Milo of Croton was the most decorated athlete of the ancient world, a war hero who led an army to victory against three-to-one odds, and a member of the inner circle of the philosopher Pythagoras. He also died pinned to a tree stump and eaten by wild animals because he could not resist showing off to a villager chopping wood. In this episode we reconstruct the documented life of a sixth-century BC wrestler whose story sits on the line between history and myth.

We break down ancient Greek wrestling with no weight classes and no mats, Milo's five consecutive men's Olympic titles and seven Pythian victories, and the younger opponent Timasitheus who finally wore him down with agility. We look at the calf-carrying legend as the origin of progressive overload, the pomegranate and greased-disc tricks as displays of isometric strength and balance,  ...