OLYMPIA, the birthplace of the Olympic Games

Ancient Olympia

Olympia is in the west of Peloponnese. It was the Panhellenic religious and athletic center , a vast sanctuary with various temples and altars enriched by gifts of the faithful. The ex-votos, the monuments and the treasuries belonged to Zeus, the father of the gods and humans. For more than a thousand years here was held the greatest athletic festival that the world has know, the Olympic Games.

During the festival the different Greek races forgot their quarrels. Athletes (only of Greek descent) from as far apart Sicily and Asia Minor  competed under the protection of a sacred truce.

The first day was for the sacrifices and libations to Zeus and Hestia, the goddess of hearth. The second day took place the chariot races and the pentathlon (wrestling, long-jump, running, discus and javelin). The third day was given up to a procession and the official sacrifices on the Altar of Zeus.  In the Stadium took place foot-race(dromos), armed-race (hoplitodromos). The fourth day was for boxing and wrestling. The fifth day the festival ended with a procession of the victors (Olympionikes) who were given a crown made of a branch of olive-tree! Increasing honors were heaped on them and their statues were erected in the Sanctuary.

Near the entrance of the archaeological site , there is a stele which contains the heart of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the reviver of the Olympic Games (1896).

The Altis (the sacred grove) lies at the foot of the Kronion Hill at the confluence of the rivers Alpheus and Kladeus.

Here is a description only of the most outstanding buildings of the sacred Altis:

The Gymnasium (4rth c. B.C) was used for foot-races during bad weather.

The Palaestra (3rd c. B.C) used for wrestling und boxing.

The Theokoleon , where the high priests lived

The ruins of the Workshop of Pheidias, the great sculptor of the 5th c. B.C.

The Leonidaion (3rd c. B.C)was used as a hostelry for the public guests (ordinary pilgrims stayed in tends)

The Bouleuterion was the Palace of the Olympic Senate. Here the athletes took an oath to keep the rules of the games.

The Temple of Zeus (468 - 456). It was the greatest temple of Peloponnese . The architect was Libon of Elis. It was Doric style, peripteral, with 6 columns on the short and 13 on the long sides. The total height of the temple was 20 m.

In the cella of the temple was the statue of Zeus, work of the great sculptor Pheidias. The statue was made of gold and ivory and it was one of the Sever Wonders of the ancient world.

In the Museum of Olympia one can admire the magnificent statues that decorated the pediments of the temple.

We must mention also the Temple of Hera. It was the first temple to be built in the Altis in mid of the 7th c. B.C. in Doric style, peripteral with 6 columns on the short and 16 on the long sides. In the cella of the temple was the statue of goddess Hera sited on a throne and beside her Zeus wearing a helmet. In the cella was found the famous statue of Hermes of Praxiteles which can now be seen in the Museum of Olympia.

Hermes of Praxiteles, Ancient Olympia

We finish with the Stadium where one enters through a vaulted tunnel. Its length is 192,27 m. The track was surrounded by an embankment and this is where the spectators stood. It could seat about 20.000 people. This is the Stadium where the Olympic Games were held from the Archaic era 776 B.C. to the end of the Roman Empire 393 A.D.

The vaulted tunnel, Ancient Olympia

Info

Telephone: 00302624022517

Tickets: Full € 9, Reduced € 5

Opening hours: weekdays 08:00 - 17:00, weekends 08:00 - 15:00

Written by : Sophia Kokkinou, guide/archaeologist/writer