| Picture shows "Athens 1896, prize medal". Baron Pierre de Coubertin commissioned a famous French medallist, Jules-Clˆmment Chaplain, to produce this first winner's medal for his revived Olympic Games. The front of the medal is Zeus who holds Nike (the ancient Greek personification of Victory), as in the famous statue of Zeus at Olympia. The reverse shows the Acropolis at Athens, pairing the city of the new games with the civilisation of ancient Greece. In these games, silver and bronze medals were offered for first and second place. Gold medals for first place were introduced in 1900.
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