Bybon

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

The only known information of him comes from an Ancient Greek inscription bearing his name on a sandstone in Olympia, Greece. The stone which weighs contains two deep notches carved out of it, forming a handle so that the stone could be used as a free weight. It reads:

Historian E. Norman Gardinier translates the word "lifted" as "threw." In regards 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 strongman, 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 currently on display at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia.