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arrieve
Before my cruise through the eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea over the holidays, I took a wonderful three day tour of Classical Greek sites. We had perfect weather, the food was delicious, and there were only three of us plus a guide. I had never seen much of Greece outside Athens, but being able to visit places like Delphi and Mycenae made me fall in love with it.
Our guide was living proof of the years of education required to be certified as a tourist guide by the Greek government. He managed to weave together history and mythology and culture in a way that was impressive but occasionally overwhelming. So many gods! So many heroes! So many wars! He had a tendency to fire off questions (“Who won the Peloponnesian War?” “Um, Sparta?”) and when I misspoke and said Odysseus when I meant Oedipus, he looked like a disappointed schoolteacher whose prize pupil had just failed the pop quiz.
With the Olympics in Paris starting soon, I thought I’d share these pictures from Olympia, where the original Olympic Games were held from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD.
The archaeological site at Olympia is huge but not overwhelming; there are ruins of dozens of structures, but also grass and trees and birds singing. And very few other people. In the summer it’s hot and crowded, but on a pleasant day in late December it was idyllic.
The gymnasium.
This was the main training facility for runners and pentathletes. There was a larger open field nearby where the discus and javelin throwers could train.
The root of the word gymnasium means “naked,” so a gymnasium is a place where you exercise naked. If I’d ever known that I’d forgotten until the guide told us at Olympia.
Walking from the gymnasium to the Temple of Zeus. This photo captures how beautiful the day was.
The Philippeion.
Opinions differ as to whether this memorial was built by Philip of Macedonia, or by his son Alexander the Great. Either way it was the only structure inside Olympia that was dedicated to a human, and the figures originally inside—of Philip, Alexander, Alexander’s mother Olympias, and Philip’s parents—were made from the same marble as the statue of Zeus in the temple nearby. (No one ever accused that family of a lack of self-esteem.)
These pedestals outside the entrance to the stadium are called the Bases of Zanes. They originally held statues of Zeus (“Zanes” was the plural of “Zeus” in the local dialect.)
The statues were paid for by the fines imposed on athletes caught cheating in the games, and were inscribed with their names. All of the athletes had to walk past them on their way into the stadium, so they were a reminder of the shame of cheating.
The stadium is maybe the least impressive part of the site, although since it was where the competitions took place, it was one of the most important.
And apparently it wasn’t any more impressive 2500 years ago; apart from the stone structure on the right which was where the officials sat, it probably hasn’t changed that much. If you had asked me what I expected to see here I would have guessed something like a Roman amphitheatre, but this stadium wasn’t round, and didn’t offer any seats for the spectators. (Though it is very large—the woman walking at the far end gives you some idea of the scale.) Events like wrestling, long jump, and javelin throw were done here.
And races. There was no track—the athletes just ran from one end of the stadium to the other. And if there were multiple laps, they just stopped at the end and ran back in the other direction, like swimmers in the modern Olympics.
The Temple of Zeus, built in the 5th century BC, once contained one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the status of Zeus by the sculptor Phidias. The temple itself was also a wonder, roofed with marble tiles cut thin enough to be translucent.
Even in ruins, it’s impressive. The photo can’t really capture the scale—those columns are more than two meters in diameter. Each of those circles of stone was wider than I am tall. But it’s seeing the sculptures from the pediments in the museum that really brings home how magnificent this temple must have been.
All of the archaeological sites have museums, displaying the artifacts, providing context, and protecting them in a controlled environment. The museums at the sites we visited were all good, but the one at Olympia was superb. The two pediments from the Temple of Zeus are on opposite walls in a huge room. Pictures can’t really capture the impact—it’s jaw-dropping.
This is the western pediment, depicting a well-known battle between humans and centaurs (Apollo, in the center, is looking at the humans indicating that he’s on their side. His head and torso are a reconstruction, making him seem even more godlike in his undamaged splendor.) I’m not a classicist, though I like knowing all the mythological details behind the art, but in this case, the pediments could have depicted an early version of a particularly contentious Black Friday sale and I would love them just as much.
The eastern pediment depicts a chariot race.
Finally, the Temple of Hera.
Not surprisingly, her temple was much smaller than her husband’s, and the ruins are less impressive.
What is interesting about this temple is that the altar in front—a small slab of stone right behind where I was standing when I took this picture—is where the Olympic torches for the modern games are lit, before starting on the relay to wherever the games are being held. The torch for the Paris games was lit here on April 16th.
BretH
Great photos and wonderful commentary. I’m at the point where my bucket list is mostly having coffee in the morning looking out at my garden in a house I love, but Greece…!
Dorothy A. Winsor
I echo BretH in saying the pictures and commentary were both wonderful. The whole site is evocative
OzarkHillbilly
Cool stuff.
stinger
arrieve, your words and pictures are the Greece of my dreams — the Greece of Mary Renault and Mary Stewart. Thank you so much!
I didn’t imagine it would be quite so green in late December, but now I know that’s the time to go!
HinTN
So, Greece in December, eh? This is a wonder vicarious visit. Thank you!
Geo Wilcox
The amazing thing about these ruins is that they will last longer than anything we build today and they did it all without modern building methods and equipment.
Albatrossity
Fabulous! But these days I could name some folks would be not be at all shamed by having their names on a monument listing those who cheated…
oldster
Thanks for the wonderful photos and descriptions.
Many decades ago I visited Olympia with a group of friends. When we got to the stadium, we had a foot race, one length. I did not win, but I felt entitled to say that I was an Olympic competitor.
vigilhorn
One of our best experiences in Olympia was going to the museum of Archimedes in the town. It’s full of models of things he invented and you can actually operate them. Loads of fun and it’s free. They just ask for a donation. It’s a welcome break from looking at ruins all the time! (and I love ruins)
J.
Sounds like a fabulous trip! Thanks for sharing your photos, arrieve!
Miss Bianca
Interestingly enough, I’m just finishing up my umpty-umpth re-read of Mary Renault’s The Mask of Apollo, in which Olympia itself plays a small but very memorable role (serving as the meeting place between Plato and his one-time lover, Dion of Syracuse). She mentions, through her narrator Nikeratos, the “Cheater’s Row” of athlete statue tributes, noting that they’re cheap, which is only to be expected of cheaters!
She also mentions the frieze of the centaur-human battle, so very cool to finally see it myself!
I can’t remember now whether we made it to Olympia on my one and only trip to Greece. I certainly made it to Delphi, Mycenae, and Knossos in Crete. Oh, and the Parthenon in Athens.
Thanks for the photos and stories!
Trivia Man
@Albatrossity: “But you do remember me, right? You have heard of me? Success!”
Trivia Man
@vigilhorn: That sounds like an awesome museum! I wonder how complicated it would be to make a kids museum on that theme. Great way to inspire inventors.
Trivia Man
At my age and level of wealth my travel bucket list is likely to remain unfilled. But Olympia is definitely near the top now. Ancient Greece is as compelling now as it ever was over the last 2,500 years.
Torrey
Thank you for these pictures and the commentary. I don’t recall ever hearing from our news reports that the flame was lit at an altar in front of the temple of Hera. One can look at guidebooks or watch documentaries, but there’s something about seeing someone’s own pictures from their personal visit there that really makes the site come alive.
BTW, in response to Miss Bianca at #11, Tom Holt’s Olympiad is also a very good (and funny) novel about the ancient Olympics.
Miss Bianca
@Torrey: Oh, lovely! Well, I can’t find that title in any of my libraries’ catalogs, but I do see other titles by the same author that look like a hoot!
columbusqueen
Great pictures! I remember the shot put in the Athens Games was at Olympia. I found it rather moving to see modern athletes competing on the ancient grounds.
MelissaM
Way cool!
dnfree
We saw this site last spring on a tour that was otherwise devoted to those associated with Homer and Odysseus. Your photos are much better (and better-explained) than ours. Our guide was fantastic, but I was unable to retain everything we learned.
Our tour was through a university alumni association, but the travel group that put it on was called Thalassa, if anyone is interested. They also put on the one we took in Italy this spring, iOS locations associated with Dante.
Traveller
Thank you, this has been a lot of fun…maybe a reset or maybe just a healthy distraction from all the political junk going on right now. Regardless, it has been enjoyable, thanks. Traveller
Chris T.
Right: gym-, gymno-, and the suffix -ium means “a place” (e.g., terrarium is a place to hold a bit of earth). Cf. gymnosperm, the naked-seed plants.