Olympia

...Dave. An overnight stay at Olympia was included in the tour. It was late afternoon as we approached the village and we were struck by the increasing amount of trees. After traveling through mainly mountainous landscape, the greenness of the area was a pleasant contrast and welcome surprise.

The coach took us straight to our hotel, the Olympia Palace, for the night. The hotel room was pretty basic, double bed and shower. However, as ...
...time he had spent in Olympia around 50years ago. His ship had docked at the nearby port of Katakolo and the sailors were given shore leave. He described drinking a local wine that was like nectar and remembered the name as “Marie Daphne”. There was a wine bar almost opposite the hotel so we wandered in and asked the bar tender if he had heard of the wine. Surprisingly (as I hadn’t held out much hope) he had. The wine was in fact named Mavrodaphne, ... more

As a lot of Ciao readers will know by some of my previous reviews, earlier this year I embarked on a tour of classical Greece with my husband Dave. An overnight stay at Olympia was included in the tour. It was late afternoon as we approached the village and we were struck by the increasing amount of trees. After traveling through mainly mountainous landscape, the greenness of the area was a pleasant contrast and welcome surprise.

The coach took us straight to our hotel, the Olympia Palace, for the night. The hotel room was pretty basic, double bed and shower. However, as we now becoming accustomed to (but still thrilled), the room had a balcony with magnificent views of the surrounding area. Evening meal was included as part of the tour. At most stops on the tour our meal had been that of chicken so I was delighted when we were offered a Greek dish of meatballs in a lemon sauce. It was gorgeous. The cook / waitress was ecstatic that I enjoyed the meal so much and kept replenishing my plate.

Fully sated, Dave and I wanted into the village itself. We had a mission to complete in Olympia. My father, an ex-naval man had told us of a time he had spent in Olympia around 50years ago. His ship had docked at the nearby port of Katakolo and the sailors were given shore leave. He described drinking a local wine that was like nectar and remembered the name as “Marie Daphne”. There was a wine bar almost opposite the hotel so we wandered in and asked the bar tender if he had heard of the wine. Surprisingly (as I hadn’t held out much hope) he had. The wine was in fact named Mavrodaphne, a sweet red wine made in the Peloponnese from 1861. We shared a bottle in the bar as the elderly bartender was interested in my father’s stories and entertained us in turn with some of his own.

After a pleasurable couple of hours, now mellow and relaxed and clutching our treasured bottles, we wandered further into the village. The village of Olympia is mainly a collection of tourist shops opened late into the evening. Among the shops is an array of jewelers selling a great selection of worry beads, Komboloi. We bought several as presents.

In the morning, we were transported to the ancient site of Olympia. The site like the village was green, shaded by great oaks, pines and olive trees spread around the Kronion Hill. The area is called the Altis, sacred to Zeus, and is a sanctuary occupied by temples and public buildings connected to the games.

The Olympic Games were first held here in 776 BC to honor Zeus and only Greek born men were eligible to compete. They were then stopped in 393 A.D. after an edict issued by Theodosius the Great to be revived after fifteen centuries in 1896.

After paying the obligatory entrance fee of 9 euros, we entered. Because of recurrent earthquake destruction, there is little left in the way of buildings besides foundations, steps and columns but what there is are still impressive.

Immediately beyond the entrance, remains parallel the pathway, the Xystos (covered running track). This formed the east wing of the Gymnasium of which some of the capitols are still present. Adjacent to this is the Palaestra (wrestling school), an open court surrounded by a Doric colonnade.

The most outstanding building on the site is the 5th Century Temple of Zeus, built by Libon, which once housed the 12 m (40 ft) high ivory and gold statue of Zeus by the Greek sculpture Phideas, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, which was removed to Constantinople in the 6th century A.D. where it was destroyed in a fire. The Doric building stands on a platform reach by three steps. None of the limestone columns still stand instead they lie littered to the side where they fell during the earthquake.

The stadium which could seat at least 20,000 people and was the largest of its kind is reached via a vaulted entrance. At the entrance is a row of pedestals which supported bronze images of Zeus erected from fines imposed on cheating athletes.

The Temple of Hera is the oldest but best preserved building at Olympia. This is where the Olympic flame is said to have bee lit from the sun and then taken by runners to light the torch. The Doric temple is raised by a single step with many of the columns in place.

The Olympia Archaeological Museum, sited just across the road from the ancient site, opened in 1982. The many galleries are arranged chronologically with separate galleries for the pediment and metope sculptures from the Zeus temple and artifacts from the Olympic Games.

Athletes competing in the games offered weapons and helmets as gifts to Zeus. Some of the artifacts in the museum date to the Persian Wars, including the helmet of Miltiades, victor at the Battle of Marathon (proudly displayed on the museum ticket).

The central gallery houses the pediments from the Temple of Zeus, the east pediment depicts the chariot race between King Oinomaos and Pelops and the west the mythological battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs.

Statues include, the 5th century B.C. Nike descending on the back of an eagle by Paionios and the 4th century B.C. Parian marble Hermes and Dionysos, by Praxitales.

Viewing the site can be done in about two hours if rushed but can take up to a full day if the exhibits are viewed to the optimum. We took around four hours and wandered around at a comfortable pace. The sanctuary is spread over a sizable area so does require a lot of walking over pretty uneven ground sensible walking shoes are required.

Just to include an oddity and a bit of a warning, during our walk around the site, my hayfever (usually controllable with anti-histamines) suddenly flared up. Apparently olive trees are renowned for their effect on hayfever - so if you are a sufferer, be prepared.

I'm sure tour guides are available but get a leaflet from the entrance kiosk. This will serve just as well and contains all the information you will need together with a site map.

There was no café at the site but an assortment of kiosks lined the car park selling a variety of refreshments – we bought cups of freshly-squeezed oranges which was wonderfully refreshing in the heat. Toilets are located in the museum.

Our days spent in Olympia were relaxed, interesting and pleasurable and I would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the Classical era, Greek history or history in general. We will certainly treasure our Olympian memories.

 

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