Sarah: Olympia, Greece - Ancient games

Trip Start Dec 27, 2007
1
75
80
Trip End Dec 28, 2008


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow
Where I stayed
(Olympia hotels)

Flag of Greece  , Peloponnese,
Tuesday, August 5, 2008

From Athens we took a bus for 6 hours to Olympia. Thought it would be pretty cool to be in Olympia when the Olympics were on, but alas we were a bit early and had to leave on the 6th. Yes, it is the birthplace of the ancient Olympic games. We went to the site and the museum. They have recovered and restored many of the statues and friezes that adorned the buildings and grounds during the 1169-year history of the games (700Bc-400AD approx). Pretty cool to see 2500-year-old statues of Zeus, Appollo, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius (he doesn't look much like Richard Harris). There were also ancient bronze helmets that looked like they'd come straight out of Gladiator or 300. We learnt that boxing and wrestling were among the first sports at the Olympics. That gymnastics/gymnasium come from the Greek word gymnos which means "naked," so yes, ladies, all the men (no chicks allowed) competed in the nick. Maybe that's why everyone, even slaves were allowed into the games... but not women. We might get all hot and sweaty under the chiton! Ray decided he wouldn't want to be an ancient Olympic wrestler. Think Borat.
 
We saw a lot of the equipment they used to use (eg. hand weights to help in the long jump), including a rather decayed chariot wheel, cool. They also had 6000 year-old pots (it's always pots) that they had excavated on the site. Wow. Still in pretty good condition once they had been jigsawed back together. The Sanctuary of Olympia once held the famous Statue of Zeus, 12m/30ft high and one of the seven wonders of the ancient world (only the Great Pyramids survive today). When some Roman Emperor ordered the Olympics finished, it was moved to Constantinople (Istanbul) where it was destroyed in an earthquake/fire/something.
 
Other than that, we just wandered around the town, pop 1200, eating nothing but kebabs noon and night (we sleep so late that we only have 2 meals a day), as everything else is expensive. They put fried chips in your kebabs in greece. Not that cool.
Print this entry