Theagenes was a huge sports hero in Ancient Greece. He was famous by the time he was 9 years old when he tested his strength by tearing down a large statue in the town square and carrying it home by himself.
An adult would have been put to death for doing such a crime. Theagenes was lucky. The people of his town, Thasos, just made him put the statue back in its place.
From then on Theagenes used his strength as a fighter and boxer in the Olympics. He won more than 1,000 competitions. He was very strong. He also had a huge appetite. It is said that he could eat a whole bull in one day.
After Theagenes died, the town of Thasos built a statue to honor him. One day, a man who lost a fight against Theagenes kept hitting the statue. The statue fell down and killed the man. The town of Thasos had a strange law and punished the statue (yes, the statue) by throwing it in the sea.
A few years later Thasos had a bad famine. There was very bad weather and no food could be grown. A wise woman suggested that if they brought back the statue of Theagenes, they would bring back good fortune to the town. The legend says that they pulled the statue out of the sea and put it back in the town square. Things in Thasos got much better and Theagenes was forever honored as a hero.