# Ancient athletes eating sheep testicles

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-athletes-eating-sheep-testicles/590246>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 25, 2011, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-athletes-eating-sheep-testicles/590246 "2011-07-25T06:26:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-athletes-eating-sheep-testicles/590246/1 "2011-07-25T06:26:13Z")

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I read this in a book and was trying to find a source for it. Googling I found on several websites the claim that as far back as 776 BC athletes ate them for testosterone boosts, but I can’t find any _ancient_ sources for it. Is this recorded in any ancient text? (I guess it must be, otherwise how would we know about it? unless it is just made up)

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**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-athletes-eating-sheep-testicles/590246/2 "2011-07-25T06:58:37Z")

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they’re a bit too old for that. eating goat and sheep testicles is supposed to be for young boys. that’s as far as popular tradition runs in many places in the world, not just ancient greece. you migth want to brush up on the illiad. see what preparations they made prior to the games that ensued after achilles’ death.

what i read is each athlete offering a goat or calf for sacrifice. the carcasses are boiled in a big cauldron. the athletes drink the broth for strength.

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-athletes-eating-sheep-testicles/590246/3 "2011-07-25T07:17:29Z")

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Testosterone wasn’t identified until the 20th century, although the ‘loins’ (which may or may not mean genitalia) were regarded as the seat of strength in ancient Greece. Point is, you’re not going to find any sources that get the mechanism right, because it wasn’t understood at the time.

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**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-athletes-eating-sheep-testicles/590246/4 "2011-07-25T14:40:25Z")

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> [@mac\_bolan00](#):
>
> see what preparations they made prior to the games that ensued after achilles’ death.

I read “preparations” as “penetrations.”

Oddly fitting, considering the subject matter!