Greece - Korina Miller [168]
MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF EXCAVATIONS IN OLYMPIA
Next to the Museum of the History of the Olympic Games, and housed in a small historic building, this museum (admission free; 1.30-8pm Mon, 8am-8pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, 10.30am-5pm Mon, 8.30am-5pm Tue-Sun Nov-Mar) will appeal more to archaeology and history buffs. It displays items relating to the site’s German excavations in the 19th century.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF OLYMPIA
This superb museum ( /fax 26240 22742; adult/concession €6/3, incl site visit €9/5; 1.30-8pm Mon, 8am-8pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, 10.30am-5pm Mon, 8.30am-3pm Tue-Sun Nov-Mar) – Ancient Olympia’s archaeological site museum – about 200m north of the sanctuary’s ticket kiosk, is a great place to start or end your visit to the site of Ancient Olympia.
There is a scale site model, and the reassembly of the pediments and metopes from the Temple of Zeus are spectacular (despite not being complete). The eastern pediment depicts the chariot race between Pelops and Oinomaos, the western pediment shows the fight between the Centaurs and Lapiths, and the metopes depict the Twelve Labours of Hercules.
Don’t miss the 4th-century Parian marble statue of Hermes of Praxiteles, a masterpiece of classical sculpture from the Temple of Hera. Hermes was charged with taking the infant Dionysos to Mt Nysa.
You’ll also find intriguing collections of tiny, but beautifully crafted, votive offerings discovered on the site, and the sculptured Head of Hera.
MODERN MUSEUM OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES
Only real Olympic devotees or avid collectors will enjoy this museum ( 26240 22544; adult/concession €2/free; 8am-3.30pm), owned by the Olympic Academy. It houses a collection of commemorative paraphernalia of all the modern Olympics to date, including photos, posters, coins, stamps and Olympic torches. It’s two blocks west of Praxitelous Kondyli, opposite the junction of Agerinai and Kosmopoulou.
SITE OF ANCIENT OLYMPIA
The Olympics were undoubtedly the Ancient World’s biggest sporting event. During the games warring states briefly halted their squabbles, corporate sponsors vied to outdo each other, and victorious competitors won great fame and considerable fortune. You could say much the same about the modern-day equivalent, the main difference being that back then only men could compete and they did most of it sans underpants. Held every four years until their abolition by killjoy Emperor Theodosius I in AD 394, the games lasted at least 1000 years. The World Heritage–listed site of Ancient Olympia ( 26240 22517; adult/concession €6/3, site & archaeological museum €9/5; 8am-8pm Apr-Oct, 8.30am-3pm Nov-Mar) is still a recognisable complex of temples, priests’ dwellings and public buildings. The site contains excellent explanatory boards, with depictions of what the buildings would have looked like, along with a plan and description in English.
History & Mythology
The origins of Olympia date back to Mycenaean times. The Great Goddess, identified as Rea, was worshipped here in the 1st millennium BC. By the Classical era Rea had been superseded by her son Zeus. A small regional festival, which probably included athletic events, began in the 11th century BC.
The first official quadrennial Olympic Games were declared in 776 BC by King Iphitos of Elis. By 676 BC they were open to all Greek males and reached the height of their prestige in 576 BC. The games were held in honour of Zeus, popularly acclaimed as their founder, and took place around the first full moon in August.
The athletic festival lasted five days and included wrestling, chariot and horse racing, the pentathlon (wrestling, discus and javelin throwing,