Chionis of Sparta

Chionis ( ancient Greek Χίονις ) from Sparta was a winner of the Olympic Games.

According to Pausanias, Chionis was seven -time winner of the Olympic Games, where he was four times in the stadium and running three times in a double stadium race ( diaulos ) victorious. His first victory came in the 28th, the next two in the 29th and 30th Olympic Games ( 668-660 BC). In Olympia and Sparta is supposedly donated by himself panels have found, on all his Olympic victories and were recorded by other Agonen, also was noted on the table in Olympia, that the time of his victory of the gun barrel ( Hoplitodromos ) not yet as Olympic discipline has been introduced. Since the gun barrel but was only much later, BC, introduced in the 65th Olympic Games 520, Pausanias rated the panel as not authentic. He suspects that the standing beside the blackboard statue by the sculptor Myron is to be regarded as a portrait of Chionis.

In the obtained Eusebius of Caesarea Chronicle of Julius Africanus he is in contrast to the representation in Pausanias listed as the winner of the stadium race of 29, 30 and 31 games ( 664-656 BC). It is noted that Chionis could jump over a distance of 22 feet.

After his success as an athlete Chionis to have been involved in the colonization of Libya and have assisted in the founding of Cyrene Battus.