View source for Athena, Phevos and Proteas

{{Short description|Mascots of the 2004 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Athens}}{{more citations needed|date=November 2011}}
{{Infobox
|caption =
|above   = Athena and Phevos<br/>{{Nobold|{{lang|el|Αθηνά και Φοίβος}} (in Greek)}}
|image   = [[File:Athena and Phevos.svg|200px]]
|headerstyle  = background:#dde8ff;
|labelstyle   = background:#fed;
|header1 = Mascots of the [[2004 Summer Olympics]] ([[Athens]])
|label2  = Creator
|data2   = Spyros Gogos
|label3  = Significance
|data3   = Two modern children resembling ancient Greek terracotta [[daidala]]
}}
{{Infobox
|caption = 
|above   = Proteas<br />{{Nobold|{{lang|el|Πρωτέας}} (in Greek)}}
|image   = [[File:Proteas.png|200px]]
|headerstyle  = background:#dde8ff;
|labelstyle   = background:#fed;
|header1 = Mascots of the [[2004 Summer Paralympics]] ([[Athens]])
|label2  = Creator
|data2   = Spyros Gogos
|label3  = Significance
|data3   = A [[seahorse]]
}}
{{2004 Summer Olympics}}
{{2004 Summer Paralympics}}

'''Athena''' and '''Phevos''' ({{langx|el|Αθηνά, Φοίβος}}; pronounced {{IPA|el|aθiˈna|}} and {{IPA|el|ˈfivos|}} were the official mascots of the [[2004 Summer Olympics]] and '''Proteas''' ({{langx|el|Πρωτέας}}, {{IPA|el|proˈte.as|}}) was the official mascot of the [[2004 Summer Paralympics]], both held in [[Athens]], [[Greece]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Daniel |date=23 July 2021 |title=Here are all the strange Olympic mascots from years past you either love or hate |url=https://nationalpost.com/sports/olympics/olympic-mascots-tokyo-2020-london-2012 |website=National Post}}</ref>

Athena and Phevos 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 - Athena and Phevos represent the link between Greek history and the modern Olympic Games."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.athens2004.com/en/OlympicMascots |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20060208221636/http://www.athens2004.com/en/OlympicMascots |archivedate=2006-02-08 |title=Phevos and Athena |accessdate=2008-09-08}} The original website is now closed.</ref>

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."

For the Paralympic Games, ATHOC subsequently requested Gogos for the creation of a new mascot along the creative lines of Athena and Phevos. He created Proteas, a seahorse that is to convey the nature of the competitions and the athletes’ constant goal of achieving excellency.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.paralympic.org/athens-2004/mascot|title=Athens 2004 Paralympic Mascot Proteas - Photos & History}}</ref>

The mascots have been emblazoned on a variety of items for sale, including [[pin]]s, clothing and other [[memorabilia]].

==History==

An international competition for the design of the Olympic mascots was launched by the [[Athens Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games]] (ATHOC) on 26 February 2001: on 18 May 2001, ATHOC shortlisted seven proposals out of the 127 entries that met the initial requirements. The winning proposal, submitted by Spyros Gogos of Paragraph Design Limited,<ref name="creators">{{cite web|title=Creators|url=http://www.athens2004.com/page/default.asp?la=2&id=3503|website=Athens 2004|publisher=Athens Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games|access-date=8 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030404190641/http://www.athens2004.com/page/default.asp?la=2&id=3503|archive-date=4 April 2003|location=Athens |language=en|url-status=dead}}</ref> was announced on 26 October 2001.<ref name="mascot-competition">{{cite web|title=Competition|url=http://www.athens2004.com/page/default.asp?la=2&id=3470|website=Athens 2004|publisher=Athens Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games|access-date=8 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021018072244/http://www.athens2004.com/page/default.asp?la=2&id=3470|archive-date=18 October 2002|location=Athens|language=en|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Athena and Phevos was unveiled to the public on 4 April 2002, followed by Proteas on 17 September 2003.<ref name="dw-20020405">{{cite news|title=Olympics Still a Distant Dream for Athens|url=https://www.dw.com/en/olympics-still-a-distant-dream-for-athens/a-491359|access-date=13 April 2025|work=DW News|publisher=Deutsche Welle|date=5 April 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250413122235/https://www.dw.com/en/olympics-still-a-distant-dream-for-athens/a-491359|archive-date=13 April 2025|location=Bonn|language=en-gb}}</ref><ref name="gb-20030918">{{cite web|title=Medal And Mascot Of Athens 2004 Paralympics Unveiled|url=https://gamesbids.com/eng/other-news/medal-and-mascot-of-athens-2004-paralympics-unveiled|website=GamesBids.com|publisher=Games Bids Inc.|access-date=13 April 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231221125528/https://gamesbids.com/eng/other-news/medal-and-mascot-of-athens-2004-paralympics-unveiled/|archive-date=21 December 2023|language=en-us|date=18 September 2003}}</ref>

==Design==
The mascots were named after the [[Greek mythology|Greek gods]] [[Athena]] and [[Apollo]], ''Phevos'' being 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, which was recommended by curators at the National Archaeological Museum.

Reception was mostly positive, though there were some negative reviews including one that compared them to "melted [[Bart Simpson]] dolls".<ref>{{Cite news |date=2004-08-27 |title=Olympic mascots more like melted Bart Simpson dollw |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/waterloo-region-record-olympic-mascots-m/181499807/ |access-date=2025-09-22 |work=Waterloo Region Record |pages=23}}</ref> 

Resemble laboratory beakers with swollen feet and off kilter smiles. Or Bart Simpson dolls that have been left to melt on a car dashboard in summer.”  

==Controversy==
[[Image:Athens athena model.jpg|thumb|left|The Olympic mascots were based on this archaic terracotta ''[[daidala]]'' at the [[National Archaeological Museum of Athens]].]]
Prior to the Games, a group affiliated with the ''Societas Hellenica Antiquariorum'' called the [[Greek Society of the Friends of the Ancients]] and a [[Hellenic Polytheistic Reconstructionism|Hellenic polytheistic]] group called the ''Committee for the Greek Religion Dodecatheon'', devoted to the preservation of ancient Greek culture, sued over the mascots, claiming that they "savagely insult" [[Religion in ancient Greece|Classical Greek culture]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Extrajudicial protest - denunciation - statement of Greek Citizens, concerning the 2004 Olympics' "mascot" choice |url=http://users.forthnet.gr/ath/heliodromion/e_nea1.htm |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061218003151/http://users.forthnet.gr/ath/heliodromion/e_nea1.htm |archivedate=2006-12-18 |accessdate=2007-01-30}}[http://agis10.tripod.com/id8.html]</ref> In a [[BBC Radio]] interview on June 26, 2004, Dr. [[Marinis|Pan. Marinis]], President of the Societas Hellenica Antiquariorum, said that the mascots "mock the spiritual values of the Hellenic Civilization by degrading these same holy personalities that were revered during the ancient Olympic Games. For these reasons we have proceeded to legal action demanding the punishment of those responsible." The fact that the organizing committee referred to the ''daidala'' as [[doll]]s has been the cause of some controversy among scholars of Ancient Greek culture, as the ''daidala'' were religious artifacts.<ref>{{Citation |last=Morris |first=Sarah P. |title=Daidalos and the Origins of Greek Art |chapter=CHAPTER 2. Daidala in Archaic Poetry and Ritual |date=2022-02-08 |pages=36–59 |chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9780691241944-006/pdf?licenseType=restricted |access-date=2024-06-30 |publisher=Princeton University Press |language=en |doi=10.1515/9780691241944-006 |isbn=978-0-691-24194-4}}</ref>

==See also ==
{{Portal|Olympics|Sports|Europe|Greece}}
* [[National Archaeological Museum of Athens]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*The Beijing 2008 Olympics site notes "their whacking feet, longish necks and puny heads" and reports the garbled mythology as issued by the 2004 Olympics Committee.

{{S-start}}
{{Succession box|title=''[[List of Olympic mascots|Olympic mascot]]'' <br />Athena and Phevos|before=[[Powder, Copper and Coal]]|after=[[Neve and Gliz]]|years=''Athens 2004''}}
{{Succession box|title=''[[List of Paralympic mascots|Paralympic mascot]]'' <br />Proteas|before=[[Otto (mascot)|Otto]]|after=[[Aster (mascot)|Aster]]|years=''Athens 2004''}}
{{S-end}}
{{Olympic mascots}}
{{Portal bar|Olympics|Sports|Europe|Greece}}

[[Category:2004 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:2004 Summer Paralympics]]
[[Category:Olympic mascots]]
[[Category:Paralympic mascots]]
[[Category:Fictional duos]]
[[Category:Athletic culture based on Greek antiquity]]
[[Category:Athena]]
[[Category:Apollo]]
[[Category:Culture of Greece]]
[[Category:Cartoon mascots]]
[[Category:Anthropomorphic fish]]
[[Category:Fish mascots]]
[[Category:Greek mascots]]
[[Category:Fictional characters from Athens]]
[[Category:Fictional trios]]