Наверх


рус  укр  eng
Greece
  
Countries
  • Albania
  • Andorra
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Chile
  • China
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Ecuador
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Georgia
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Italy
  • Jordan
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malaysia
  • Malta
  • Monaco
  • Montenegro
  • Netherlands
  • North Macedonia
  • Norway
  • Peru
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • San Marino
  • Singapore
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sri Lanka
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Tanzania
  • Turkey
  • UAE
  • Ukraine
  • Vatican
Search
Greece > Western Greece > Olympia

Olympia

N 37°38.278', E 21°37.817'
2018-04-05
Our rating: 4.80
Overall rating:
Probably everyone in the world heard about the ancient Greek city of Olympia. This is not surprising, since this is the home of the first Olympic Games.

Olympia
Olympia ©Yuriy Buriak

However no one knows who invented the most important sport event in the history of mankind. It is also unknown when the first sport competitions were held. We only know the date of the first "official" Olympiad - 776 BC.

The Games were held in honor of the god Zeus, whose cult was established in Olympia by an ancient Greek tribe of Aeolians. However at that time there was no main temple of Zeus in Greece. In 470 BC in Olympia began to collect donations for the construction of the temple and in 456 BC it was built.

20 years later the famous ancient Greek sculptor Phidias created the statue of Zeus inside the temple. It became one of the seven wonders of the world.

Statue of Olympian Zeus
Statue of Olympian Zeus ©@

Its height was at least 12 meters and it was covered with 200 kilograms of gold and gems. Ancient legends about the statue were confirmed by archaeological finds that showed the existence of a Phidias workshop 80 meters from the temple.

Workshop of Phidias
Workshop of Phidias ©Yuriy Buriak

At the moment, only the foundation remains. You can see it on the next picture to the right, with a lonely pyramid.

Leonideon and the Temple of Zeus at Olympia
Leonideon and the Temple of Zeus at Olympia ©Yuriy Buriak

The fate of the statue of Zeus is unknown. The Romans, after adopting Christianity, plundered and closed all "pagan temples" in Greece. Temple of Zeus at Olympia was burned and destroyed by earthquakes.

In the foreground on the previous photo is Leonideon, the ancient Olympic Village. The competition itself consisted of traditional sports, the most popular of which was running, held at the stadium. It was discovered after archeologists excavated a starting strip.

Olympia
Olympia ©Yuriy Buriak


Olympia
Olympia ©Yuriy Buriak

Behind the stadium there was a huge hippodrome, but it was not excavated. Probably due to the huge size (700 meters by 300 meters).

Olympia
Olympia ©Yuriy Buriak

In general Olympia is not only an archaeological site, but simply a beautiful place. We recommend visiting it, especially in the spring when there are flowers everywhere.

Olympia
Olympia ©Yuriy Buriak


Olympia
Olympia ©Yuriy Buriak


Olympia
Olympia ©Yuriy Buriak

On the territory of the archaeological complex there is a large museum, which houses all the findings, first of all the perfectly preserved ancient statues.

Find here opening hours and ticket prices.
We also recommend to watch this documentary about the first Olympics.

Getting there: parking in front of the entrance N 37 38.450 E 21 37.564. There are no direct buses from Athens (Kifissos Bus Station). You have to take the bus to Pyrgos (4 hours) and then transfer to the local bus to Olympia. Pyrgos can be reached from all major cities of Greece.
Tags, Greece: antique city, ruins

Tags, all countries: antique city, ruins
- Rate this place -
Location :

Impressions :

Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) :

State :

Picturesque (for the photographer) :

* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help
Our rating - 4.80
Location :

Impressions :

Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) :

State :

Picturesque (for the photographer) :

* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help
Visitor's rating - 0.00
Location :

Impressions :

Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) :

State :

Picturesque (for the photographer) :

* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help
Please follow standard rules to add comments

Name / Nickname


You can also log in with your name or with social networks

Comment

  - What you need to see (14)
  - What to see next (13)
  - Other interesting places or events (24)
View map
  - Attica (2)
  - Central Greece (2)
  - Central Macedonia (3)
  - Crete (0)
  - Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (0)
  - Epirus (1)
  - Ionian Islands - Corfu (21)
  - Ionian Islands - Kefalonia (5)
  - Ionian Islands - Zakynthos (2)
  - North Aegean (0)
  - Peloponnese (11)
  - South Aegean (0)
  - Thessaly (1)
  - Western Greece (2)
  - Western Macedonia (1)

Fairytale Castle of Agrili

47.85 km

Kastro castle (Chlemoutsi)

51.41 km

Zakynthos (city)

66.27 km

Voidokilia beach

74.85 km

New fortress (Pylos)

80.84 km

antique city beach bridge castle church city filming location fortress height island lake monastery monument mountains museum observation deck park ruins sea stroll sunset unusual buildings waterfall
2024-10-04 19:07
Kaminne Selo (Stone Village)
2024-09-25 00:20
The most expensive real estate in the world at Cap Ferrat
2024-06-18 21:40
Greece
2024-05-09 10:38
15 best parks of Ukraine
2024-03-08 21:08
France
Mount Zugspitze - 10
Goreme National Park - 9
Observation Deck on the Chervonozorianyi Avenue - 1
Potsdam - 8
Sigulda, Krimulda and Turaida - 8
About Us
Advertising
List of countries
Travel history
© 2012 - 2024
PIZZATRAVEL.COM.UA
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited