The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Greece

This page contains a list of the greatest Greek Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 43 of which were born in Greece. This makes Greece the birth place of the 26th most number of Athletes behind Romania, and Ethiopia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Greek Athletes of all time. This list of famous Greek Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Greek Athletes.

1. Spyridon Louis (1873 - 1940)

With an HPI of 64.90, Spyridon Louis is the most famous Greek Athlete. His biography has been translated into 44 different languages on wikipedia.

Spyridon Louis (Greek: Σπυρίδων Λούης [spiˈriðon ˈluis], sometimes transliterated Spiridon Loues; 12 January 1873 – 26 March 1940), commonly known as Spyros Louis (Σπύρος Λούης), was a Greek water carrier who won the first modern-day Olympic marathon at the 1896 Summer Olympics. Following his victory, he was celebrated as a national hero. A former soldier, Louis was encouraged to try out for the Olympics by his former commanding officer. After progressing through qualifying, he went on to win the inaugural Olympic marathon after placing first among seventeen competitors. Louis later became a police officer and a farmer. Outside of his athletics career, Louis was arrested for forgery, of which he was acquitted after spending a year in jail.

2. Leonidas of Rhodes (-200 - -200)

With an HPI of 58.42, Leonidas of Rhodes is the 2nd most famous Greek Athlete. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Leonidas of Rhodes (Ancient Greek: Λεωνίδας ὁ Ῥόδιος; born 188 BC) was one of the most famous ancient Olympic runners. For four consecutive Olympiads (164–152 BC), he was champion of three foot races. He was hailed with the title "Triastes" (tripler). Leonidas is acclaimed by some to be one of the greatest sprinters of all time.

3. Coroebus of Elis (-800 - -800)

With an HPI of 57.57, Coroebus of Elis is the 3rd most famous Greek Athlete. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Coroebus of Elis (Ancient Greek: Κόροιβος Ἠλεῖος, Kóroibos Ēleîos; Latin: Coroebus Eleus fl. c. 776 BC) was a Greek cook, baker, and athlete from Elis. He is remembered as the winner (ολυμπιονίκες, olympioníkes) of the first recorded Olympics, which consisted of a single footrace known as the stade or stadion. He is frequently described as having won the first Olympic Games, but Eusebius and other ancient writers stated that he was simply the first recorded winner, variously placing the first games in the Heroic Age, 27 olympiads before Coroebus, or 13 olympiads before. Coroebus being the earliest winner known to Hippias, his is still reckoned the "1st Olympiad"; following Hippias's dating, his victory is generally placed in the summer of the year 776 BC. The stadium at Olympia was one stade (600 Greek feet, 630.8 English feet, 192.27 m) long and the competition was still clothed in his time, naked competition beginning with Orsippus around 720 BC. For winning the race, Coroebus received an olive wreath and was later revered by the people of Elis, his grave still being known in the time of Pausanias.

4. Theagenes of Thasos (-500 - -500)

With an HPI of 54.71, Theagenes of Thasos is the 4th most famous Greek Athlete. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Theagenes of Thasos (Greek: Θεαγένης ὁ Θάσιος) (typically spelled Theogenes (Greek: Θεογένης) before the first century AD) was an Olympian of ancient Greece, famous for his victories.

5. Stamata Revithi (1866 - 1896)

With an HPI of 54.04, Stamata Revithi is the 5th most famous Greek Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Stamata Revithi (Greek: Σταμάτα Ρεβίθη; 1866 – after 1896) was a Greek woman who ran the 40-kilometre marathon during the 1896 Summer Olympics. The Games excluded women from competition, but Revithi insisted that she be allowed to run. Revithi ran one day after the men had completed the official race, and although she finished the marathon in approximately 5 hours and 30 minutes and found witnesses to sign their names and verify the running time, she was not allowed to enter the Panathinaiko Stadium at the end of the race. She intended to present her documentation to the Hellenic Olympic Committee in the hopes that they would recognize her achievement, but it is not known whether she did so. No known record survives of Revithi's life after her run. According to contemporary sources, a second woman, "Melpomene", also ran the 1896 marathon race. There is debate among Olympic historians as to whether or not Revithi and Melpomene are the same person.

6. Charilaos Vasilakos (1877 - 1964)

With an HPI of 52.82, Charilaos Vasilakos is the 6th most famous Greek Athlete. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Charilaos Vasilakos (Greek: Χαρίλαος Βασιλάκος, November 1875 – 1 December 1964) was a Greek athlete and the first man to win a marathon race. He also won a copper medal for second place finish at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.

7. Dimitrios Golemis (1874 - 1941)

With an HPI of 51.15, Dimitrios Golemis is the 7th most famous Greek Athlete. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Dimitrios (or Demetrius) P. Golemis (Greek: Δημήτριος Γολέμης; 15 November 1874– 9 January 1941) was a Greek athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.

8. Konstantinos Tsiklitiras (1888 - 1913)

With an HPI of 50.77, Konstantinos Tsiklitiras is the 8th most famous Greek Athlete. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Konstantinos "Kostis" Tsiklitiras (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος "Κωστής" Τσικλητήρας; 30 October 1888 – 10 February 1913) was a Greek athlete and Olympic champion. Born in Pylos, he moved to Athens in 1905 to study medicine. Tsiklitiras soon took up sports and joined Panellinios GS. He practised football with Panellinios and Panathinaikos (he was the first goalkeeper of Panathinaikos) and water polo, but is best remembered for winning four Olympic medals in standing long jump and standing high jump in the 1908 and 1912 Summer Olympics. He was Greek champion 19 times. His career stopped in 1913 when he volunteered to fight in the Balkan Wars. Although he could avoid conscription, he insisted on fighting for his country and fought at the Battle of Bizani. He contracted meningitis and died in Athens at the age of 24. His family home still exists in Pylos and holds a museum of his athletic achievements. There is a marble statue in front.

9. Evangelos Damaskos (b. 1801)

With an HPI of 50.43, Evangelos Damaskos is the 9th most famous Greek Athlete. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Evangelos Damaskos (Greek: Ευάγγελος Δαμάσκος) was a Greek pole vaulter. He was born in Acharnes, Athens, Greece. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Damaskos competed in the pole vault. He tied with fellow Greek Ioannis Theodoropoulos for third place in the event, with a height of 2.60 metres.

10. Archon of Pella (-400 - -321)

With an HPI of 50.43, Archon of Pella is the 10th most famous Greek Athlete. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Archon (Ancient Greek: Ἄρχων; died 321 BC) was a Pellaeon, appointed satrap of Babylonia after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. He is probably the same as the son of Cleinias mentioned in the Indian expedition of Alexander. He perished in 321 BC in a fight against Dokimos. An inscription in Delphi shows that Archon had taken part in both the Isthmian and Pythian Games of 333 to 332 BC, won some horse-races.

People

Pantheon has 97 people classified as Greek athletes born between 800 BC and 2001. Of these 97, 75 (77.32%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Greek athletes include Yiannis Kouros, Georgios Roubanis, and Konstantinos Kenteris. The most famous deceased Greek athletes include Spyridon Louis, Leonidas of Rhodes, and Coroebus of Elis. As of April 2024, 54 new Greek athletes have been added to Pantheon including Bilistiche, Ioanna Kafetzi, and Antigoni Drisbioti.