The excitement is building about the event that will take place at Lakeshore Foundation - The Night of Champions, a celebration of the ATHENS 2004 Olympics. You can take part and celebrate the opening ceremonies Friday August the 13th. Dinner will begin at 7:00 PM, and will feature Greek specialty dishes from Nabeel's® Café & Market, Greek dancing, silent auctions, exclusive and authentic Olympic Merchandise and more. A wide range of activities will also be available to share and celebrate the Olympic spirit.

For more information call 205-313-7400 or log-in to lakeshore.org or olympic.lakeshore.org.

More celebrations

At Nabeel's, from August 9 thru August 29 there will be authentic, classic and traditional Greek dishes like Kokinisto beef in red sauce, Lamb Fricassee, Tsipoura and more.

Everyone that comes to Nabeel's from August 9-August 29 will be able to purchase an authentic Olympic pin, commemorating the ATHENS 2004 Olympics. The proceeds from the sales of these pins will be donated to Lakeshore Foundation Paralympic Games.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR GREEK NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM
FOR WINNING THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIOSHIP EURO 2004!

Here are the scores:

Greece 2 - Portugal 1	Greece 1 - Spain 1
Greece 1 - Russia 2	Greece 1 - Czech Republic 0
Greece 1 - France 0	Greece 1 - Portugal 0

"Dear John and Nabeel's staff, we sincerely appreciate another great year of Nabeel's catering the Alabama Environmental Council's Green Tie Affair! Thank you for providing such delicious food for our annual fundraising event!
The Alabama Environmental Council (5/2004)

"I visited your restaurant Saturday. I had a wonderful Greek salad that made me feel like I was sitting at a taverna in Greece. I also enjoyed the market, where I purchased Greek yogurt, olive oil and feta cheese. The yogurt is delicious and I can't wait to try the olive oil and feta."
Frances Ruiz (03/2004)

"…thank you so much for making Anna's shower so special. I have never been to that part of Nabeel's but you better believe I'll be back and I will certainly tell all of my friends about what a great place it is to have a party. The food and service was perfect. Maria was so professional. Thanks again. "
Julie Tapscott

"Thank you so much for the wonderful dinner! All of our guests had a fabulous time. The food was great! Thanks again."
Vicki Valosik

"The dinner was a truly memorable evening of dining and socializing. The food, service and efficiency were better than one would expect from even Birmingham's finest restaurants. Your staff treated everyone (49 of us in all) at the Wedding Rehearsal dinner like we were members of their family."
Judy and Mike Phelan

The Olympic Flag

The Olympic Flag comprises five interlaced rings on a white field. Baron Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics said the rings "represent five parts (continents) of the world. The rings represent the union of the five continents during the Games. The colors were chosen because at least on of these are found in the flag of every nation and represent a post-facto interpretation to specific continents.

Blue	represents Europe
Black	represents Africa
Red	represents America
Yellow	represents Asia
Green	represents Australia (Oceania)

For his design, Pier de Coubertin the founder of the modern Olympics, chose a five-ring symbol that came from an altar-stone discovered at Delphi, Greece

The Paris congress in 1914 was so taken with the design that they adopted it as the official flag of the Olympic movement, and it made its debut at the 1920 games in Antwerp, Belgium.

The white background symbolizes Peace and Truth. It is also the symbol of goodwill, and global solidarity and tolerance.

Gymnasium

The word gymnasium comes from the Greek "gymnos", meaning nude; the literal meaning of gymnasium is "school for named exercise" Athletes in the ancient Olympic Games would participate nude.

Stadium

The first recorded Olympic Games were held in Olympia, Greece in 776 BC with only ONE event, the stade. The stade was a unit of measurement of approximately 600 feet, and as such it became the name of the footrace because it was the distance run. Since the track for the stade (race) was a stade (length), the location of the race became the stadium

The Olympic motto

In 1921, Pierre de Coubertin, Founder of the modern Olympic, borrowed a Latin phrase from his friend Father Henri Didon, for the Olympic motto "Citius, Altius, Fortius." Its English translation from Latin is "Faster, Higher, Stronger.

The Olympic Flame

The Olympic flame is a symbol carried over from the ancient Olympics. The flame was ignited by the sun and kept burning until the end of the Olympic Games. The sacred flame burned at the altar of Zeus throughout the competition. It was reintroduced at the 1924 Amsterdam Games and again burned in 1932, where the flame is lit in ancient Olympia by the natural rays of the sun off a curved mirror. It is lit in a ceremony by women dressed in robes similar to those worn at ancient times, who then pass it to the first relay runner.

The Olympic Hymn (Olympic anthem)

The poem "Ancient eternal and immortal spirit" was written by Kostis Palamas (1859- 1943, Athens, Greece and it was set to music by Spyros Samaras (Corfu, 1853-Athens 1917) and it was performed for the first time at the first modern Olympics Games in Athens in 1896. For many years, different Anthems were played at the Olympics. The IOC (International Olympic Committee decided unanimously to adopt it as the official Olympic anthem at the Tokyo Olympics in 1958.

Below is the English translation of the official anthem that has been sung at every Olympic Games since 1958.

Immortal spirit of antiquity
Father of the true, beautiful, and good ,
Descend, appear, shed over us Thy light
Upon this ground and under this sky

Which was first witnessed Thy imperishable fame.
Give life and animation to those noble Games!
Throw wreaths of fadeless flowers to the victors
In the race and in strife!

Create our breasts, hearts of steel!
Shine in a roseate hue and form a vast temple
To which all nations throng to adore Thee,
O immortal spirit of antiquity.

In the name of all competitors, I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the Rules that govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams.

The Olympic Oath

Pierre de Coubertin wrote an oath for the athletes to recite at each Olympic Games. The Olympic oath was first taken during the 1920 Olympic Games by Belgian fencer Victor Boin.

At the start of each Olympics, every athlete promises to play fairly and obey all of the Olympic rules. Holding a corner of the Olympic flag, the chosen athlete repeats the oath:

The Olympic Creed

Pierre de Coubertin got the idea for this phrase from a speech given by Bishop Ethelbert Talbot at a service for Olympic champions during the 1908 Olympic Games. A judge from the host country recites the Olympic creed, which appears on the scoreboard during the opening ceremonies, and it reads: "the most important thing in these Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well."

The Medals

The Olympic medals are designed especially for each individual Olympic Games by the host city's organizing committee. The last gold medals that were made entirely out of gold were awarded in 1912. Also, the gold and silver Olympic medals must be made out of 92.5 silver with the gold medal covered in sx grams of gold.

The Marathon

In 490 BC, Pheidippides, a Greek soldier, ran from Marathon, Athens, (about 25 miles) to inform the Athenians the outcome of the battle of Marathon with the invading Pesians. The distance was filled with hills and other obstacles; thus Pheidippides arrived in Athens exhausted and with bleeding feet. After telling them (Neneke'kame) "WE WON" he fell to the ground dead. In honor of Pheidippides, in the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896, the race of Marathon was added to the Games.

Length of Marathon

During the first Olympic Games the marathon was always an approximate distance. In 1908 the British royal family requested that the marathon start at the Windsor Castle so that the children could witness its start. The distance from Windsor Castle to the Olympic Stadium (royal family's box) was 42,195 meters (or 26 miles and 385 yards). In 1924 this distance became the standardized length of the marathon.

The winner of the Marathon race will finish in the Panathinaikon Stadium (Kalimarmaro which means best marble) stadium where the first modern Olympics Games were held in 1896.

The first time this stadium was laid out was under the orator Lycurgus, a pupil of Plato and Isocrates, was in the 4th century BC in order to host the Panathenaea, the greatest festival of ancient Athens. It was built by Herodes Atticus.

Why is it called Panathenaic? In Herode's day it was said that it was called such because it had been built essentially with money that belong to Athenians.

Philostratus, in the life of the Sophists, wrote:

[{Herodes] made this announcement: "I shall welcome you, o Athenians, and those Hellenes that shall attend, and the athletes who are to compete, in a stadium of pure marble" In accordance with the promise "he completed within four years the stadium on the other side of Ilisus, and thus constructed a monument that is beyond all other marvels, for there is no theater that can rival it"

The Kalimarmaro Panathinaikon Stadium (c. 1896)

Panathinaikon Stadium as it is today

ATHENS 2004 mascots

Dolls are the oldest and perhaps most beloved toys of all eras. In the golden era of Greek civilization, dolls developed out of a figure, which had previously been an idol or a fertility symbol. The oldest Greek dolls date from the 7th century BC. An ancient Greek doll served as the source of inspiration for the creation of Phevos and Athena, the two Mascots of the ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games. The original relic is bell shaped doll made of terracotta. Its legs connect to the tunic-covered body by wire that makes its legs movable, like the contemporary puppets. Today one such terracotta doll is exhibited in the Greek Archaeological Museum, while similar ones are also exhibited in The Louvre and the museums of Boston and Berlin.

The Mascots of the ATHENS 2004 Olympics are called Athena and Phevos, and are coned-shaped caricatures based on a 7th-century-BC terracotta doll believed to be one of the first Greek toys. Phevos is another name for Apollo, the god of light and music. Athena was the goddess of wisdom and protectress of Athens.

Why Athens 1906?

In an attempt to regain enthusiasm for the Olympic Games, the IOC International Olympic Committee) started Games that would be held every four years (between the regular Olympic Games) in Greece. In 1906, the Games were held in Athens. It was in here that the United States first had an official U.S. team plus wore official team uniforms. The enthusiasm for these Games was great and the Games seemed to regain their popularity. Unfortunately, because of political unrest in Greece around 1910, the Games were cancelled for that year and never continued. Though originally the 1906 Games were officially considered Olympic Games, the IOC now considers them the "Unofficial Olympic Games" and they are not included in Olympic records.

To learn more about past Olympics, select a date below:

1896 - Athens 1900 - Paris 1904 - St. Louis 1906 - Athens ("Unoffficial") 1908 - London 1912 - Stockholm 1916 - Not held 1920 - Antwerp 1924 - Paris 1928 - Amsterdam 1932 - Los Angeles 1936 - Berlin 1940 - Not held 1944 - Not held

1948 - London 1952 - Helsinki 1956 - Melbourne 1960 - Rome 1964 - Tokyo 1968 - Mexico City 1972 - Munich 1976 - Montreal 1980 - Moscow 1984 - Los Angeles 1988 - Seoul 1992 - Barcelona 1996 - Atlanta 2000 - Sydney