Ancient Olympia
Ancient Olympia: the birthplace of Olympic Games, which were held here every four years from the 8th century BC until the 4th AD.
The Games began here in 776 BC and were held every four years for more than a thousand years, in a sanctuary of Zeus where the Alpheios and Kladeos rivers meet. During the Sacred Truce, anyone travelling to the Games was guaranteed safe passage, and city-states at war stopped fighting or paid a fine in silver to Zeus.
The Temple of Zeus (470–456 BC), designed by the architect Libon of Elis, was the largest temple in the Peloponnese. Inside it stood the statue of Zeus by Phidias — twelve metres of gold and ivory, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. His workshop, excavated just west of the temple, was built to the same dimensions so he could work on the statue at full scale. Through a vaulted tunnel lies the stadium where the races were run.
The archaeological museum is one of the best in Greece, and small enough to explore properly: it holds the Hermes of Praxiteles and the Nike of Paionios, which once stood atop a nine-metre pillar in front of the temple. Ancient Olympia has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1989.
Ancient Olympia is about 300 kilometres from Athens. You can visit it on our 12-hour private day tour, or as part of our multi-day tours of the Peloponnese.
