Ancient Olympia
Home of the Olympics

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, in case you can't read the sign.

Also an active archaeological site.  In this area they are continuing to unearth the gymnasium.

Pillars

And what not.

Mt. Kronos...more like hill Kronos, but I'd rather not piss off a Titan.

Our tour guid was FULL of facts and history, but he couldn't convey anything to us while walking, so we did a lot of standing around.

The Temple of Zeus...well, one pillar.  Remember in Hercules, the Disney movie, and Hercules goes to talk to the Zeus statue in the temple?  Basically that is what this used to look like.  Zeus was seated, this pillar would have hit his shoulder.  His head was in the roof.

Part of the Nymphaeum

The temple of Hera...and me.

This shabby little roped off area is where the Olympic flame is created and sent on to the host country.  It's not an eternal flame, it's recreated for each game.

Because of the importance of the ancient Olympics this area hasn't been excavated below it's current level.  Except for this area.  It dates back to when Gaia was worshiped here.

Ah, sweet shade.

A monument to a cheater.  If you were caught cheating your name, family, and city were all shamed for eternity, on the way into the stadium.

However, if you were a champion you got one of these beauties honoring you, your family and your city.  It had a statue on top as well.

This arch used to be the entrance to the tunnel that leads to the stadium.

You enter the stadium near the finish line.  Strangely very few people actually went down to the start line.

Only one married woman was ever allowed to attend the Olympics, this was her seat.  Everyone else sat in the grass.  Women did have their own games though, in honor of Hera.

Soaking it all in.

Some of us like history less than others.

Aurelia seems to be taking this more seriously that Isabel.

The starting blocks.  Rather than running around, athletes ran back and forth.  There is a similar line on the other end of the track.

There is a spread out line of people in the distance, that's the turn around blocks.

Are we doing this?  Let's do this!

Back out we go.  We all ran it, should have taken a video.

Nothing here is whole, and it never will be, but it's still cool to see.

A little first aid.

Patrick loved the walk between Olympia and the museum.  He said it reminded him of California.

We had heard that the museum was excellent and we weren't disappointed.  It's small, but it's got great stuff found at Olympia.

A miniature of Olympia in it's former glory.

Nike, who is taller than me, stood in Zeus' hand in his temple.

Nike of Paeonios

Pediment sculptures from the Temple of Zeus.

The crazy thing about these is that they were so high in the air, no one got to see them up close, yet up close you can see veins, ribs, straps of sandals, no detail was spared.

They were also painted.

Looks like he had too much fun last night.

Athena

Horn and ear from a bull.

The handle of a bowl.

The helmet of Miltiades, known only because it says so on the inside.

Pan is fabulous!

This guys still has some of his paint.

Hermes of Praxiteles. The baby is Dionysus. Hermes was once holding grapes that the baby was reaching for.

Hermes' sandals, no detail spared.

When Rome overtook Greece, the Olympic games continued, they just got some Roman flare.

This statue is of Marcus Aurelius, well, most of him.

Hadrian was well liked in Greece.  He worked to make Athens a cultural center and worked to restore damaged temples.

Hadrian's chest plate has Athena, Greek, standing atop the Capitoline Wolf, the symbol of Rome.

This guys is all there, except his face.  Perhaps we should love him for his mind...or body.

Pink Praying Mantis

It was hot but we made it through.