2024 Olympic Games in Paris – Hercules and Wrestling

In the foreground, Hercules wrestling with a winged hybrid creature. Below him the logo of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the mint marks of the French Mint and Chief Engraver Joaquin Jimenez. Along the left edge: the athletics track and the monogram "RF". Part of the front façade of Notre-Dame appears in the background on the right.

Wrestling is one of the oldest Olympic disciplines of all: it was already a central event at the ancient Games in Olympia, and in Greek mythology Herakles — known in Latin as Hercules — is regarded as a master of this combat sport. The twelve labors he had to complete for King Eurystheus shaped the image of the hero throughout European cultural history. The figure of Hercules has been firmly embedded in French fine art since the Renaissance and has repeatedly served the French state as a symbol of strength and republican virtue — it has adorned official depictions of the Republic since as early as the 18th century.

Paris had already hosted the Summer Olympics twice, in 1900 and 1924, before the city staged the world's largest multi-sport competition for a third time in 2024. The events were spread across historically significant sites of the French capital; wrestling took place at the Champ-de-Mars Arena, right next to the Eiffel Tower. Notre-Dame de Paris, whose reconstruction after the 2019 fire progressed alongside the Games and whose reopening in December 2024 drew international attention, stood as a symbol of the link between cultural heritage and contemporary events. In 2024 France issued several special coins to mark the Olympic Games, including this 2-euro commemorative coin, which brings together both themes — mythological tradition and sporting present.