ABSTRACT
The relationship between Greece and the Olympic Games is like no other. The slogan ‘There’s no Place like Home’, used in all the advertising for the 2004 Games, resonated with Greek identity, collective memory and historical experience. As home to the classical Olympics, the Games go to the very heart of Greek culture. Indeed, from the point at which Greece regained its independence in 1830, the possibility of reviving the Games, along with the drive to rebuild Athens as a worthy successor to the grand city of Antiquity, became key themes for those seeking to restore Greek values and identity. While not inseparable, there would always be a close link between staging the Olympics and the regeneration of Athens – the most likely host city whenever the Games returned to Greece.
