[Jewelry making - Article 00006] - Re: [Orchid] Athens olympic medals

[Ctedesigns]

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    This site
    http://www.ana.gr/olympics/English/pages/Historic/OlympicMedals.html
    has photos of both sides and a brief description (as well as past
    medals). Here is a more detailed write-up courtesy of the AP: 

    By BRIAN FRIEDMAN of The Associated Press
    Published Sunday, August 15, 2004

    ATHENS, Greece - The gold, silver and bronze medals have a new look
    for the Athens Olympics - a redesign that's unique, Greek and even a
    little chic. For the face-lift, the first for the Summer Games in 76
    years, organizers asked artists to submit proposals that included two
    distinctly Greek elements: a depiction of Nike, the goddess of
    victory, and the Panathinaikos, the horseshoe-shaped stadium in
    Athens where the first modern Olympics were held in 1896. Ever since
    the 1928 games in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Nike had been shown on the
    medals, seated on a chariot with a wreath in one hand and an ear of
    corn in the other, symbolically honoring winning athletes. Next to
    the goddess was usually a stadium that looked a lot like a Roman
    amphitheater - not surprising since the designer was an Italian,
    Giuseppi Cassioli. The medals had changed little since, though in
    recent years, the flip sides usually showed the individual logos that
    were designed by the host cities. The winning design for the Athens
    medals was submitted by Elena Votsi, a renowned Greek artist who has
    designed jewelry for Gucci and has boutiques in town and on the
    island of Hydra. Cassioli's interpretation of the myth involving Nike
    was "a mistake," Votsi said. "According to the myth, she never sits,"
    said Votsi, who has a master's degree in metalwork and jewelry from
    London's Royal College of Art. Her design has a winged, almost
    angelic Nike boldly swooshing down feet-first from the heavens,
    delivering the laurel in the Panathinaikos stadium, the all-marble
    venue for archery and the finish line of the marathon. Her Nike is
    based on a marble statue from 421 B.C. by the sculptor Paionios of
    Chalkidiki. In the background of the medal is the Acropolis; above
    Nike's head are the Olympic rings and the Greek words "28th Olympiad
    Athens 2004." "It had to be Greek, the front side of the medal,
    because the Olympics started here, because we have to think about the
    history," Votsi said. On the medal's flip side, there's more Greek
    and more tradition. The Olympic flame burns from a cauldron in front
    of the opening line of Pindar 's eighth Olympic Ode in ancient Greek
    writing. The translation reads: "O Mother of Gleaming Crowns of
    Contest, Olympia, Queen of Truth." "I wanted to use the Greek letters
    because they gave us such ideas as 'philosophy' and
    =E2=80=98democracy,' " Votsi said. Above it is the Athens 2004 logo.
    "It's just a beautiful model. It's something unique," said Athens
    organizer Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, no stranger herself to
    fashionable jewelry and impeccably tailored suits. Votsi said she does
    not follow sports but does draw inspiration from them and will attend
    the 100- and 200-meter sprints at the main stadium. After the latter
    race, she might see her artwork draped around the neck of countryman
    Costas Kenderis, the defending Olympic champion. "Of course, I always
    admire the work of athletes, the way they work for a few seconds, and
    all that effort, all that work - fantastic!" she said. Although the
    back of the medal will change at future Olympics, the International
    Olympic Committee decided to keep Votsi's design of Nike on the
    front for years to come. Jim Greensfelder of Sharonville, Ohio, the
    co-author of "Olympic Medals: A Reference Guide," said he likes that
    the Athens medals will have a new design. In fact, he said he favors
    the styles of medals used in the Winter Games, for which there has
    been no standard medal and host cities have used highly
    individualistic styles with little or no images of mythology. "The
    designs have been unique and have gotten more and more attractive,"
    said Greensfelder, who counts among his favorites the medals from
    Nagano, Japan, in 1998, which featured a hand-painted flower design,
    and Lillehammer, Norway, in 1994, which had a chunk of stone mined
    from the ski jump site. As the opening ceremony for the Athens games
    approached, Votsi remained astonished that her designs will be
    hanging around the necks of the world's greatest athletes. "Even now
    ... it is difficult to imagine," she said. "It is the biggest honor.
    It is something fantastic!" 

    Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. 

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