Olympic Philately: Reading the 1896 Athens Olympics from Postage Stamps

Abstract

A postage stamp is principally used to demonstrate that postage has been paid. However, governments also use postage stamps to convey various messages to the world, and the message the stamp contains reaches many people. Therefore, postage stamps are frequently used to embrace and disseminate an idea or belief, to convey information to a target audience, or to announce or promote an event. Additionally, philately (or stamp collecting) remains a popular hobby. Stamp collectors, who consider stamps as works of art, meticulously collect, classify, and scrutinize the details linked to stamps. Philately also has deep ties to the Olympic games. Olympic postage stamps, which were first introduced to offer financial assistance in organizing the 1896 Athens Olympics, have also served the purpose of promoting the Olympics at the international level. Furthermore, the works of ancient Greek culture and art were admirably depicted on the first Olympic postage stamps. These stamps, which also contribute to the revival of the Olympics, have rich symbolic meanings behind their visuals.

Keywords:

• Olympic Games
• philately
• stamps
• Athens
• Greece

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

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Additional information

Notes on contributors

Uğur Özer

Uğur Özer is a researcher in the field of sport science at the Vocational School of Social Sciences at Hitit University, Turkey. He is an assistant professor in the sport management department and obtained his PhD in the same field in 2015.