The most complete information guide about Athens, Greece
Olympia
The sanctuary of Olympia
This
is one of the most important sanctuaries of antiquity,
dedicated to the father of the gods Olympian Zeus.
Olympia is the birth-place of the Olympic Games
and the place where they were held. The area has
been inhabited uninterruptedly since the 3rd millennium
BC and in the late Mycenaean period it became
a religious centre.
The
excavations at Olympia, by French archaeologists,
started in May 1829, two years after the battle
of Navarino. The finds (metopes from the opisthodomus
and parts of the metopes from the pronaos of the
temple of Zeus) were transferred to the Louvre
in Paris where they are still being exhibited.
When the Greek government was informed of the
looting of artifacts, the excavation was stopped.
Excavations
started again 45 years later by German archaeologists.
The research is being continued to this day by
the German Institute of Archaeology in Athens
and the Ephorate of Antiquities in Olympia.
The
sanctuary of Olympia spreads around the green wooded foot of the
Kronion hill where the rivers Alpheios and Cladeos meet. In ancient
times, the valley in between the two rivers was full of wild olive
trees, poplars, oaks, pines and plane trees. These trees gave
the center of the sanctuary the name Altis, meaning alsos (grove).
The
Altis is the area in Olympia that comprises the
main religious buildings, temples and votive offerings
of the sanctuary. The auxiliary buildings, priests'
houses, baths, the areas for the preparation of
the athletes, guest houses along with other buildings
were built outside the enclosure.
The beginning of worship as well as the mythical
confrontations that took place in Olympia, are
lost in time. At the end of the Mycenaean era
there already was an installation in the area
and in the Geometric and early Archaic periods,
the first simple buildings of the sanctuary were
founded.
The
games began in 776 BC to honor Zeus. Pelops, the
king of the Peloponnese was, according to mythology,
their founder. In the beginning the games that,
from beginning to end were dominated by religious
character and austere ritual, were taking place
in the area in front of the temples but later,
as the athletes taking part in the games as well
as the spectators increased, were moved to well
organized installations. At the same time the
events (running, pentathlon, long jump, discus,
javelin, wrestling, boxing, pancration and horse
racing) were enriched in number and variety.
The
innumerable offerings of the 7th-6th centuries
BC were placed outside on trees, altars or in
alcoves of the sanctuary. The most important of
the offerings were bronze tripods and cauldrons
of excellent quality, war loot (hanging on poles)
and other art objects and instruments for the
games. At the end of the 4th century BC, the architectural
plan of the sanctuary is finally completed.
Olympia was always functioning as a place of political
projection and, especially during late antiquity,
the games often fell victim to political exploitation
from important personalities like Philip II, Alexander
the Great and his successors. After the total
submission of Greece to Rome Romans, proving their
authentic Greek origin, also took part in the
games but by then the glamour and idealistic spirit
of the games had considerably weakened.
The
town of Elis, whose sole interest was the preparation
and performance of the games, directly depended
on the games and the sanctuary of Olympia.
Some of the most important monuments of the site:
The
temple of Zeus
It was built between 470 and 457 BC. and it is
widely accepted to represent the best example
of the classic Doric architectural style, having
the 6-colunm width and 13-column length outside
structure of dimensions 64,12 x 27,66 x 20,25
meter (210,36 x 90,74 x 66,43ft) (maximum height
at the middle). These columns had a height of
10,43 meter (34,21ft) and a diameter of 2,25-2,21
meter (7,38-7,25ft). The enclosed section of the
building, contained within the colonnade, consisted
of a vestibule, main temple (28,74 x 13,26 x 14,19
m - 94,29 x 43,50 x 46,55ft)) and back temple.
The vestibule and main temple were separated by
doors of 4,8 meter (15,74ft) width.
The
main temple contained a 2-storey colonnade and
balcony as well as the famous statue of Zeus (12,5
m - 41ft height, located on a 9,93 x 6,25 meter
- 32,57 x 20,50ft pedestal) constructed by Fedeias,
the most prominent sculptor of Greek antiquity.
The statue was made of ivory and was partially
covered by golden leafs. The walls were constructed
by shell limestone, covered in places by thin
marble plaster, whereas the main temple inner
columns were connected by 1m tall similarly plastered
barriers. The roof of the building was made of
wood and was covered by marble blocks.
The
back temple was separated from the
main temple by a wall and was employed for speeches made by prominent
visitors of the temple, especially during the periods designated
for the Olympic games. Today, only the remains of the building’s
pedestal are located at the site of ancient Olympia. Near the
opisthodomus of the Temple of Zeus grew a wild olive tree, the
"Callistephanos Elaia" whose branches were used to make
the wreaths for the winners.
The
Temple of Hera (Heraion)
This is a Doric temple from the end of the 7th
century BC The Heraion is one of the oldest examples
of monumental dimensioned temples in Greek architecture.
Originally made of wood, it was a richly ornamented
large building with a three-aisled cella (main
room) where the statues of Hera and Zeus stood.
The
stadium
In its present form it dates from the early 5th century BC. The
track has a length of 212,54 meter (0,13 mile) and a width of
28,50 meter (93,50ft). On the stadium's southern slope there was
a stone platform for the Hellanodikes (the judges) and opposite
was the altar of Demeter Chamyne. The stadium could hold 45.000
spectators.
The Bouleuterion
The Bouleuterion is made up of two buildings which
date from the mid 6th and the 5th centuries BC.
The altar of Horkios Zeus, where the athletes
were sworn in before the games, was between the
two buildings.
The
Philippeion
A circular peripteral building, which Philip II
started to build after the battle of Chaeroneia
(338 BC) and which was completed by Alexander
the Great. It was used for the hero-worship of
the Macedonian dynasty. The statues were the works
of art of Leochares.
The Leonidaion
This guesthouse was built around 330 BC. It was
named after its donor and architect, Leonidas
of Naxos. Important foreign guest and officials
stayed here during their visit.
The
workshop of Pheidias
Built to house work carried out on the gold and
ivory statue of Zeus. In and around the workshop,
tools, terra-cotta moulds and other artifacts
relating to the work of the artist have been found.
The Palaestra
It was built during the 3rd century BC and was
used as a practicing area for wrestling, boxing
and jumping.
The Gymnasium
This closed rectangular building from the 2nd
century BC with a large yard, was used by the
athletes to practice javelin, discus etc.
The
Prytaneion
The Prytaneion (beginning of the 5th century BC)
housed the Prytans (officials of the sanctuary).
The sacred open fireplace with the eternal flame
was kept inside.
The
Treasuries
These are small temples dedicated mainly by Greek
cities and colonies. There are the remains of
12 small temples but only 5 of these are identifiable
to any degree of certainty namely those built
by the cities of Sicyon, Selinus, Metapontium,
Megara and Gelas.
The
archeological museum
The
archeological museum of Olympia is one of the
most important archaeological museums in Greece.
Its collection holds artifacts from the sanctuary
of Olympian Zeus. The new museum was constructed
in 1975, and eventually opened in 1982.
The
museum has:
•
a collection of terracotta’s (prehistoric,
archaic and classical periods).
• a collection of bronzes.
• a collection of sculptures (archaic
up to the Roman periods).
• a collection from the Olympic Games.
Among the most important exhibits of the museum
are:
The
sculptured ornaments from the Temple of Zeus
There were 42 figures decorating the 2 pediments
of the temple, 12 metopes and the lion-headed
water spouts running along the lengths of the
temple. It is one of the best surviving ensembles
from ancient Greek works of art. They belong to
the "austere style" and date to the
1st half of the 5th century BC.
The
eastern pediment depicts the chariot race between Pelops and Oinomaos
and the central figure which dominates the work is of Zeus. The
western pediment depicts the abduction of the Lapith women by
Centaurs and has Apollo as its central figure. The metopes bear
the relief representation of
Hercules' labors. These sculptures were made during the 5th century
BC.
Hermes of Praxiteles
One of the masterpieces of ancient Greek art. Hermes, as Pausanias
informs us, is depicted carrying the infant Dionysos. It is made
from Parian marble and is 2,10 meter (6,88ft) heigh. It is thought
to be an original of the great sculptor Praxiteles and it is dated
to ca. 330 BC.
Nike
of Paionios
The statue depicts a winged woman. An inscription
on the base states that the statue was dedicated
by the Messenians and the Naupactians for their
victory against the Lacedaemonians (Spartans),
in the Archidamian (Peloponnesian) war probably
in 421 BC. It is the work of the sculptor Paionios
of Mende in Chalkidiki who also made the acroteria
of the Temple of Zeus.
Nike,
cut from Parian marble, has a height of 2,11 meter (6,92ft) but
with the tips of her (now broken) wings would have reached 3 meter
(9,84ft). In its completed form, the monument with its triangular
base (8,81 meter - 28,90ft high) would have stood at a height
of 10,92 meter (35,82ft) giving the impression of Nike triumphantly
descending from Olympos. It dates from 421 BC.
Bronze breast-plate
On its lower part there is an engraved scene of Zeus and Apollo
with his 'kithara', while other figures are also represented.
It probably is the work of an island bronze-smith around the dates
of 650-625 BC.
Bronze battering-ram
The only surviving besieging (5th century BC)
instrument of its kind from Antiquity. On all
sides of the battering-ram there are symbolic
depictions of ram heads from where it got its
name.
At the museum there is a shop selling books, postcards
and slides supplied by the Archaeological Receipts
Fund.
There are two more interesting museums in Olympia:
•
Museum of the history of the Olympic Games of
Antiquity
• Museum of the history of the excavations
of Olympia
)
The
temple of Zeus)
The
Temple of Hera (Heraion)
In its present form it dates from the early 5th century BC. The
track has a length of 212,54 meter (0,13 mile) and a width of
28,50 meter (93,50ft). On the stadium's southern slope there was
a stone platform for the Hellanodikes (the judges) and opposite
was the altar of Demeter Chamyne. The stadium could hold 45.000
spectators.
The
Philippeion
The
workshop of Pheidias
The
archeological museum
The
sculptured ornaments from the Temple of Zeus
of
Hercules' labors. These sculptures were made during the 5th century
BC. 
See our 
