OLYMPIA - the sanctuary and its surrounding area - the Birthplace of the Olympics
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01. [ ENGLISH ] OLYMPIA - The BEST COLLECTION of PODCASTS and YOUTUBE VIDEOS for
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and / or to read the e-Book
THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF OLYMPIA
Author : Georgia E. HAtzi
Year Published : 2008
©Copyright : EFG Eurobank Ergasias S.A. / John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation
ISBN : 978-960-89339-4-1
Publisher : OLKOS
Pages : 372
This edition includes photographs of the archaeological exhibits of the Archaeological Museum of Olympia. The Hellenic Ministry of Culture has the copyright in these photographs and in the antiquities that constitute their subject and the Archaeological Receipts Fund receives the royalities from their publication.
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The archaeological site of Ancient Olympia
© Mythical Peloponnese
GREECE ISPELOPONNESEEXPERIENCECULTUREDISCOVERPAST
Birthplace of the Olympics
One of Greece's most revered archaeological sites, Olympia still challenges scholars with its fascinating dark side
John Leonard | October 9th, 2015
Olympia, home to the ancient Olympic Games and one of Greece’s most revered archaeological sites, stands in the western Peloponnese as a compelling reminder of past achievement, diplomacy and religious devotion. Nowadays, our understanding of the life and rituals that once thrived at Olympia is changing. In contrast to an often idealistic view of ancient Greek sport, a more balanced perspective is emerging that draws our attention to the telling evidence of Olympia’s own richly preserved ruins and colorful history.
Since the launch of the modern Olympics more than a century ago, the athletes of ancient Olympia have frequently been characterized as amateurs, competing in an international, conflict-free, uncommercialized environment, admirably pursuing athletic excellence in accordance with the values of piety, endurance and humility.
A fuller, more accurate picture – advanced by revisionist scholars such as Donald Kyle, Alfred Mallwitz and Catherine Morgan – instead emphasizes the local, religious and austere nature of the early Olympic games; the occasional military and political intrusions; the ubiquitousness of peddlers and other profit-seekers; and the professionalism of the often highly-trained competitors, whose primary interest was winning, to gain prizes and other rewards. Also notable is the surprising brutality and potential deadliness of some events; the erotic appeal of the athletes; and the readiness of participants to embrace cheating and corruption – against which the judges (Hellanodikai) had always to be on their guard.
“ Since the launch of the modern Olympics more than a century ago, the athletes of ancient Olympia have frequently been characterized as amateurs, competing in an international, conflict-free, uncommercialized environment. ”
An artistic representation of the ancient Olympic Games, in Hellas: The Life of the Ancient Greeks (1887), by Jacob von Falke (Source: Aikaterini Laskaridou Foundation – Travelogues).
“ Through the Classical era, the sanctuary’s focus remained the worship of Zeus, with only the simplest measures taken to provide for athletes and spectators. Gradually, however, the emphasis changed and the games became more elaborate and important, as reflected in the site’s architectural development. ”
This fascinating dark side of the ancient Olympics includes a particularly notorious case of imperial rule-bending and self-glorification. After the Roman Emperor Nero managed to change the schedules of the major games at Olympia, Isthmia, Nemea and Delphi in AD 67, he “competed” in all four Panhellenic festivals and was awarded a total of 1,808 victory crowns! His list of events included lyre-playing, singing, acting, oratory and four-horse chariot-racing – in which he himself used 10 horses. Later, Olympia’s officials declared the games invalid – but only after the infamously murderous emperor had removed himself to the Underworld.
Sanctuaries in ancient Greece, exemplified by Olympia, were clearly defined precincts dedicated to one or more gods, within which one would find altars, temples and small shrines, as well as a typical array of associated buildings that accommodated the needs of pilgrims, athletes and other visitors.
The heart of Olympia’s sanctuary was the Altis: the central, sacred area containing the now lost Altar of Zeus; the Doric temples of Zeus, (ca. 470-457 BC), Hera (ca. 600 BC) and Cybele or Rhea (Metroon, early 4th century BC); and the Precinct of Pelops (Mycenaean, renovated in the early 5th century BC). The formal sanctuary was established during the 10th-8th centuries BC, while the earliest games are traditionally dated to 776 BC. Large-scale competitions did not appear until about a century later. Through the Classical era, the sanctuary’s focus remained the worship of Zeus, with only the simplest measures taken to provide for athletes and spectators. Gradually, however, the emphasis changed and the games became more elaborate and important, as reflected in the site’s architectural development.
The lighting of the Olympic torch before the modern games by the High Priestess. The ceremony takes place in the temple of Hera at Ancient Olympia, opposite the Temple of Zeus.
Detail of a black-figure amphora, depicting a long-jumper at the moment he releases his jumping weights (halteres) and lands in the pit (British Museum, London).
By Hellenistic and Roman times, the sanctuary and its surrounding area featured a gymnasium, palaestra, stadium, hippodrome and leschai – athletes’ clubhouses. Visitors’ accommodations included hostels, baths, stoas (colonnades) offering protection from the weather, and ceremonial dining halls, the grandest of which was the Leonidaion with 80 rooms and a central peristyle courtyard. Official buildings included the Bouleuterion (council/court house), where judges and athletes swore to participate fairly in accordance with the rules. The “Zanes” statues, however, paid for by dishonest athletes and placed outside the stadium’s entrance, indicate that not all competitors adhered to their vows.
Of special note are the buildings that recall the far-reaching cultural and political significance of Olympia. On a terrace overlooking the Altis was a row of small treasuries, erected by city-states from all around the ancient Greek world to house precious dedications. Just beside them was a tall, statue-adorned nymphaeum (fountain house), donated by Athens’ Herodes Atticus or his wife Regilla (mid-2nd century AD), which provided a welcome source of water. Further west, Philip II constructed a circular Ionic/Corinthian heroon (after 338 BC), which showcased the Macedonian royal family and his own newfound dominance over Greece. Outside the Altis, Pheidias’ workshop offers tangible evidence of the sculptor’s industrious efforts at Olympia, where he produced a gigantic, chryselephantine cult statue of Zeus (ca. 430 BC) that presided over the sanctuary for some 800 years and became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
Events at the ancient Olympic Games consisted mainly of foot races (some in full armor), equestrian contests, the pentathlon (discus, javelin, long jump, foot race, wrestling), boxing and the pankration – the last two of which could leave competitors severely disfigured or even dead. No boxing gloves were worn, while the pankration’s rules barred only biting and eye-gouging.
“ The ‘Zanes’ statues paid for by dishonest athletes and placed outside the stadium’s entrance, indicate that not all competitors adhered to their vows. ”
The Philippeion, initially built by Philip II, king of Macedonia, after his victory at Cheroneia (338 BC), and completed by his son Alexander.
© Shutterstock
Olympia’s museums should also not be missed. The Museum of the History of the Ancient Olympic Games contains statues, painted vases, inscriptions and other illuminating artifacts related to ancient athletics. The Archaeological Museum offers many impressive displays, among them the pedimental, Severe Style sculptures (early 5th century BC) from the temple of Zeus. The east pediment depicted a scene from the mythical chariot race between Oenomaus and Pelops, while the west featured centaurs fighting with Lapiths (the Centauromachy). The temple’s metope panels portrayed the labors of Heracles. Other displays include the magnificent Parian-marble Hermes and the Infant Dionysus, produced, or at least inspired, by the 4th-century BC sculptor Praxiteles.
Info
ANCIENT OLYMPIA
Olympia (prefecture of Ilia)
• Tel.: (+30) 26240.225.17
• Opening Hours: Summer 08.00-20.00
(autumn and winter closing times vary).
• Admission: Full: €12, Reduced: €6
(Valid for both Olympia
and the Archaeological Museum)
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Olympia
Definition
Located in the western Peloponnese, Olympia was an ancient Greek sanctuary site dedicated to the worship of Zeus, in whose honour Pan-Hellenic Games were held every four years from 776 BCE to 393 CE.
First inhabited in the second millennium BCE, the first archaeological record of dwellings dates from 1900 to 1600 BCE. The Kronion hill at the site was perhaps the first place of worship, dedicated to Kronos. However, other sacred buildings at the foot of the hill in the sacred grove of wild olive trees, or Altis, indicate other deities were worshipped such as Gaia, Themis, Aphrodite, and Pelops. With the descent of western Greek tribes into the Peloponnese, though, it was Zeus, father of the Olympian gods, who would become the dominant cult figure at Olympia.
The first large building on the site was the Heraion, a temple dedicated to Hera built around 650-600 BCE. In the 5th century BCE the sanctuary reached its peak of prosperity, and a massive Doric 6 x 13 column temple was completed in 457 BCE in order to house a hug e cult statue of Zeus. Designed by Libon of Elis, the temple was the biggest in Greece at that time and measured 64.12 m x 27.68 m with columns 10.53 m in height. The pediments of the temple displayed magnificent sculpture: on the east side the mythical chariot race between Pelops and Oinomaos, and on the western pediment a Centauromachy with the majestic central figure of Apollo. Metopes from the temple represented the labours of Hercules. The statue of Zeus within the temple was by Phidias (who had worked on the Parthenon and its statue of Athena) and was a 12 m high gold and ivory representation of Zeus seated on a throne and regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Other important building projects over the centuries included baths and a swimming pool (5th century BCE), the new stadium with embankments for spectators (mid-4th century BCE), a palaistra (3rd century BCE), a gymnasion (2nd century BCE), hippodrome (780 m long), the large Leonidaion or guest houses (330 BCE), and the Theikoloi (priest’s residence).
Sporting events were originally associated with funeral rituals, for example the funeral games instigated by Achilles in honour of Patroklos inHomer’s Iliad. Some mythological accounts credit Zeus with beginning the Games to celebrate his victory over Kronos; other accounts state Pelops began them in honour of Oinomaos. In any case, sport, a healthy body and the competitive spirit were a large part of Greek education, and so it is hardly surprising that organised athletic competitions would at some point be created.
The first Olympic Games were held in 776 BCE at the first full moon after the summer solstice. The winner of the first and only event, the stadion foot-race (one length of the stadium track, 600 feet or 192 m), was Koroibos of Elis, and from then on every victor was recorded and each Olympiad named after them, thus giving us the first accurate chronology of the Greek world. During a three month Pan-Hellenic truce, athletes and as many as 40,000 spectators came from all over Greece to participate in the Games. Individuals and city-states brought offerings to Zeus which included money, statues (including the magnificent Nike of Paionios, c. 424 BCE, and the Hermes of Praxiteles, late 4th century BCE), bronze tripods, shields, helmets, and weapons resulting in Olympia becoming a living museum of Greek art and culture. Many cities also built treasuries - small but impressive buildings to house their offerings and raise the prestige of their city.
Over time other events were added to the Games such as longer foot-races, wrestling, boxing, chariot racing, discus, javelin, jumping, and the pentathlon. At its peak there were 18 events spread over five days. However, it was always the original stadion which remained the most important event. Victors won crowns of olive leaves and an olive branch cut from the scared grove, but much more importantly they won glory, fame, and in a very real sense historical immortality.
THE FIRST OLYMPIC GAMES WERE HELD IN 776 BCE AT THE FIRST FULL MOON AFTER THE SUMMER SOLSTICE.
A second important event held at Olympia was the Heraia Games for women, held every four years in honour of the goddess, Hera. Children, adolescents, and young women ran in separate foot-races over 500 feet of the stadium track (160 m). Prizes for victors included olive crowns and the right to set up a portrait of themselves on the site. The responsibility for the organisation of both Games and for maintenance of the site when not in use lay with the Eleans.
The Games continued through the Hellenistic period with the notable architectural addition of the Philippeion, a circular colonnaded building erected by Philip II of Macedonia which contained gold statues of the royal family (c. 338 BCE). The Romans, whilst giving little importance to the religious significance of the Games, continued to hold them in high regard and despite the attempt by Sulla in 80 BCE to permanently move the Games to Rome, continued to embellish Olympia with new buildings, heated baths, fountains (notably the Nymphaion of Herodes Atticus, 150 CE), and statues. Most famously, emperor Nero strove to win the glory of Olympic victory in 67 CE, competing in, and unsurprisingly winning, every event he entered.
With Emperor Theodosios’ decree to prohibit all cult practices, the Games came to an end in 393 CE after a run of 293 Olympics over more than a millennium. The site gradually fell into decline, was partially destroyed under the decree of emperor Theodosios II in 426 CE, and was taken over by a Christian community who built a basilica on the site in the early Byzantine period. Earthquakes in 522 and 551 CE destroyed much of the remaining ruins, and silt from the nearby rivers Alpheios and Kladeos eventually covered the site until its rediscovery in 1829 CE by the French Archaeological Mission and systematic excavation by the German Archaeological Institute from 1875 CE.
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01. [ ENGLISH ] OLYMPIA - The BEST COLLECTION of PODCASTS and YOUTUBE VIDEOS for
for more information please visit the following web page
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OLYMPIA - The BEST COLLECTION of PODCASTS and YOUTUBE VIDEOS for
===
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