Of the Olympic athletes, Damagetos and Akousilaos, the outstanding sons of the famous athlete Diagoras of Rhodes, belonged to the most skilled wrestlers and boxers. Some believe that Diagoras and his two sons modeled for the famous sculpture of Laokoon and his two sons attacked by snakes. Although this statue was made by three sculptors from the same island, it actually was made centuries later, during the Roman period. Still it could have been inspired by a previous statue, unfortunately lost in time. Being trained by their own father, from childhood on, the competitive brothers liked to fight each other and developed great virtuosity in martial arts. For Diagoras, his two sons were his pride and joy. Yet, living together often brought about a lot of tension. Akousilaos, the youngest, was his favorite, while Damagetos frequently caused trouble, being a cocky prat, sometimes even raising his hand or fist in anger against his father. Competing in the Olympic games remai...