What's the story behind gold wreaths given to Boston Marathon winners?

The following year, on Patriots' Day, the B.A.A. established the first Boston Marathon.

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How the wreath ceremony tradition got its start

George Demeter, the first Greek-American to serve in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, introduced the ancient Greek tradition of crowning marathon winners with laurel wreaths from 1933 to 1945, according to Vlachos.

In 1984, Peter Agris, of the Alpha Omega Council, and Tim Kilduff, then race director of the Boston Marathon, with Gov. Michael Dukakis, Lt. Gov. John Kerry, Boston Mayor Ray Flynn and the Consul General of Greece in Boston arranged for olive wreaths from Greece to be presented to the Boston Marathon winners.

The wreath ceremony began that year.

Maidens of the Boston Lykeion Ellinidon holding the four gold wreaths cut from olive trees in Marathon, Greece.

Arrival of the Boston Marathon wreaths

The wreaths arrived at the April 16 ceremony in the hands of four women dressed in white Goddess-like gowns. They are Maidens from the Boston Lykeion Ellinidon, a volunteer-run, 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of traditional Hellenic culture in New England.

Marathon notables recognized

This year's wreath ceremony commemorated the 80th anniversary of Stylianos Kyriakides, of Athens, Greece winning the Boston Marathon in 1946; as well as the 50th anniversary of the Alpha Omega Council.

Also recognized during this year's wreath ceremony was Jack Fultz, winner of the 1976 Boston Marathon, who helped develop the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge program.

This article originally appeared on wickedlocal.com: Wreaths presented to Boston Athletic Association for Marathon winners