The connection between medals and athletic games has a long history. Among the precursors of modern Olympic medals, the golden “niketiria” that were awarded as prizes at the international games held at Veroia during the 3rd century AD, stand out. These have been found in hoards from Abukir in Egypt and Tarsus in Cilicia. A “medallion” of this type is exhibited at the Hall of Medals of the Numismatic Museum. It depicts a Nike engraving an inscription on a shield (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1: Gold “medallion”, c. AD 230-250 (reverse), ΝΜ 1/1963

During the first modern Olympic Games (from 1896 to 1904), only the winner and the runner-up were awarded a medal. The winner’s medal was silver, while the runner-up one was bronze. This was a deliberate choice as it was believed that a gold medal could be translated as a money reward, and that would not be in accordance with the spirit of the Games.

Fig. 2: The silver medal awarded to the first winner at the first International Olympic Games Athens 1896 (obverse), NM 1895/6 ΙΔ΄ 1

The winners’ medal of the first International Olympic Games at Athens in 1896 was engraved by the Frenchman Jules-Clément Chaplain. It portrays Zeus holding a globe upon which Nike/Victory stands with an olive branch (Fig. 2). This was inspired by the cult statue of Zeus at the temple of Olympia, which was sculpted by Pheidias. Nike/Victory – alternatively, the representation of Greece or of the Revival of the ancient Games – is also depicted at the gold commemorative medal of the first International Games (Fig. 3) which was created by the renowned Greek painter Nikiforos Lytras. The mythical bird Phoenix, symbol of rebirth, stands next to the seated Nike.

Fig. 3: Gold-plaited commemorative medal of the  first International Olympic Games, Athens 1896 (obverse), NM 1895/6 ΙΔ΄5

 

Bibliography

Γλύτση, Ε. 2004. Η Νίκη στα μετάλλια των Ολυμπιακών Αγώνων, στο Νίκη-Victoria, Νομίσματα και Μετάλλια, 12-23. Αθήνα: Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού, Νομισματικό Μουσείο.

Στόγιας, Γ. και Ράλλη, Ε. 2008. «Ο κόσμος του μεταλλίου». Στο Ε. Αποστόλου και Γ. Νικολάου (επιμ.), Η Ιστορία του νομίσματος, 122-129. Αθηνά: Νομισματικό Μουσείο, Ίδρυμα Σταύρος Νιάρχος.

Τριανταφυλλίδου, Ζ.-Μ. 1993. Μετάλλια και Πλακέτες. Απόψεις από το έργο γνωστών Ελλήνων γλυπτών και ζωγράφων μεταλλιστών 1850-1986/7, μέσα στα πλαίσια της σύγχρονης διεθνούς Αναγέννησης του Είδους, Τόμος Α΄. Αθήνα: Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, Βιβλιοθήκη Σοφίας Ν. Σαριπόλου.