Ancient Greek murder victim unusual

About 2,000 years ago, a heavily muscled man was murdered on a Greek island. The killer drove a spear into the man's chest with such force that it left a nearly perfect circle in his sternum. Such an injury is rare according to researchers. Archaeologists found the man's remains in 2002 while excavating a section of an ancient necropolis in Thasos, the northernmost Aegean island.

The ancient spear — known as a styrax, the pointed end of a thrusting spear — wasn't thrown at the victim from a distance. Instead, it was likely thrust inward at close range and with precision, possibly for an execution. An injury like that would have caused cardiac shock and arrest, likely killing the man within a minute. A dental analysis showed that just before the man's death, his diet worsened, suggesting that he was a prisoner or captive in his last days.