Ancient Greek Kotinos Shield - Olive Wreath, Symbol of Winners - Marble Base - Museum Replica - pure Bronze Sculpture
Condition: New, Made in Greece.
Material: Pure Bronze
Height: 16 cm - 6,3 inches
Width: 8 cm - 3,1 inches
Length: 6,5 cm -2,6 inches
Weight: 700 g
The
Olive wreath also known as kotinos was the prize for the winner at the
ancient Olympic Games. It was a branch of the wild olive tree
Kallistefanos Elea (also referred to as Elaia Kallistephanos) that grew
at Olympia, intertwined to form a circle or a horse-shoe. The branches
of the sacred wild-olive tree near the temple of Zeus were cut by a pais
amphithales (a boy whose parents were both alive) with a pair of golden
scissors. Then he took them to the temple of Hera and placed them on a
gold-ivory table. From there, the Hellanodikai (the judges of the
Olympic Games) would take them, make the wreaths and crown the winners
of the Games.
According to Pausanias it was introduced by Heracles as
a prize for the running race winner to honor his father Zeus. In the
ancient Olympic Games there were no gold, silver, or bronze medals.
There was only one winner per event, crowned with an olive wreath made
of wild-olive leaves from a sacred tree near the temple of Zeus at
Olympia. Olive wreaths were given out during the 2004 Summer Olympics in
Athens in honor of the ancient tradition, because the games were being
held in Greece which was also used as the official emblem.
Herodotus
describes the following story which is relevant to the olive wreath.
Xerxes was interrogating some Arcadians after the Battle of Thermopylae.
He inquired why there were so few Greek men defending the Thermopylae.
The answer was "All other men are participating in the Olympic Games".
And when asked "What is the prize for the winner?", "An olive-wreath"
came the answer. Then Tiritantaechmes, one of his generals uttered:
"Good heavens! Mardonius, what kind of men are these against whom you
have brought us to fight? Men who do not compete for possessions, but
for virtue."'
Aristophanes in Plutus makes a humorous comment on
victorious athletes who are crowned with wreath made of wild olive
instead of gold:
Why, Zeus is poor, and I will clearly prove it to
you. In the Olympic games, which he founded, and to which he convokes
the whole of Greece every four years, why does he only crown the
victorious athletes with wild olive? If he were rich he would give them
gold.
The victorious athletes were honoured, feted, and praised.
Their deeds were heralded and chronicled so that future generations
could appreciate their accomplishments. In fact, the names of the
Olympic winners formed the chronology basis of the ancient world, as
arranged by Timaeus in his work, The Histories.
ΣΕΜ 25-634 ΑΣΠΙΔΑ ΚΟΤΙΝΟΣ - 47