΛΕΤΟ ΟΦΟΛΑ Bybon, son of Phola, has lifted me over [his] head with one hand"

The historian E. Norman Gardinier translates the word 'lifted' as 'threw'. In regard to the athletic culture in which such a throw may have been made he states:

"The typical athlete of the period, as we know him from the records and from the black-figured vases, was the strong man, wrestler, boxer, or pankratiast. Many stories were told of their strength. One of them, named Bybon, left behind at Olympia an interesting record. It is a block of red sandstone weighing 316 lb., and on it is inscribed the statement that he threw it over his head with one hand."

The stone is on display at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia.