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'Olympia' (Greek: 'Olympí'a' or 'Olýmpia', older transliterations, 'Olimpia', 'Olimbia'), a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every Olympiad (i.e. every four years), the Olympic Games dating back possibly further than 776 BC. In 394 emperor Theodosius I abolished them because they were reminiscent of paganism.

Ancient Site

The sanctuary, known as the Altis, consists of an unordered arrangement of various buildings. Enclosed within the temenos (sacred enclosure) are the Temple of Hera (or Heraion/Heraeum) and Temple of Zeus, the Pelopion and the area of the altar, where the sacrifices were made. The hippodrome and later stadium were also to the east

To the north of the sanctuary can be found the Prytaneion and the Philippeion, as well as the array of treasuries representing the various city states. The Metroon lies to the south of these treasuries, with the Echo Stoa to the East. To the south of the sanctuary is the South Stoa and the Bouleuterion, whereas the West side houses the Palaestra, the workshop of Pheidias, the Gymnasion and the Leonidaion.

Olympia is also known for the gigantic ivory and gold statue of Zeus that used to stand there, sculpted by Pheidias, which was named one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World by Antipater of Sidon. Very close to the Temple of Zeus which housed this statue, the studio of Pheidias was excavated in the 1950s. Evidence found there, such as sculptor's tools, corroborates this opinion. The ancient ruins sit north of the Alfeios River and Mount Kronos (named after the Greek deity Kronos). The Kladeos, a tributary of the Alfeios, flows around the area. Its located in the part of Greece which is called Peloponesse.

History

:'For a history of the Olympic Games, see Olympic Games or Ancient Olympic Games.'

Prehistory

Remains of food and burnt offerings dating back to the 10th century BCE give evidence of a long history of religious activity at the site. No buildings have survived from this earliest period of use

Geometric and Archaic periods

The first Olympic festival was organized on the site by the authorities of Elis in the 8th century BCE - with tradition dating the first games at 776 BCE. Major changes were made to the site around 700 BCE, including levelling land and digging new wells. Elis' power diminished and at the beginning of the 7th century BCE the sanctuary fell into the hands of the Pisatans in 676 BCE. The Pisatans organized the games until the late 7th century BCE

The Temple of Zeus was built in the middle of the 5th century BCE, its size, scale and ornamentation was beyond anything previously constructed on the site. Further sporting facilities, including the final iteration of the stadium, and the hippodrome (for chariot-racing) were constructed. The Prytaneion was built at the north west side of the site in 470 BCE

Roman period

During the Roman period the games were opened up to all citizens of the Roman Empire. A programme of extensive repairs - including to the Temple of Zeus - and new building took place. In 150 CE the Nympheum (or Exedra) was built. New baths replaced the older Greek examples in 100 CE and an aqueduct constructed in 160 CE

The 3rd century saw the site suffer heavy damage from a series of earthquakes. Invading tribes in 267 CE led to the centre of site being fortified with robbed material from the site's monuments. Despite the destruction the Olympic festival continued to be held at the site until the last Olympiad in 393 CE, after which a decree from the Christian emperor, Theodosius I implemented a ban. The workshop of Pheidias was turned into a Basilica and the site was inhabited by a Christian community until the late 6th century The first excavation of the sanctuary at Olympia was not carried out until 1829, by the French "Expedition Scientifique de Moree".

1875-1881

Since the 1870s, the excavation and preservation of Ancient Olympia has been the responsibility of the German Archaeological Institute at Athens. The first major excavation of Olympia began in 1875, funded by the German government after negotiation of exclusive access by Ernst Curtius. Other archaeologists responsible for the dig were Gustav Hirschfeld, George Treu, and Adolf Furtwängler who worked alongside architects A. Boetticher, Wilhelm Dörpfeld, and Richard Borrmann. They excavated the central part of the sanctuary including the Temple of Zeus, Temple of Hera, Metroon, Bouleuterion, Philipeion, Echo Stoa, Treasuries and Palaestra. Important finds included sculptures from the Temple of Zeus, the Nike of Paeonius, the Hermes of Praxiteles and many bronzes. In total 14,000 objects were recorded. The finds were displayed in a museum on the site

1900-1950

Excavation was continued in a more limited way by Dörpfeld between 1908 and 1929 but a new systematic excavation was begun in 1936 on the occasion of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin under Emil Kunze and Hans Schleif. Their excavation focus was on the area to the south of the stadium, the South stoa, bath complex and gymnasion

Nearest places

• Varvasena (west)

Subdivisions

• Drouva

This text extract is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Olympia,_Greece".