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Friday, September 16, 2011

Athena and Phevos

From Wikipedia: Athena" and "Phevos" (Greek: Αθηνά, Φοίβος; pronounced [aθiˈna] and [ˈfivos]) were the Olympic mascots of the 2004 Summer Olympics, held in Athens. The pair are one of the few examples of anthropomorphic mascots in the history of the Olympics. According to the official mascot webpage, “their creation was inspired by an ancient Greek doll and their names are linked to ancient Greece, yet the two siblings are children of modern times - Phevos and Athena represent the link between Greek history and the modern Olympic Games.” [1]

The mascots were named after the Greek gods (Athena) and (Apollo). Phevos is a transcription of the modern Greek pronunciation of Phoebus, an epithet of Apollo. They were loosely modeled after an archaic Greek terra cotta daidala from the 7th century BC (below left), which was recommended by curators at the National Archaeological Museum.

The Athens 2004 Olympic Organizing Committee claimed that the mascots represented "participation, brotherhood, equality, cooperation, fair play [and] the everlasting Greek value of human scale."

The mascots have been emblazoned on a variety of items for sale, including pins, clothing and other memorabilia

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