Bréal's Cup is the trophy awarded to Spyros Louis, the

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

winner at the first modern Olympic Games held in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, in 1896. The Cup was designed by French philhellene

Michel Bréal Michel Jules Alfred Bréal (; 26 March 183225 November 1915), French philologist, was born at Landau in Rhenish Palatinate. He is often identified as a founder of modern semantics. He was also the creator of the modern marathon race, having pr ...

, who had the original idea to include a Marathon race in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

. The Cup is made of pure silver. On the top part of the Cup there is the inscription "OLYMPIC GAMES 1896, MARATHON TROPHY DONATED BY MICHAEL BREAL". The remaining surface of the Cup had a relief decoration depicting birds and aquatic plants, which were known to exist in the swamp lands of Marathon in ancient times. With this reference, Breal wanted to give the Cup a symbolic significance and connect the

ancient Olympic Games The ancient Olympic Games (, ''ta Olympia''.), or the ancient Olympics, were a series of Athletics (sport), athletic competitions among representatives of polis, city-states and one of the Panhellenic Games of ancient Greece. They were held at ...

with the modern ones. Today, the Cup belongs to the

Stavros Niarchos Foundation The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) is a private, international philanthropic organization, making grants to nonprofit organizations globally in the areas of arts and culture, education, health and sports, and social welfare. It was established ...

, which acquired it at an auction held on April 18, 2012 by Christie's in London.Spyros Louis Silver Cup Travels to Olympic Museum in Lausanne.
/ref> A delegation from the Municipality of Amarousion, the birthplace of Spyros Louis, attended and bid in the auction. The Cup was sold by the grandson of Spyros Louis, who has the same name.

References

{{commons Awards established in 1896