Olympia, Greece
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Olympia, Greece |
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The most common question asked about the 2004
Olympics was "Do you think Greece can pull it off?"
Well we all know now that they did and not only that, they even used ancient Olympia as one of the venues. Maybe you saw it on TV? |
History of Olympia
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The Modern Town of Olympia Olympia is one of the most popular destinations
for tourists in Greece. Even cruise ships dock at the nearby port of Katakolo
and put people on buses to visit the site. The village of Olympia itself
is a collection of tourist shops, cafes, restaurants and a Historical Museum
of the Olympic Games. As in most overly touristed places in Greece finding
a restaurant is easy though finding a good restaurant is not. My
friends at Lonely Planet suggest the Taverna Praxitelous, next to
the police station and the Klimitaria, on the edge of town on the road
to Pyrgos. We liked the Taverna Bacchus, owned by the friendly Dimitris
Zapantis, in the nearby village of Miraka on the
road to Tripolis. Just follow the signs for Ancient Pisa and it is a stone building
on your right at the top of the hill. In fact it was recommended
by George
The Famous Taxi Driver because he takes his clients there. The town of Olympia has a very good tourist office on Praxitelous
Kondyli, where you can change money, get maps and schedules for buses,
trains and ferries. There are three campgrounds in Olympia, a youth hostel,
and many hotels. Booking in advance is advised because of the towns popularity,
particularly the higher catagory places which get filled by tour groups.
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The Site of the Ancient Olympic Games
The most outstanding building is the 5th
Century Temple of Zeus, built by Livon, which contained the 12 meter high
statue by Phideas, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, which
was removed to Constantinople by Theodocious and destroyed in a fire. |
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The entire archaeological site of Olympia won't make you stare in awe and marvel at the ancient architecture however it is a beautiful place to visit and unlike most archaeological sites in Greece which are exposed to the sun and surrounded by vegetation that barely reaches your ankles, Olympia is shaded by tall trees and walking through the ruins can be a peaceful and profound experience. Olympia is a place you can visit any time of year and if you can come here when the rest of the tourists are gone you will find it even more enjoyable. |
The Temple at Bassae South of Olympia, one of the finest temples
in Greece sits on top of a mountain plateau. Dedicated to Apollo Epicurus
it was built around 420 BC by the Phygeleans in thanks for being spared
of a cholera epidemic during the Peloponesian wars. The temple was discovered
in 1765 and is one of the most well perserved in all of Greece and well
worth the visit. The temple can be reached from Athens by way of Tripolis,
or by going south from Pyrgos to Andritsaena. Apparently the Italian archaeologists
doing the dig have covered the temple with a huge tent to protect it from
the elements and so finding a decent photo is difficult.
But my father took this photo in 1963 before they put up the tent. (You can see more of his photos of Greece in the sixties at www.greecetravel.com/photos/sixties)Getting to Olympia and Where to Stay
For those using George the Famous Taxi Driver, keep in mind that it is a 5 hour drive from Athens and is therefore an overnight trip. But this can be done in combination with Delphi, Kalavrita or even Nafplio and the Argolis. For hotels contact Dolphin Hellas or Fantasy Travel in Athens. We stayed at the excellent Hotel Europa part of the Best Western chain. The hotel is located on a wooded hill overlooking the town of Olympia and the beautiful valley to the west. It has a swimming pool, a large dining area and beautiful rooms with televisions with many channels. See www.hotelsofgreece.com/peloponessos/europa You can find more recommended hotels in Olympia at www.hotelsofgreece.com/peloponessos There are five trains a day to Pyrgos, half an hour away, and from there six trains a day toAthens and eight trains a day to Patras. If you are coming from Italy and have your heart set on Olympia take a bus or train to Pyrgos and then to Olympia. There are four buses a day from Olympia to Athens. If you are planning to rent a car and drive from Athens to Olympia check out Swift Rent-a-Car. They will pick you up at the airport or your hotel and drive you to the National road and let you by-pass the notorious Athens traffic. See their website at www.greektravel.com/swift
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The original Olympics began as a small
regional festival in the 11th century, which was dedicated to the God Zeus.
But the origins of the town itself are Mycenaean who worshipped
the Goddess Rhea, sister of Cronus and father of Zeus. If you know your
Mythology you may remember that Cronus was told that he would be dethroned
by his own children and he devoured five of the sons Rhea had given birth
to. When Zeus was born she gave a rock to Cronus and he ate that instead.
Zeus survived and later dispatched his father to the underworld and Zeus
became top God and founder of the Olympic games.The first Olympic games were held in 776
BC and reached their height of popularity in 576 BC. The festival was open
to only Greek born men but later Romans were allowed to compete most likely
because they were running the Greek world by then. Slaves and women were not
even allowed to be spectators and women caught sneaking in were thrown
off a cliff. The events included foot races, wrestling, discus, javelin,
long-jump, horse and chariot racing, and a type of boxing called pancratium.
There were not only atheletic events but also writing, poetry and history
readings, plus business transactions and treaties were made between leaders
of city-states. There was no television so unlike modern Olympics, spectators
were able to see all the events and not just the ones the Americans were
in and had a good chance of winning. The games were banned in 426 by the
emperor Theodosius II because they were pagan, and the temples were destroyed.
The Olympics were officially revived in 1896 in Athens but actually the games had been started with less fanfare even earlier.
The first modern international Olympic Games held in Athens at Platia Kotzia,
then called Ludouvikou or Ludvig Square, in 1859, sponsored by Evangelis Zappas. For more see 
Because of the destruction of the site
by Theodosius and several earthquakes, there is not much left in the way
of buildings besides foundations, steps and columns but these are impressive
and are in a beautiful setting near the Kladeos river. The area is called
The Altis which means the area sacred to Zeus and the reason there
is anything left is because the flooding of the river buried it until 1875
when archaeologists rediscovered it.
The stadium which could seat at least
20,000 people and was the largest of its kind. The Temple of Hera is where
the Olympic flame is lit from the sun and then taken by runners to light
the torch wherever the games are being held, a tradition which dates all
the way back to 1936AD. Even today you will notice runners using the area
for fun and for practice. The museum is across the road and contains the
4th Century BC statue of Hermes by Praxiteles, familiar to anyone who has
taken art history, plus a number of other finds from the excavations including
the Nike of Victory by Paeonios. According to Olympic legend she
used to come down from the sky to hand a palm leaf to the winners.
Most people seem to arrive on tour buses which
can be arranged by any travel agency. 
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