{"id":11006,"date":"2022-11-16T09:47:32","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T09:47:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulysses.travel\/olympia-greece\/"},"modified":"2024-07-16T13:07:31","modified_gmt":"2024-07-16T13:07:31","slug":"olympia-greece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ulysses.travel\/en\/olympia-greece\/","title":{"rendered":"The ancient site of Olympia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In the western Peloponnese, Olympia is undoubtedly one of the most legendary archaeological sites in the country! It was here that the ancient Olympic Games originated, providing much of the inspiration for our modern Games. But Olympia was also a significant religious center, drawing pilgrims from all over Greece!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow the guide!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u26a0\ufe0f Olympia is one of the must-see tourist sites in the Peloponnese.<\/strong> To avoid long lines, Captain Ulysses recommends booking your tickets in advance, especially during peak season: Ticket without audio guide<\/strong><\/a> or Ticket with audio guide.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\ud83d\udca1 Hot Tips<\/strong> \ud83d\udca1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\ud83d\udca4 Accommodations:<\/strong><\/strong> Top hotels in the Peloponnese<\/a> & in Athens<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\ude97 Car Rental:<\/strong> compare the deals<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83c\udfdb Plan Your Stay:<\/strong> The Complete Guide to the Peloponnese<\/a> and The Complete Guide to Athens <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Brief history of Olympia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Olympic Games & cult of Zeus<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Occupied since the 3rd<\/sup> millennium B.C., the site of Olympia once\nwas one of the most important religious centers of ancient Greece. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dedicated to the cult of Zeus, the sanctuary hosted for over 1000 years (from 776 BC to 393 AD) the most famous Panhellenic games of Greece: the Olympic Games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were held every 4 years and brought together more than 40,000 people (athletes, spectators, merchants…). Participants competed in a series of events: horse racing, discus throwing, javelin throwing, long jump, running, wrestling… <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\ud83e\udd14 What were panhellenic games? \ud83e\udd14<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Panhellenic Games are religious festivals that bring together “all the Hellenes” (the Greeks), featuring grand athletic and artistic competitions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The four major Panhellenic Games held in ancient Greece are:
– the Olympic Games of Olympia
– the Pythian Games of Delphi<\/a>
– the Isthmian Games of Corinth
– the Nemean Games of Nemea<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were held every year on a rotating basis. The tradition was partly preserved since the modern Olympic Games take place every four years.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The all of the Sanctuary of Olympia<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In 373 AD, Roman emperor Theodosius I forbade\nall forms of pagan practices, celebrations and rites. In 426, the sanctuary of Olympia\nis destroyed on the orders of Emperor Theodosius II. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between 522 and 551, a series of earthquakes destroyed most\nremaining traces of the ancient site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rediscovery of Olympia<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Twelve centuries later, in 1766, the ruins of Olympia were discovered\nby the British archaeologist Richard Chandler. The excavations began in 1829.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today many of the remains found on the site are exhibited in the archaeological museum of Olympia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1989, the site was listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Olympia<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The modern Olympic Games and the Olympic flame ceremony?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Imagined by the Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin in the late 19th<\/sup> century, the modern Olympic Games are largely inspired by their Greek ancestors. The first Games were held in Athens in 1896.
If each edition of the Olympic Games is now organized in a different country, the ceremony of the Olympic flame is on the other hand always held in Olympia, to celebrate the kinship between the ancient Games and the modern Games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every four years, a few months before the competition, actresses dressed as priestesses light the ancient flame in front of the temple of Hera during a ceremony inspired by ancient rituals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visiting Must-sees and Top Activities.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Map of the sanctuary of Olympia <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In order not to get lost and not to miss anything of the archeological site, Captain Ulysses warmly advises you to follow the map of Olympia below: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Map<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\ud83e\udd13 Self-guided virtual reality tour \ud83e\udd13<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At Olympia, as with most archaeological sites, it can sometimes be hard to imagine what the monuments looked like in ancient times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Captain Ulysses has found a way to discover what Olympia actually looked like during the Antiquity: a self-guided tour of the site in virtual reality. Equipped with virtual reality goggles, you’ll be able to discover Olympia as it was in ancient times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc49 Find out more: virtual reality self-guided tour of Olympia<\/a><\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The temple of Zeus<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Built between 470 and 456 B.C. and funded byy a war booty, the temple\nof Olympian Zeus was an imposing 210-feet-long and 79-feet-wide\nDoric building. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pediments of the temple (large groups of statues depicting mythological scenes that adorned the east and west facades) are now displayed in the Archaeological Museum of Olympia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u26a1 The Chryselephantine Statue of Zeus at Olympia \u26a1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Temple of Zeus was renowned for housing one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: the chryselephantine statue of Zeus (“chryselephantine” meaning made of gold and ivory), crafted by the sculptor Phidias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standing 12.75 meters \/ 40 feet tall, this legendary statue depicted the god seated on a throne made of ebony and ivory.
Moved to Constantinople in the 5th<\/sup> century AD, the statue was lost in a fire a few years later.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Olympia<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Olympia<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The temple of Hera<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Built around 600 BC, the temple of Hera (also called the Heraion<\/em>)\nwas dedicated to the wife of Zeus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 164-feet-long and 59-feet-wide building was built\nin the Doric style. The famous statue of Hermes of \nPraxiteles<\/em>, which you’ll find in the archaeological museum of Olympia, was discovered in this temple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sports facilities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The sanctuary of Olympia – where the Olympic Games were created – comprised vast infrastructures\nwhere athletes competed in various physical events.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stadium<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The 231-yard-long and 30-yard-wide stadium was built in the 5th<\/sup> century B.C. It was the 4th<\/sup> stadium to be erected on the site, the three previous ones being too small to accommodate all the spectators wishing to attend the events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On each of the four sides of this fourth stadium, an embankment\ncould indeed accommodate 40 000 to 45 000 people! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Olympia<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Gymnasium<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The 218-yard-long and 13yard-wide gymnasium was lined with Doric porticoes. It hosted events such as the javelin throw, discus throw and running. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The palestra<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Built in the 3rd<\/sup> century BC, the palestra – where wrestling and long jump events were held –\nconsisted of a central space surrounded by baths and small rooms where the\nathletes could talk with <\/p>\n\n\n\n

their coaches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other monuments of Olympia<\/h3>\n\n\n\n