Olympia, Greece

The fertile valley was first inhabited around 3,000B.C. Olympia was situated in a valley in Elis, in western Peloponnesus, along the Alpheus River. Olympia consists of an unordered arrangement of various buildings. Many of these buildings were temples where the Greeks worshiped the gods. The most important god that they worshiped was Zeus, the father of all gods. The Greeks had built a special temple which housed the great statue of Zeus. This statue is considered one of the seven great wonders of the ancient world. Olympia also consisted of many other temples like the temple of Hera. Hera was Zeus’s wife and the god of all women and love. This temple is where the torch for the Olympic Games was lit.

History/Excavation

• Named Olympia after Mt. Olympus.• Olympia was considered the sanctuary of Zeus and birthplace of the Olympic Games.• Olympia was not a town, but only a sanctuary with buildings associated with games and the worship of the gods.

The French began excavations here in 1829. German then took over explorations in 1875-81 and threw much light upon the plans of the buildings and what the Greeks were trying to accomplish. Many valuable objects were discovered, the most important of which was a statue of Hermes, the messenger of the gods.

Stadium of Olympia

The stadium in Olympia was also a great wonder. It could hold up to 40,000 spectators. The stadium can still be seen today. The track is 212.54 m (697.3 ft) long and 28.5 m (94 ft) wide and surrounded by grassy banks on all sides. All the seats were made of mud and on the southern slope there was a stone platform, were the judges would sit

Citations

Haviland, W., Prins, H., Walrath, D., ' McBride, B. (2011). Anthropolgy: The Human Challenge (14th ed.). Belmont, CA: Yolanda CossioHirst, K. (2015, January 1). An Olympic Excavation. Retrieved February 4, 2015.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8ztMlmavBw

Olympia, Greece

Olympia, Greece

Birth of the Olympics

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