2004 Summer Olympics

Cyprus issued the stamps on these three maxi cards. The stamps are part of a set of four. Unfortunately, I don’t have the fourth. These wonderful maxicards were given to me by Merja.

A brief description about the three cards wont be out of place. These pictures are a representation from an ancient Greek pot (courtesy the British Museum). Track events such as the 100m race, the marathon, javelin throw, shot Put, discus throwing and a few others are normally the highlights of any Olympic Games.

The next card (lower left) depicts Equestrian Events. The horse was used in athletic competition for the first time in Ancient Greece in 68o BC in chariot races and in 684BC in horse races.The Modern day Olympics feature Show Jumping, Dressage and Eventing. And finally the card at lower right depicts boxing.This was one of the most spectacular Olympic events in Ancient Olympia.

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team officials from 201 countries. There were 301 medal events in 28 different sports. Athens 2004 marked the first time since the 1996 Summer Olympics that all countries with a National Olympic Committee were in attendance. It was also the first time since 1896 (other than the since-downgraded 1906 Intercalated Games) that the Olympics were held in Greece.

A new medal obverse was introduced at these Games, replacing the design by Giuseppe Cassioli that had been used since the 1928 Games. This rectified the long lasting mistake of using a depiction of the Roman Colosseum rather than a Greek venue. The new design features the Panathinaiko Stadium.