Athena and Phevos

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Soft toys were one of the many items of mascot merchandising available at the 2004 Games.

"Athena" and "Phevos" (Greek Αθηνά and Φοίβος; pronounced /aθiˈna/ and /ˈfivos/) were the Olympic mascots for the 2004 Summer Olympics, held at Athens. The pair are one of the few examples of anthropomorphous mascots in the history of the Olympics. According to the official mascot webpage [[1]], they represent two modern children, a brother and a sister. The mascots (right) were named after the Greek gods of wisdom (Athena) and light and music (Apollo). Phevos is a transcription of the modern Greek pronunciation of Phoebus, an epithet of Apollo. They were loosely modeled after an ancient Greek terra cotta daidala from the 7th century BC (below left).

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.

[edit] Controversy

The mascots were based on this archaic terracotta daidala at the National Archaelogical Museum.

During the Games, a newly-organized Greek Society of the Friends of the Ancients — devoted to the preservation of Ancient Greek culture — sued over the mascots, claiming that they "savagely insult" ancient Greek mythology. They were demanding €3 million ($3.7 million USD approximately) and a ban on the images.

The fact that the organizing committee referred to the daidala as dolls has been the cause of some controversy among scholars of Ancient Greek culture, as the daidala were religious artifacts. Also, the mascots' phallic shape has elicited some comments.^{[citation needed]}