Saturday, January 30, 2010

The Significance Of Trophies

By Marianne Dantes

Trophies are a symbol of victory and achievement and a physical representation of success. They are a constant source of encouragement and motivation to the recipient. This is why the trophy is normally created to show the subject in which the victor has achieved something, like the depiction of a wrestler on a trophy from that particular field.

Historically, trophies stood for victory against enemies and were erected in the battlefield by the winner. The practice started in ancient Greece when the battle descriptions were inscribed on the enemy's artillery and were exhibited by the winning army as marks of victory. These were given to the Gods for helping the army fight the battle successfully. Actually the origin of the word trophy lies in the Greek word for defeat - 'tropaion'.

Romans had a different method of displaying their victory through trophies. They made use of big columns with the trophies positioned at the top for showing off a remarkable victory to everyone. After sometime, cups came to be presented to favoured athletes by kings and emperors.

Designing a trophy is usually a difficult process. Just like other design tasks, even trophy designing needs a great deal of analysis, market research and a detailed consideration of the materials to be used. A trophy should not just be remarkable but also strong enough to stay safe for decades as a prized possession of the winner.

Today, a trophy may be given to commemorate victory in a sport, academic excellence or even achievement in one's selected career. Trophies come in myriad designs, shapes and with various provisions for engravings. Down the years the traditional metal atop a wooden stand design has given way to glass, gold, fibre or silver frame, or crystal trophy. Customers now have a wide range of trophies differing in shape, size and models to choose from. The vast range of trophies found in the market has made the job of purchasing the best trophy a lot easier than it used to be.

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