| Olympic Medals 2004
The Olympic medals for the Athens Games were
presented on 2 July 2003. This presentation was the final step in a long
process that involved nine Greek artists who kindly accepted the invitation
to participate in a design tender for the creation of the Athens medals.
Elena Votsi submitted the winning entry.
Since the Amsterdam Olympic Games in 1928,
the medals main side had kept more or less the same design. ATHOC`s aim
was to modify this main side in order to include Greed elements that would
highlight the close bonds between Greece and the Olympic movement. Therefore,
candidates were asked to include the goddess "Nike" of Paeonios and the
Panathinaiko Stadium in their design ffor the main side of the medal.
"Nike" of Paeonios is a statue exhibited in
the museum of Ancient Olympia and is a direct reference to the Greek origin
of the Games. The statue, created in 421BC by the well- known sculptor
Paeonios, depicts the goddess "Nike" who was worshipped in ancient times
as the personification of victory, in the stadium as in the battlefield.
Historical research showed that the goddess "Nike" was always presented
as "winged", descending from the gods to sing praises and crown a winner.The
Panathinaiko Stadium, also presented on the main side of the medal, highlights
the revival of the Olympic Games which took place in 1896 in this venue.
On the reverse side, three elements are depicted.
The eternal flame that is lit in Olympia for every Olympic Games, the opening
lines of Pindar`s Olympic Ode composed in 460BC to honour an Olympic wrestling
winner, and the Athens Games emblem.After the presentation of the Athens
medals, the IOC approved their new design and decided to adopt it for the
Games to come.
The look of the Olympic medals was completed
with the multicoloured ribbon which was designed bearing patterns from
the Panorama graphic and the ATHENS 2004 logotype.
Source document: Official
Report 2004, Vol. 1, page 327
© ATHOC, Copyright ATHENS 2004, ORGANISING COMMITTEE
FOR THE GAMES |
