BLOG: Peace is victory: From the Athens marathon to the Istanbul marathon

It is known in the modern world that the olive branch symbolizes peace. In many places where a peace agreement was signed between countries, there is a dove holding an olive branch in its beak. An example used to stand in Mudanya where a peace agreement ending World War I was signed.

In Ancient Greece, the olive was the sign of Athena. She is the patron goddess of Athens and she presented an olive to Athens as a gift. Athena is the goddess of war strategy and wisdom. Olive in her inventory of symbols stands for victory. It is believed that Athena supported the Athenians in many wars for victory, and they offered their gratitude to her by building statues of victory in the places of war. These statutes mostly show the goddess of victory, Nike (Victoria in Roman mythology) holding an olive wreath in one hand. In many cities of Europe, statutes of the goddess of victory still stand to honor their victories. An example stands in Copenhagen, representing a victory they won using the guns of a sunken ship against the Germans.

An olive laurel is also offered to Olympic champions in modern Olympic Games, as was done in the ancient games of Olympia and other Greek cities. Homer honored the games by saying, “There is no greater glory for a man as long as he lives than what he achieves by bare hands and feet” in “The Odyssey.” The Olympic Games still protect its values: friendship, respect, excellence and its motto, Citius, Altius, Fortius (faster-higher-stronger).

I experienced a combination of these during the Athens Marathon, “The Authentic,” I did on Nov. 9. The marathon is the race with the distance that the Athenian soldier ran to inform the city about their victory against the Persians in the city of Marathon before collapsing. We...