The discus throw on a 1000 drachma banknote
The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris are open and the competitions are underway. Next Friday, 2 August, the track and field athletes will also start their medal competitions. And with it comes a particularly prestigious sport: the discus throw.
The discus throw has been one of the disciplines of athletics at the Olympic Games since ancient times and the aim is to throw a circular disc, the discus, as far as possible. Not least the thrower of the discus has always been seen as the epitome of a male athlete in his throwing position.
This ideal image is epitomised by the Greek statue of the Discobolus, a bronze statue from around 460-450 BC. This figure, created by the most important Greek bronze caster and sculptor Myron (around 500-440 BC), shows a rhythmically moving, powerful and proud male athlete. For his depiction, Myron chooses that brief moment of pause before the discus is thrown by the thrower.
The figure of Diskobolos also appears on the Greek 1000 drachma banknote from 1987, which not only shows the ancient figure but also a view of the archaeological remains of the Temple of Hera in ancient Olympia in the centre. On the other side is the bust of Apollo of Olympia and in the bottom left centre is the image of a tetradrachm from Olympia, Elis.
Image: banknote 1000 drachmas, Greece, 1987, PG 39564.
