Ancient athletes: Damagetos and Akousilaos

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 remained one of the most honorary occasions for Diagoras' sons. Much was expected of these athletes, and each spectator placed his bet on one of the two men. Today, the prize for winning the pankration, a virtually ruleless wrestling sport moderated by an arbiter, is a set of three young slaves. As the fight is going on in the palaistra, the slaves watch the two naked muscular fighters full of excitement. It is obvious that the two brothers from Rhodes are extremely experienced in wrestling matches. The sight of the two naked bodies, grabbing each other almost obsessively, makes some of the spectators gossip about the athletes' brotherly behavior. In fact, for these two, wrestling each other often arouses their bodies so much that their entanglement can easily be seen as a particularly incestuous encounter. Not seldom, in the heat of the fight, the brothers rub their erect penises against each other's back or torso. The arbiter watches closely if the fight alters into a physical display of intimate lust.

The three slaves probably are the keenest to learn about the outcome of the match. This implies which master they would belong to in a matter of minutes. All of their eyes are focused on Akousilaos, because he is said to treat his servants almost like human beings. Damagetos, on the other hand, is feared for the cruel ways he exploits his slaves as mere punch bags to exercise his fists, frequently fracturing their limbs and even smashing their heads with his bare hands. All of this just for the sake and pleasure of trying his strength, in spite of his father warning him for these malpractices, which gives his family a bad name. In the third round of the match, Akousilaos hurls his brother in the air, grabbing him by his upper body and ass, while Damagetos presses Akousilaos against his breast and punches him, one blow after the other, with his left fist.

From their close position, the three slaves have a perfect view on the two fighting athletes. However, they risk being crushed in case Akousilaos smashes his brother to the ground...