Greece - Olympia, Home of the Olympic Games. (1)

Visiting the site of the ancient Olympic Games at Olympia in the Peloponnese, southern Greece, was the culmination of our visit to Greece. It was a fitting end to the four months spent touring and travelling this culturally rich country. And what a finale it was!
Notice the absence of people in the pictures when you visit in the low season, and what a pleasure it was! A guide told us that 5,000 visitors on a good summer's day is normal in the high season .... no thank you!

Zeus, the most important of all the Olympic gods.

 Although geographically isolated, located in this corner of the Peloponnese, Olympia stood out historically as the most important Pan-Hellenic religious- political and athletic centre, of the ancient Greek world.

Olympia was the cradle for ideals that characterised humanity, such as noble rivalry and fair play, through the centuries. By implanting these values, Olympia, since antiquity and to eternity, teaches mankind to seek and achieve moral triumphs.

 

(Inscription at the site of the ancient Olympics)

  

The sanctuary at Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games goes back to 10BC. Today it consists of the remains of buildings and artefacts dating back to 7BC and received its final form (design) in 4BC. It is important to understand that the site and subsequent structures evolved over time, spanning 600+ years from 10BC to 4BC, improving and adding as the need arose.

Seeing and walking around a place containing history of some 3,000 years is difficult to describe and certainly focuses the mind, more so because the Olympic Games is still part and parcel of modern times.

 

To me three things stand out from my visit to Olympia:-

- the Stadium where the field and track events took place

- the Temple of Zeus, king of the Olympian gods

- the Altar of Hera, where the Olympic flame is lit for each of the modern Games

 

The Stadium

 

The Stadium with the starting grid

 

The passage into the Stadium

 

The stadium was only unearthed in WW2 during the German occupation of Greece, by German excavators and apparently on the direct orders from Adolf Hitler. (Source: The Rough Guide to Greece)

The Temple of Zeus - king of the Olympian gods.

 

A column from the Temple of Zeus and the hill of Kronos in the background

Image of the Temple of Zeus

The Temple of Zeus had the one column (it totalled 6x13 columns) restored before the 2004 Olympics in Athens. The hill of Kronos is where slaves and women spectators had to watch the Games from. Entry into the stadium itself was for high society and the wealthy. (Source: The Rough Guide to Greece)

Altar of Hera - where the Olympic flame is lit for each of the modern Games.

The Altar of Hera and the Temple of Hera behind 

Lighting the Olympic flame

Museum visit showing some of the artefacts to follow in the next post.

Further reading:-

http://www.olympic.org/ancient-olympic-games?tab=mythology

http://www.pe04.com/olympic/olympia/