PHEVOS AND ATHENA
The two mascots of the 2004 Olympic Games

“Athena” and “Phevos” are sister and brother, and the new mascots of the only sporting event that brings the entire world closer together. They are the official mascots of the 2004 Olympic Games, introduced today by the President of the ATHENS 2004 Olympic Committee, Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki.
“Each Olympic Mascot is uniquely linked to the city and host country of the Olympic Games.  The 2004 Olympic Mascots are unique, have a long history as well as a modern face.  Athena and Phevos, are brother and sister and their representation is based on ancient Greek dolls.  Their names come from the famous brother and sister in Greek mythology: Athena, the goddess of wisdom and namesake of the city of ATHENS, and Phevos, otherwise known as Apollo, the god of light and music,” said ATHENS 2004 President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki.

During an event at the Zappeio building, site of the 1896 ATHENS Olympic Village and the ATHENS 2004 Bid Committee, Mrs Angelopoulos unveiled the official mascots of the 2004 Olympic Games.
Phevos and Athena join the ranks of the popular mascots from previous Olympic Games like Misha from the 1980 Moscow Games and Cobi from the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Mascots are the popular figures of each Olympic Games that are particularly cherished by children worldwide.
Mrs Angelopoulos-Daskalaki added, “We looked for a mascot who would be the ideal ambassador to the world and we now have our friends, Athena and Phevos.  They represent Greece and the Olympic values of cooperation, fair play, friendship and equality.  In addition, they represent the four core values of the ATHENS 2004 Games: heritage, participation, celebration and human scale.”
The ATHENS 2004 mascot competition started in February 2001 with an international competition among artists and designers to find the perfect figurine for the 2004 Summer Games.  196 proposals were submitted by April 2001.  From the original 196, 7 were selected to go to the next round and by September 2001, there were just three proposals.
In October 2001, Spyros Gogos the Creative Director of Paragraph Design Ltd was informed that their design was chosen as the 2004 Official Mascot.  At the time of selection he reacted by saying: “ We are honored that our design was chosen.”  In describing how the original idea came to be, Gogos also said, “One of the oldest and most beloved toys are dolls.  We thought by reaching back into the history of Greece we could combine ancient Greek elements with the modern concept of a toy.  The inspiration for Phevos and Athena is a bell-shaped doll made of terracotta known as a ‘daidala’ whose moveable legs are connected to a tunic-covered body with wire.  At the height of the golden age in Greece, the doll, which had previously been an idol developed into a real toy.”
The doll is part of a collection at the Greek Archaeological Museum in ATHENS, and similar ones are on exhibit at the Louvre in Paris, the Pergamon in Berlin and in Boston.
As a way to present the doll to the audience of 350 people in Zappeio and thousands of Greek viewers on LIVE TV, two child actors performed a play showing how they discovered a doll and soon realized it was the mascot.  Part of the play included a short animation video that shows the mascot visiting three key stadiums around ATHENS – the ancient stadium in Olympia, the Panathinaiko stadium – site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and OAKA, the ATHENS Sports Complex – site of the 2004 Summer Games.

SOURCE OF INSPIRATION

Dolls are the oldest and perhaps most beloved toys of all eras. In the golden era of Greek civilization, dolls developed out of a figure which had previously been an idol or a fertility symbol. Most experts agree that the most important criterion for labelling a figure as a toy are its movable limbs.
A relatively big number of such ancient dolls have been found as their main material, terracotta , preserves well -much better than, for example, wood or cloth. The oldest Greek dolls date from the 7th century BC.

Bell shaped doll, Mycenean period; Archeological Museum, Athens	Bell shaped doll, 8th century B.T.; Louvre Museum, Paris	Bell shaped doll, 7th century B.T.; Benaki Museum, Athens

Before their wedding, girls would not only sacrifice their dress to the gods, but also their doll doll, in order to be cleansed and to obtain fertility.
An ancient Greek doll served as the source of inspiration for the creation of Phevos and Athena, the two Mascots of the 2004 Olympic Games.
The original relic is a bell shaped doll made of terracotta. Its legs connect to the tunic-covered body by wire that makes its legs movable, reminding us of contemporary puppets.
In Ancient Greece, these dolls known also as 'daidala' were not only children's toys but also had a religious significance, as is evident from the religious symbols depicted on them. Such references exist from the days of Homer and Hesiodus. In the course of time the religious aspect slowly disappeared.
Today, one such terracotta doll is exhibited in the Greek Archaeological Museum, while similar ones are exhibited in The Louvre and the museums of Boston and Berlin.

VOLLEYBALL MASCOT		BEACH VOLLEYBALL MASCOT
Hybrid card (postal stationery card) from USA (AMAZING MAIL), shiwng the Beach Volleyball mascot and the future Beach Volleyball stadium for the 2004 Olympics in Faliro, Athens.
Information card from the Greek Post.		Souvenir sheet and FDC, issued 2003 02 11.
You can also find some postcards with this mascot in the postcard section. Please go to GREECE.