Olympia - On the Trail of the Olympic Blaze (Peloponnese, Greece)

The fire of our Olympic Games were first lit here (if not literally). It was the site of the Olympic Games celebrated every four years by the ancient Greeks. The location of the sanctuary of Olympia in a lush region irrigated by two rivers, the Alpheus and the Cladeus, led Pindar to call it the kallistos topos (most beautiful place) of Greece. It was not a town, but only a sanctuary with buildings associated with games and the worship of the gods.

Today the archaeological site is accessed from the north side and runs along the length of the Gymnasium which has not yet been entirely excavated. The sacred precinct was situated at the foot of the Hill of Cronus, bind the site on the north. Outside the sacred precinct were the athletic facilities and visitors accommodations (guest houses baths etc). The southeast section of the site that contained the Hippodrome has been washed away.

More information on History of Olympia click: http://www.olympia-greece.org/history.html

The most important buildings in the site today are:

Prytaneion of Olympia: one of the oldest and most important buildings, it was the administrative centre of the sanctuary's political life and of the Olympic Games. It was the seat of the magistrates, the high officials who oversaw the sacrifices performed monthly to honour the gods. The Prytaneion occupied the north-west corner of the sacred enclosure, directly opposite the gymnasium.

Palaestra of Olympia: It is situated west of the Altis enclosure, near the Kladeos River. Built in the third century BC as part of the gymnasium complex, it was used to practice boxing, wrestling and jumping. At its centre was an open court, forty one metres square, surrounded by a Doric colonnade of 72 columns and laid with fine sand on which the athletes trained.

Temple of Ηera at Olympia: one of the oldest monumental temples in Greece, stands in the north-west corner of the sacred precinct of the Altis, on the south slopes of Kronios hilll. It was dedicated to the Olympian sanctuary by the inhabitants of Skillous, an ancient city of Eleia.

Temple of Zeus at Olympia: standing in the centre, is the largest temple in the Peloponnese, the most important building in the Altis. It was built by the Eleans from the spoils of the Triphylian war and dedicated to Zeus. In this temple was a statue of Zeus made of ivory and gold, the masterpiece of the Athenian sculptor Phidias.

Workshop of Pheidias: West of the sacred enclosure, directly opposite the temple of Zeus, was the workshop of Pheidias where the great sculptor crafted the gigantic statue of Zeus, listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The building was erected in the second half of the fifth century, when Pheidias, after completing the sculptures for the Athenian Acropolis, went to Olympia to work on the statue of Zeus. Excavation finds and potteries date it precisely to 430-420 BC.

Leonidaion: situated at the south-west corner of the sanctuary, outside the sacred precinct of the Altis, was a large and luxurious hostel for distinguished visitors to the Olympic Games. It was built in approximately 330 BC and was remodelled twice during Roman times. A dedicatory inscription partially preserved on the epistyle of the outer Ionic stoa records that the building was erected by Leonidas son of Leotas from Naxos, who was both architect and benefactor.

Ancient stadium of Olympia: Situated east of the sacred Altis enclosure, this was where the ancient Olympic Games and the Heraia, the women's games in honour of Hera, were held. Before the sixth century BC the running events were held on a flat area along the treasuries' terrace, east of the great altar of Zeus. A first stadium (Stadium I) was formed in the Archaic period (mid sixth century BC) by levelling the area south of the Kronios hill inside the Altis.

More information on the Archaeological Site click: http://www.olympia-greece.org/site.html
The French began excavations here in 1829. German explorations of 1875-81 threw much light upon the plans of the buildings; they were resumed in 1936, 1952, and 1960-61. Important finds included sculptures from the Temple of Zeus, the Nike of Paeonius, the Hermes of Praxiteles and many bronzes. In total 14,000 objects were recorded.

The finds are displayed in the Archaeological Museum of Olympia, one of the most important museums in Greece. The museum's permanent exhibition contains finds from the excavations in the sacred precinct of the Altis dating from prehistoric times to the Early Christian period. Among the many precious exhibits the sculpture collection, for which the museum is most famous, the bronze collection, the richest collection of its type in the world, and the large terracotta collection, are especially noteworthy. The most important artefacts on display includes:

• The sculptured ornaments from the Temple of Zeus
• Hermes of Praxiteles
• Nike of Paionios
• Zeus and Ganymedes
• Bronze breast-plate with incised decoration.
• The Helmet of Miltiades
• Bronze battering-ram
• Bronze horse

More information on the Archaeological Museum of Olympia click: http://www.olympia-greece.org/museum.html

How to Reach:

• From Athens by Car: you take the National Road that goes south through Corinth past Tripoli to Megaloupoli and then you go west, through to Olympia. The trip will take you about 5 hours. Hence its best adviced to plan an overnite stop enroute
• From Athens by Bus: There are several buses that leave daily for Olympia from Athens. More information can be obtained at http://www.ktel.org/
• It is also on the tour bus circuit hence a lot of options are available from Athens