The Shining Origin of Medals

My name is Elan Baumgarten and welcome to Becoming Sage! This is a place to listen to the ordinary become truly extraordinary! This episode is about something that shines, designed to signify someone’s domination over others in athletics, outstanding heroism and action in combat, or significant work in cultural fields. Depending on the field they are in, these can take many names. Among them are awards, decorations, and medals. Awards can be found as far back as ancient Greece and Rome. Victorious athletes and military commanders were given laurel wreaths which formed crowns upon their brows. But these awards were not just for bragging rights. They had a large amount of cultural and religious significance to these ancient civilizations. The Greeks came up with the now widely popular Olympics. During those times competition was merely between different city-states, but now the Olympic Games are attended by the entire world, 206 entries to be exact. This is possible because, while there are only 195 countries, there are some territories that have National Olympic Committees from before the rule change in the late 90s which moved to only allow recognized countries to have a National Olympic Committee. In Ancient Greece the winners were bestowed with an olive wreath. The concept and design of the modern medal is fairly uncontested. The Italian painter Antonio Pisano is the widely agreed upon creator. The first medal that he created was depicting a Byzantine emperor and was created during 1438 and 1439. Through the tail-end of this century medalists, people who made medals, would become more and more common. At this point, they were not yet associated with achievements, but were instead portraits of the famous and rich. Despite not having a formal school for teaching the craft, Italian cities, especially Rome and Florence, attracted many medalists. During the 16th Century many mints would open up around Italy, leading to the overwhelming number of medalists in the nation. The medal even became a popular method of propaganda. During the 15th Century France also became a hub of medalists, which were used largely in the same way. The first medals to be produced in France were in commemoration of their expulsion of the English. Military decorations were not introduced for another few hundred years. The first American award for the enlisted was the Badge of Military Merit, created by George Washington. This was on August 7th, 1782. It was originally awarded for “instances of unusual gallantry…extraordinary fidelity and essential service.” but was revived on the 200th birthday of George Washington as the Purple Heart. It is now an award associated with injuries sustained during combat, and combat associated fatalities. Many countries had various decorations. These were typically associated with acts that involved bravery, selflessness, and valor. Today medals are mostly associated with athletics. The Olympic Games are once again the most well-known global athletic competition. The 2024 Summer Olympics will have medals unlike any other. The Eiffel Tower was only designed to last for twenty years when it was originally erected in the 1889 World Fair. And it has stayed upright only through many miraculous mechanical surgeries. The medals for the Paris 2024 Olympics will all have a hexagonal, polished piece of the eiffel tower embedded into them. Thank you for listening to Becoming Sage. This is Elan Baumgarten. Don’t forget to grab your friends and family - and tune in to listen to the ordinary become truly extraordinary!