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  • Two ladies are shopping in a tourist trinket store in the Plaka shopping centre, the largest official Olympic merchandising outlet in downtown Athens. The 29th modern Olympic circus is gearing up for business and official and unofficial souvenirs are on sale here, including postcards and table mats with various works of art available on a rack. We see the Parthenon on the Acropolis Hill, Michelangelo's 'Hands of God and Adam' image from the Sistine Chapel. 'Last Supper' by Leonardo da Vinci and a landscape from ancient Olympia, the birthplace of modern athletics and of the Olympic ideal. The Olympics came home to Greece in 2004 amid the woodland of ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. Corruption, politics, cheating and commercialism interfered with the ancient and modern games.
    greek_olympiad014-23-10_2003.jpg
  • Elite ceremonial soldiers called Evzones or Proedriki Froura (Presidential Guard), parade on Acropolis Hill, Athens. This special contingent of the light infantry unit are on duty at the Acropolis during the national holiday of 'No Day,' celebrating the day when Mussolini was denied a marching route through Greece in 1941. The Acropolis was once the centre of classical Greek culture which the world has inherited for its laws and philosophical thinking. Mounted above the Athenian city within fortified 60m high walls, its history is a World Heritage Site, important because of its "universal symbols of the classical spirit and civilization and form the greatest architectural and artistic complex." The establishment of democracy, took a leading position amongst the other city-states of the ancient world.
    greek_olympiad012-23-10_2003.jpg
  • White plaster or cement Goddess statuettes stand on sale on the forecourt of a garden art business in an Athens suberb, Marathonas Avenue - the original Marathon route of 490 BC. The mostly female figurines are in various poses but are all nudes and are in various gestures of a classical heroic style. Those in the foreground have their arms at the heads and moulded breasts and bodies to show the perfect female form while further to the back are male Gods placed on plinths and in recesses. The 29th modern Olympic circus came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics and the Olympic ideal, amid the woodland of ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery.
    greek_olympiad011-23-10_2003.jpg
  • The ancient Parthenon (circa 400 BC, the largest Doric temple ever built) sits on Acropolis hill surrounded by global tourists and scaffolding. Here the modern world's philosophy was born, once the centre of classical Greek culture which the world has inherited for its laws and forward-thinking. Mounted above the Athenian city within fortified 60m high walls, its history is a World Heritage Site, important because of its "universal symbols of the classical spirit and civilization and form the greatest architectural and artistic complex." The establishment of democracy, took a leading position amongst the other city-states of the ancient world.
    greek_olympiad013-23-10_2003.jpg
  • Buying Greek Olympic tourist trinkets, Athens. Lady tourists select holiday souvenirs in Plaka shopping centre, the largest official Olympic merchandising outlet, down town Athens. The 29th modern Olympic circus came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics was among the woodland of Ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad will echo both what was great and horrid about the past.
    Greece Olympia13 RBA.jpg
  • Roadworks on Marathon Avenue. Road works and an Athens Olympic sign on Marathonas Avenue, the ancient Marathon route of 490 BC in an Athens suburb. The 29th modern Olympic circus came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics was among the woodland of Ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad will echo both what was great and horrid about the past... . ancient, antiquities, archaeology, athens, athletics, baker, cable, capital, ceremony, city, classical, colour, compete, competing, construction, darnening, delay, dirt, EU, europe, european, exercise, famous, game, games, games, gods, Greece, Greek, guard, history, history, hole, landmark, landscape, light, makri, marathon, marathonas, medal, member, mess, mess, nea, news, olympia, Olympic, Olympic rings, olympics, orginal, original, Parthenon, photojournalism, protected, race, racing, reportage, richard, rings, roadworks, route, ruin, ruins, shadows, sky, soil, soldiers, sport, sporting, start, starting, state, summer, tourists, travel, travel, travel, world, wrestling
    The Home Coming09 RBA.jpg
  • Athens car park. With parked cars in the foreground, the Parthenon sits high above a street in the Athens suburb of Makrigianni. The 29th modern Olympic circus came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics was among the woodland of Ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad will echo both what was great and horrid about the past.
    The Home Coming02 RBA.jpg
  • Godess statuettes on Marathon Avenue. Cement Godess statuettes on sale in an Athens suberb, Marathonas Avenue - the original Marathon route of 490 BC. The 29th modern Olympic circus came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics was among the woodland of Ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad will echo both what was great and horrid about the past.
    The Home Coming10 RBA.jpg
  • Original Olympic track, ancient Olympia. English tourist family lunge for their own Olympic victory at Olympia's original start/finish line in the stadium. Hercules is said to have paced out the 600 Greek feet - or Stadion - from which we get the word 'stadium'. The 29th modern Olympic circus came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics was among the woodland of Ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad will echo both what was great and horrid about the past.
    Greece Olympia14 RBA.jpg
  • Hotel lobby statue. A classical bust sits in a hotel foyer in the modern town of Olympia, the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games. The 29th modern Olympic circus came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics was among the woodland of Ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad will echo both what was great and horrid about the past.
    The Home Coming12 RBA.jpg
  • Scaffolding surrounds the Parthenon. The ancient Parthenon (circa 400 BC, the largest Doric temple ever built) sits on the Acropolis hill surrounded by global tourists and scaffolding. Here the modern world's philosophy was born. The 29th modern Olympic circus came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics was among the woodland of Ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad will echo both what was great and horrid about the past.
    The Home Coming26 RBA.jpg
  • Garden Olympic reliefs, Rafina. An Olympic discus-thrower relief in a roadside garden items business on Marathonas avenue, Rafina, the original Marathon route of 490 BC. The 29th modern Olympic circus came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics was among the woodland of Ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad will echo both what was great and horrid about the past.
    The Home Coming22 RBA.jpg
  • Amcient Marathon route. Dawn at the town of Nea Makri, a coastal town on the original Marathon route of 490BC. The 29th modern Olympic circus came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics was among the woodland of Ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad will echo both what was great and horrid about the past.
    The Home Coming19 RBA.jpg
  • Ceremonial guard, Acropolis. Ceremonial soldiers parade on the Acropolis during the national holiday of 'No Day' - celebrating the day when Mussolini was denied a marching route through Greece in 1941. The 29th modern Olympic circus came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics was among the woodland of Ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad will echo both what was great and horrid about the past.
    The Home Coming17 RBA.jpg
  • Old bar sign on Marathon Avenue, the original route of the road race. Abandoned neon pub sign on Marathon Avenue at Nea Makri, the original route that Athenian messenger Phheidippides is said to have run in 490 BC. The 29th modern Olympic circus came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics was among the woodland of Ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad will echo both what was great and horrid about the past.
    The Home Coming08 RBA.jpg
  • Doric columns at ancient Olympia. Fallen Ionic and Doric columns lay in the undergrowth at Olympia, the birth place of the ancient Olympics, Peloponnese, Greece. The 29th modern Olympic circus came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics was among the woodland of Ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad will echo both what was great and horrid about the past.
    The Home Coming04 RBA.jpg
  • Nike trainers on the ancient Olympia's start line. A tourist crouches on the original marble starting line at ancient Olympia's athletics track where both ancient Greeks and Romans held their games. Nike was the Goddess of Victory to whom Olympic athletes made offerings and prayers before competition. Hercules is said to have paced out the 600 Greek feet, or 'Stadion,' from which we get the word 'Stadium'. Olympic spectators suffered dehydration due to to extreme heat. The 29th modern Olympic circus came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics was among the woodland of Ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad will echo both what was great and horrid about the past.
    The Home Coming01 RBA.jpg
  • Original Olympic track, ancient Olympia. Tourists play out their own Olympic heroism on the original athletic track at ancient Olympia, Peloponnese, Greece. Hercules is said to have paced out the 600 Greek feet, or 'Stadion,' from which we get the word 'Stadium'. Olympic spectators suffered dehydration due to to extreme heat. The 29th modern Olympic circus came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics was among the woodland of Ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad will echo both what was great and horrid about the past.
    The Home Coming06 RBA.jpg
  • Modern town of Olympia. A resident of modern Olympia makes her way down the main street of the trinket town past a tourist a tourist graphic of the original pentathlon. Where the ruins can now be visited few miles away, the ancient Olympics were born. The 29th modern Olympic circus came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics was among the woodland of Ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad will echo both what was great and horrid about the past.
    The Home Coming05 RBA.jpg
  • Ancient Greek texts on statue plinth. Original texts on a statue plinth near the main tunneled entrance of the 'Stadion', Ancient Olympia's running track. heroic athletes had statues commissioned in their victorious honour as well as past cheats whose dishonesty discouraged others into making the Olympics a festival of honesty. The 29th modern Olympic circus came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics was among the woodland of Ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad will echo both what was great and horrid about the past.
    Greece Olympia24 RBA.jpg
  • Peloponnese valley landscape. Autumn leaves and far mountains seen on the roadside near Levidi, between Tripolis and Argos. The 29th modern Olympic circus came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics was among the woodland of Ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad will echo both what was great and horrid about the past..
    Greece Olympia23 RBA.jpg
  • Tourist's toilet sign, Ancient Olympia. A toilet sign sits near the standing Doric columns and tourists at Olympia's Palaestra or wrestling school. Here training, instruction and bathing took place in the month before the Games. The 29th modern Olympic circus came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics was among the woodland of Ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad will echo both what was great and horrid about the past.
    Greece Olympia07 RBA.jpg
  • A 62-page introduction of editorial images by the English photographer Richard Baker. It contains projects and assignments that are biased towards medium format<br />
colour negative film with a selection of 35mm transparency-sourced work found on pages 60/61 with About Me and Contact details on page 62. Subjects include: Olympiad, Journeys in ancient Greece on Marathon Road, Athens, Sacred Precinct of Zeus in ancient Olympia and the Acropolis; Monica Ali's Bangladeshi Brick Lane; Inside the BBC; the rally driver Richard Burns; 100 years of aviation; One week after 9/11; solo images from Ireland, Lithuania, England and Florida. This folio is directed towards picture editors and art directors.
    RichardBaker_editorial_folio.pdf
  • The last moments of street lighting illuminates the pavement and road as dawn breaks over the shoreline on the untidy and empty seafront in Nea Makri, a coastal town near Athens on the Marathon road. This town is the original route that the Athenian messenger Pheidippides ran in 490BC to deliver news of the Greek victory over Persia in the Battle of (Marathonas) Marathon. Nowadays, this is a rather unattractive town with few echoes of Greece's ancient glories although the 29th modern Olympic circus came home in 2004. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad echoed both what was great and horrid about the past.
    greek_olympiad009-21-10_2003.jpg
  • Visitors learn about the British Museum's Elgin Marbles that originate from the Parthenon in Athens, on 28th February 2017, in London, England.
    british_museum-22-27-02-2017.jpg
  • Girls in London's British Museum admire the Ancient Greek Parthenon Metopes also knows as the Elgin Marbles. 92 Metopes were rectangular slabs placed over the columns of the Athens Parthenon temple depicting scenes from Greek mythology.
    elgin_marbles06-19-02-2012.jpg
  • Visitors in London's British Museum admire the Ancient Greek Parthenon Metopes also knows as the Elgin Marbles. 92 Metopes were rectangular slabs placed over the columns of the Athens Parthenon temple depicting scenes from Greek mythology.
    elgin_marbles03-19-02-2012.jpg
  • Now re-opened after months of closure during the Coronavirus pandemic, a visitor to the British Museum wearing a face covering reads decriptions of an ancient Greek vase that depicts the wedding of Peleus and Thetis along with imaginary animals (Athens, c580BC) by painter, Sophilos, on 2nd September 2020, in London, England. Some of the first visitors who have pre-booked free tickets, once again enjoy the historical artifacts at this poluar London attraction.
    british_museum18-02-09-2020.jpg
  • Now re-opened after months of closure during the Coronavirus pandemic, a visitor to the British Museum wearing a face covering reads decriptions of an ancient Greek vase that depicts the wedding of Peleus and Thetis along with imaginary animals (Athens, c580BC) by painter, Sophilos, on 2nd September 2020, in London, England. Some of the first visitors who have pre-booked free tickets, once again enjoy the historical artifacts at this poluar London attraction.
    british_museum19-02-09-2020.jpg
  • Visitors ignore the antiquities of the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum that originate from the Parthenon in Athens, on 28th February 2017, in London, England.
    british_museum-24-27-02-2017.jpg
  • Visitors pose in front of the British Museum's Elgin Marbles that originate from the Parthenon in Athens, on 28th February 2017, in London, England.
    british_museum-03-27-02-2017.jpg
  • A visitor leans to learn about the The Head of the Horse of Selene, part of the British Museum's Elgin Marbles that originate from the Parthenon in Athens, on 28th February 2017, in London, England.
    british_museum-01-27-02-2017.jpg
  • Goalkeeper Toni Cronk and fellow-members of the Australian Women's Hockey team emerge after their 2-0 victory over China to secure an overall 5th place. Played in the Riverbank Arena in the Olympic Park during the London 2012 Olympics the girls meet their loyal fans and many friends outside the stadium to celebrate their win. Toni Maree Cronk (1980) is a field hockey goalkeeper from Australia, who made her debut for the Australian women's national team in October 2001 in the test series against New Zealand in Melbourne. Nicknamed Cronky she was a member of the Hockeyroos at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, where the team ended up in fifth place in the overall-rankings.
    olympic_park51-10-08-2012.jpg
  • Young boys in London's British Museum play near the Ancient Greek Parthenon Metopes also knows as the Elgin Marbles. 92 Metopes were rectangular slabs placed over the columns of the Athens Parthenon temple depicting scenes from Greek mythology.
    elgin_marbles08-19-02-2012.jpg
  • Woman photographs photograpss the Ancient Greek Parthenon Metopes also knows as the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum. 92 Metopes were rectangular slabs placed over the columns of the Athens Parthenon temple depicting scenes from Greek mythology.
    elgin_marbles05-19-02-2012.jpg
  • Visitors in London's British Museum admire the Ancient Greek Parthenon Metopes also knows as the Elgin Marbles. 92 Metopes were rectangular slabs placed over the columns of the Athens Parthenon temple depicting scenes from Greek mythology.
    elgin_marbles01-19-02-2012.jpg
  • Theodore Kyriakou is seen in his Real Greek restaurant in Hoxton, East London. He smiles to the view dressed in chef's apron and with a pen behind his ear. This Greek-born chef once served in the military but realised his ambition to cook by coming to London and eventually being the co-owner of Livebait, the renowned London fish restaurant chain. In 1999, he finally opened a restaurant specialising in the kind of food his mother used to make. The Real Greek was in business, recreating many of the dishes he remembered, he introduced authentic Greek cuisine to a new audience. Kyriakou's parents ran a deli in Athens. His mother, a natural cook, didn't follow recipes, though many of her dishes are influenced by a 2,000-year-old cookbook, the Deipnosophistai by Athenaeus. She still gets calls from her son to check facts.
    theodore_kyriakou02-03-09-2007.jpg
  • A woman street beggar prostrates herself on a pavement, ignored by Italian shoppers and pedestrians in Florence. As shoppers and tourists walk past in a hurry, pulling suitcases or carrying shopping, the people walk around the kneeling body whose stick lies on the ground with a paper cup to collect any spare change offered. There seems to be a mixture of indifference, pity and shame for what has become the modern face of Italian society in this once-grand medieval city. The city lies on the River Arno and is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture. A centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time, Florence has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages.
    florence_italy140-23-10-2010.jpg
  • An Asian tour group admires renaissance statues in Florence's Piazza della Signoria. With the tall marble replica statue of Neptune in the background as well as the mounted figure of Cosimo Medici on his horse to the left, the tourists are listening to the amplified commentary of their leader who tells them about the history of this city and its context within the medieval world of art and trade.  The city lies on the River Arno and is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture. A centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time, Florence has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages.
    florence_italy137-23-10-2010.jpg
  • Piazza Repubblica, rooftops and housing of city of Florence seen from Giotto's Bell Tower (campanile). Florence (Firenze) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 367,569 inhabitants (1,500,000 in the metropolitan area). The city lies on the River Arno and is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture. A centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time, Florence has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages.
    florence_italy99-22-10-2010.jpg
  • An Asian tour group admires renaissance statues in Florence's Piazza della Signoria. With the tall marble replica statue of Neptune in the background as well as the mounted figure of Cosimo Medici on his horse to the left, the tourists are listening to the amplified commentary of their leader who tells them about the history of this city and its context within the medieval world of art and trade.  The city lies on the River Arno and is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture. A centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time, Florence has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages.
    florence_italy136-23-10-2010.jpg
  • The commercial and shopping street Via de Calzaioli plus rooftops and housing seen in early evening of city of Florence seen from Giotto's Bell Tower (campanile). In the background is the fortress palace called the Palazzo Vecchio. Florence (Firenze) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 367,569 inhabitants (1,500,000 in the metropolitan area). The city lies on the River Arno and is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture. A centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time, Florence has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages.
    florence_italy108-22-10-2010.jpg
  • Abandoned neon pub sign is on the famous Marathonas Avenue near Nea Makri, the original route that the Athenian messenger Pheidippides ran in 490BC. The runner was sent to deliver word of the Greek victory over Persia at the Battle of Marathon. Running 240 km (150 miles) in two days to request help when the Persians landed, he then ran the 40 km (26 miles) from the battlefield Athens to announce the Greek victory over Persia in the Battle of Marathon with the words 'We have won'. The story inspired the marathon and at the birthplace of modern sports at ancient Olympia, where for 1,000 continuous years, the ancient pagan festival of sport and debauchery were held. The 29th Olympics came home to Greece in 2004. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered even then, as now.
    greek_olympiad008-21-10_2003.jpg
  • Tourists lunge over the original 4th century start/finish line in the stadium at Olympia. Hercules is said to have paced out the 600 Greek feet - or Stadion - from which we get the word 'stadium. On the grassy bank in the background is where the seating once accommodated the many sporting pilgrims who travelled to this place from all over Greece during agreed warfare truces in the weeks of the Olympic festival. The 29th Olympics came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics, amid the woodland of ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad echoed both what was great and horrid about the past..
    greek_olympiad006-20-10_2003.jpg
  • A toilet sign sits near the standing Doric columns and tourists at Olympia's Palaestra or wrestling school. Here, training, instruction and bathing took place in the month before the Games. The 29th modern Olympic circus came home to Greece in 2004 and the birthplace of athletics, amid the woodland of ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad echoed both what was great and horrid about the past.
    greek_olympiad003-20-10_2003.jpg
  • Standing in the corner of a brightly sun-lit window, a classical reproduction bust is seen in a hotel foyer in the modern town of Olympia, the birthplace of athletics and the Olympic ideal. Amid the woodland of ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad echoed both what was great and horrid about the past.
    greek_olympiad002-20-10_2003.jpg
  • On a partially-demolished building, a mural of the ancient  Goddess Nike remains chipped and scraped on an old restaurant wall. Nike was the Goddess of Victory to whom Olympic athletes made offerings and prayers at the Temple of Zeus before competition but this site is in the heart of the modern town of Olympia that has grown up around the birthplace of athletics, amid the woodland of ancient Olympia where for 1,100 continuous years, the ancients held their pagan festival of sport and debauchery. The modern games share many characteristics with its ancient counterpart. Corruption, politics and cheating interfered then as it does now and the 2004 Athens Olympiad echoed both what was great and horrid about the past.
    greek_olympiad001-20-10_2003.jpg
  • A street beggar has been noticed by a young Italian boy who points out the poor kneeling body to his parent. A stick lies on the ground with a paper cup to collect any spare change offered and a cash customer stands entering his pin number into the automated bank dispenser, his back to the underclass of society. This has become normal for what has become the modern face of Italian society in this once-grand medieval city. The city lies on the River Arno and is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture. A centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time, Florence has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages.
    florence_italy171-24-10-2010.jpg
  • The Via de Calzaioli, rooftops and housing in early evening of city of Florence seen from Giotto's Bell Tower (campanile). Florence (Firenze) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 367,569 inhabitants (1,500,000 in the metropolitan area). The city lies on the River Arno and is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture. A centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time, Florence has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages.
    florence_italy110-22-10-2010.jpg
  • Rooftops and housing in early evening of city of Florence seen from Giotto's Bell Tower (campanile). Florence (Firenze) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 367,569 inhabitants (1,500,000 in the metropolitan area). The city lies on the River Arno and is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture. A centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time, Florence has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages.
    florence_italy107-22-10-2010.jpg
  • Rooftops and housing in early evening of city of Florence seen from Giotto's Bell Tower (campanile). Florence (Firenze) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 367,569 inhabitants (1,500,000 in the metropolitan area). The city lies on the River Arno and is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture. A centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time, Florence has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages.
    florence_italy106-22-10-2010.jpg
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