Olympia in Greece, Peloponnese resort
Rating: 8,7/10 (1300 votes)  Ancient Olympia – this is the visiting card of the Peloponnese. It is located in the northwestern part of the peninsula, near the Kronion hill, between the largest river of the Peloponnese, Aliphosa and Kladeosa. The village of Olympia, built quite recently, is just a center for the maintenance of the archaeological site, on which Ancient Olympia is actually located. The village houses museums of the modern and ancient Olympic Games, as well as the Museum of the History of Excavations. There are many legends about the origin of the Olympia Games. It is generally believed that the games were founded by Peplos, who defeated King Enomai in chariot races. Some believe that the games were founded by Hercules, who was their first winner. It is believed that the competition in Olympia began in the 11th century BC, but only in the 8th century BC they acquired the status of a common Greek holiday. The traditional date of the first Olympiad is – 776 BC. In the same year, the `` Olympic Truce '' was introduced, prohibiting any wars between policies during games. Olympia itself all the time remained only a temple complex. This holiday existed for about a thousand years, and was banned by the Roman emperor Theodosius only in 394 AD. In 426, the Temple of Zeus was destroyed, and Olympia finally fell into decay. Now the territory of Ancient Olympia is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and is an archaeological monument in the open air. From May to October, you can get here every day from 8 am to 7 pm, and from November to April - on weekdays from 8 am to 5 pm, and on weekends – from 8.30 am to 3 pm. On the territory of Ancient Olympia, you can learn about the process of the formation of the ancient Olympic movement, look at the foundations of the statues of the winners of the Olympics, see the famous stadium where the games were held, Roman baths, the place of residence of judges – pritanion, ruins of palestra and gymnasium, house of the priests - theocoleion. You can also look at the treasures and walk along the Altis wall, which once enclosed the entire complex. In the very center of Olympia, the heart of the city is being restored - – huge temple of Zeus. It was built in 470-456 BC. It is not inferior in size to the Parthenon. It was in this temple that the Olympic flame was lit from the heavenly fire. The Temple of Hera, also located in the city, significantly inferior to the temple of Zeus in size. However, it has survived better than the rest of the buildings, despite the fact that it was built earlier than anyone else – in the 7th century BC.       We also recommend reading Botanical Garden in Brno in the Czech Republic, Brno health resort Topic: Olympia in Greece, Peloponnese resort. |
