Everything about Olympia Greece totally explained
Olympia (
Greek: Ολυμπία
Olympí'a or Ολύμπια
Olýmpia, older transliterations,
Olimpia,
Olimbia), a sanctuary of ancient
Greece in
Elis, is known for having been the site of the
Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the
Pythian Games held in
Delphi. Both games were held every
Olympiad (for example every four years), the
Olympic Games dating back possibly further than
776 BC. In
394 emperor
Theodosius I abolished them because they were reminiscent of
paganism.
Ancient Site
The
sanctuary, known as the
Altis, consists of an unordered arrangement of various buildings. Enclosed within the
temenos (sacred enclosure) are the
Temple of Hera (or Heraion/Heraeum) and
Temple of Zeus, the
Pelopion and the area of the altar, where the sacrifices were made. The
hippodrome and later
stadium were also to the east
To the north of the sanctuary can be found the
Prytaneion and the
Philippeion, as well as the array of
treasuries representing the various city states. The
Metroon lies to the south of these treasuries, with the
Echo Stoa to the East. To the south of the sanctuary is the
South Stoa and the
Bouleuterion, whereas the West side houses the
Palaestra, the workshop of
Pheidias, the
Gymnasion and the
Leonidaion.
Olympia is also known for the gigantic
ivory and
gold statue of Zeus that used to stand there, sculpted by
Pheidias, which was named one of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World by
Antipater of Sidon. Very close to the
Temple of Zeus which housed this statue, the studio of Pheidias was excavated in the
1950s. Evidence found there, such as sculptor's tools, corroborates this opinion. The ancient ruins sit north of the
Alfeios River and Mount Kronos (named after the Greek deity
Kronos). The
Kladeos, a tributary of the Alfeios, flows around the area. Its located in the part of Greece which is called Peloponesse.
Site plan
History
» For a history of the Olympic Games, see Olympic Games or Ancient Olympic Games.
Prehistory
Remains food and burnt offerings dating back to the
10th century BCE give evidence of a long history of religious activity at the site. No buildings have survived from this earliest period of use.
Geometric and Archaic periods
The first Olympic festival was organized on the site by the authorities of
Elis in the
8th century BCE - with tradition dating the first games at 776 BCE. Major changes were made to the site around 700 BCE, including levelling land and digging new wells. Elis' power diminished and at the beginning of the
7th century BCE the sanctuary fell into the hands of the
Pisatans in 676 BCE. The Pisatans organized the games until the late 7th century BCE.
The
Temple of Zeus was built in the middle of the
5th century BCE, its size, scale and ornamentation was beyond anything previously constructed on the site. Further sporting facilities, including the final iteration of the stadium, and the
hippodrome (for chariot-racing) were constructed. The
Prytaneion was built at the north west side of the site in 470 BCE.
Roman period
During the Roman period the games were opened up to all citizens of the
Roman Empire. A programme of extensive repairs - including to the Temple of Zeus - and new building took place. In 150 CE the
Nympheum (or
Exedra) was built. New baths replaced the older Greek examples in 100 CE and an aqueduct constructed in 160 CE.
The
3rd century saw the site suffer heavy damage from a series of earthquakes. Invading tribes in 267 CE led to the centre of site being fortified with robbed material from the site's monuments. Despite the destruction the Olympic festival continued to be held at the site until the last Olympiad in 393 CE, after which a decree from the Christian emperor,
Theodosius I implemented a ban. The workshop of Pheidias was turned into a
Basilica and the site was inhabited by a Christian community until the late
6th century. The first excavation of the sanctuary at Olympia wasn't carried out until 1829, by the French "
Expedition Scientifique de Moree".
1875-1881
Since the 1870s, the excavation and preservation of Ancient Olympia has been the responsibility of the
German Archaeological Institute at Athens. The first major excavation of Olympia began in 1875, funded by the German government after negotiation of exclusive access by
Ernst Curtius. Other archaeologists responsible for the dig were
Gustav Hirschfeld,
George Treu, and
Adolf Furtwängler who worked alongside architects
A. Boetticher,
Wilhelm Dörpfeld, and
Richard Borrmann. They excavated the central part of the sanctuary including the Temple of Zeus, Temple of Hera, Metroon, Bouleuterion, Philipeion, Echo Stoa, Treasuries and Palaestra. 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 were displayed in a museum on the site.
1900-1950
Excavation was continued in a more limited way by Dörpfeld between 1908 and 1929 but a new systematic excavation was begun in 1936 on the occasion of the
1936 Summer Olympics in
Berlin under
Emil Kunze and
Hans Schleif. Their excavation focus was on the area to the south of the stadium, the South stoa, bath complex and gymnasion.
Geography
Nearest places
Subdivisions
Drouva
Communes
Historical Population
| Year |
Communal population |
Change |
Municipal population |
Change |
| 1981 |
1,125 |
- |
- |
- |
| 1991 |
1,742 |
-349/-4.87% |
11,229 |
- |
| 2001 |
1,475 |
-267/-15.33% |
11,069 |
-160/1.42% |
Further Information
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