A View Of Olympia

Olympia is located on the Peloponesus, which is the southernmost extension of the Greek mainland. It is not to be confused with Mt. Olympus, which lies faraway to the north.

1. Here we have a view of the actual site where the games were held. You can see how the site nestles peacefully among the surrounding hills. It is an appropriate setting for a religious retreat.

2. This gives us a closer view of the site. The large column in the center of the picture marks the Temple of Hera, the earliest large edifice.

3. These are a close ups of the Temple of Hera. The columns of this temple were originally made of wood but were later replaced by stone. As a consequence, their sizes are extremely irregular.

4. This is a model of the site. The imposing, all-white structure in the center is the famous Temple of Zeus at Olympia. The Temple of Hera is located top left. Top right are the various city vaults that were erected in the sixth century to house national treasuries.

5. Here we have a map of the site.

6. The covered entry at Olympia through which the athletes passed into the stadium has fallen to ruin. But this covered entry at Nemea still exists. You can imagine the exuberant feeling of emerging from this dark tunnel to meet the roar of the crowds.

7. Here at last is the stadium at Olympia. Note the fact that there are no bleachers. The audiences stood throughout the competition on the gentle slopes bordering the race track. If you look closely, midway down the field you can see some seats cut from stone upon which the presiding religious officials sat. In the foreground, you can clearly make out the starting line. The runners took their positions at the starting line behind posts spaced at regular intervals which had some kind of restraining device that was lowered when the race began.

8. Here we have the example of another stadium: the one at Delphi, which was cut into the side of the mountain. The audience stood on the stone bleachers. The post-holes are evident on the starting line. In the one stade race, the runners would race to the end of the track. In longer races, they would have to round a a single large post positioned at each end of the track.

On to the First Day