Olympic medals are an important part of the Games. They are presented to the athletes as heroes of the Olympic Games. Since 1928, the front side of every medal has featured a picture of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, sitting in a horse-drawn chariot and holding a laurel wreath above her head. The Olympic Rings are also on the front, along with an amphitheater, the year, number of the Olympiad and host city. Each host city is allowed to add special details to the design.

A new design for the front side has been created by artist Elena Votsi for the 2004 Games, featuring the Greek Panathenic Stadium (where the modern Olympics were revived in 1896) and a new image of Nike. Based on a statue carved in 421 B.C., which was kept in the Temple of Zeus in Olympia, the new image shows Nike, the winged personification of victory in the stadium as well as on the battlefield, flying into the stadium as if to crown the winners with a wreath.

The reverse side of every medal is unique to each Olympic Games and is designed by the host city. The 2004 medals will depict the eternal flame, the opening lines of Pindar's 8th Olympic Ode (composed in 460 B.C. to honor the victory of Alkimedon of Aegina in wrestling) and the Athens 2004 Olympic Games emblem.

In ancient Olympics, no medals were awarded. The first-place winner was given an olive wreath to wear on his head; second- and third-place winners received nothing. When the modern Olympics were revived in 1896, first-place winners received silver medals. Strangely, gold was considered inferior to silver. Eight years later, at the 1904 Games in St. Louis, gold replaced silver for first place.

Today's gold medals are actually sterling silver covered with a thin coat of gold. Olympic medals must be 68 mm across and 3m thick. The gold and silver medals must contain at least 92.5 percent silver, and at least 6 grams of 24-carat gold must coat each gold medal. Bronze medals contain copper, zinc, tin and a very small amount of silver.

The copper for the 2004 Athens Olympics medals came from Cyprus. It was transported to Greece in June in a full-scale replica of the ancient Greek merchant ship Kyrenia, which sank off the coast more than 2,000 years ago.

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Athena and Phevos are brother and sister and the official Athens 2004 mascots. Their creation was inspired by an ancient Greek doll and their names are linked to ancient Greece. Phevos was the name of the Olympian god of light and music and was also known as Apollo. Athena was the goddess of wisdom and patron of the city of Athens. Athena and Phevos represent the values of Olympism: participation, brotherhood, equality, cooperation and fair play.

Athena and Phevos are brother and sister, a boy and a girl, symbols of equality and brotherhood around the world. The mascots are showcased as children, simple and joyful, full of vitality and creativity, reminding us that humanity was, is and will remain at the heart of the Olympic Games.

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Resources: Medals: www.athens2004.com; www.eurosport.com; Mascots: www.msnbc.msn.com; www.nycolympics.com