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Gallery of ancient
Olympia, birthplace of the Olympics
by James Mayfield (Chairman, European Heritage Library)
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this Article • About
the Author • Bibliography/Sources
This is an article with historical
background and my photos of Olympia from my 2007 vacation.
The nation of Greece, whose
unified statehood only began for the first time in the 19th
century after a revolt against the Muslim Ottoman Empire,
has its famous share of limitless treasures and architectural
gems of an ancient past. Whilst Athens is flooded with endless
amounts of tourists, the less-traveled Greek towns offer treasures
of equal if not greater majesty. The new town of Katakolon
in the quiet and homogeneous Greek countryside allows for
a walk to Ancient Olympia, the site of the Olympics for nearly
1,000 years and a major center of pre-Christian Greek worship.
For a brief historical background,
at the time of major development of Olympia in the 8th century,
what is today Greece was divided into a variety of warring
Greek tribes and city-states that embraced a common ethnic
heritage, culture, set of pantheonic gods, and language family
(the Attic tongue or Koine). Some of these Greek tribes were
primitive, whilst others like that of the tiny city of Athens,
Sparta, Thebes, and Macedonia offered philosophical and political
advancements still admired today. Despite ephemeral alliances
and miltary pacts, the Greek tribes never formed into a nation
until Macedonia's Alexander and his father Philip forged an
empire that shaped the evolution of countless races and peoples
ever since. All of these warring Greek tribes embraced Olympia
as a holy site of worship and pilgrimage, and most participated
in the pan-Hellenic Olympic Games. More and more from 700BCE
onward, local Greek city-states used Olympia as a site of
religious piety, and political control of the city changed
hands frequently. Originally, Olympia was only accessible
to priests and holy men due to the fantastic spiritual importance
of the site. 500BCE offered a golden age of scientific, architectural,
military, and physical development. The world's largest temples
outside of Iran and Egypt were built during this period, including
pillars more than 25 feet high. Walking through the city of
ancient Olympia today (which is not an inhabited city) takes
more than an hour due to the vast size of the construction
efforts. There are temples, headstones with Greek inscriptions,
and shelters with every turn of the head. Roman ruins and
baths can also be seen dating from after the Roman conquest
of the Greek tribes following the collapse of Alexander's
short-lived world empire in the east. The strong connection
to the Greek gods in Olympia shifted to that of the Roman
gods after the annexation of the Greek tribes in the Macedonian
Wars.
The massive Temple of Zeus
in Olympia was believed to house a massive statue of Zeus
adorned with marble and gems that stretched nearly 100 feet
into the air. It is today a Wonder of the World, and appears
completely unimportant and innocuous because it is no more
today than a foundation with a few pillars after it was destroyed
by earthquake, entropy, and a series of attacks by the new
Christian population in the Byzantine-ruled Greek Isles. Other
seats of political administrators, chariot raceways stretching
hundreds of feet into the distance (Hippodromes), and other
physical exercise areas can be seen dating from this period.
Other statues devoted to old gods and kings all have collapsed
due to earthquake, age, and Christian persecution as well.
The area was an important site for physical training of sons
of all of the Greek city-states and tribes who came to enjoy
the Olympics and the economic and political exchange.
The Olympic Games began in
various forms throughout what is today Greece before Olympia,
but the first fully-developed Olympics initially began here
at Olympia from about 776BCE onward every 4 years. During
the Olympic Games, war between participants and local neighbors
of the Greek race were deemed forbidden, and transgressors
were severely persecuted as consequence of violation. The
Olympics were not a game of sports and social pastimes like
they are today; originally, they were a sign of physical perfection
and self-honing as well as a religious duty to the Greek pantheonic
gods. Great feasting, drinking, and massive festivals occurred
here and locally. Many Greeks abstained from sexuality due
to this piety whilst many are also reported to have engaged
in a great deal of sexual promiscuity. By 400CE, however,
the massive world empire of the Romans (which included what
is today called Greece) was formally Christian. Constantine
the Great had previously legalized Christendom, and forbade
persecution of his adopted faith by his citizens. His successor
During the rule of Theodosius (who made Christendom compulsory),
all Olympic Games were formally banned as pagan, obscene,
and reactionary.
Any visitor to Greece cannot
miss a trip to the lovely and culturally-proud seaside town
of Katakolon followed by a beautiful trip through the countryside
to Olympia, one of the greatest archaeological and historical
sites in the world. Below are some photos from my vacation,
including of the local town of Katakolon.
the lovely local city of Katakolon. Squid, octopus, pita bread,
strong red wine, and licorice ouzo liquer make this small
town a gem. (click to enlarge)
Katakolon up the mountains. (click to enlarge)
the main walkway of Olympia proper. (click to enlarge)
a later Roman bath directly to the left of the above. (click
to enlarge)
a major felled pillared structure. (click to enlarge)
a strange tomb-like structure.
a formerly-walled enclosed room. (click to enlarge)
an Olympian courtyard. There are tombs, headstones, and Greek-inscribed
blocks everywhere and everywhere. (click to enlarge)
a Greek inscription on a stone block. Near-mint condition!
another strange structure.
the archway leading out to the physical area. (click
to enlarge)
the main Hippodrome for chariot and personal competitive racing.
(click to enlarge)
the Temple of Zeus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
(click to enlarge)
an endless horde of treasures from the local Olympian museum.
(click to enlarge)
another gallery therein. (click to enlarge)
a wall of Greek helmets akin to the movies "Troy"
and "300".
a Greek pottery treasure. (click to enlarge)
some strange discovered relics. Notice the non-Greek Zoroastrian
influence. Iranian-made? Thracian? Hittite?
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ABOUT
THE AUTHOR:
James Mayfield is a historian
and the Chairman of the European Heritage Library. I have
a Cum Laude BA in History with a Minor in Germanic Studies
(language and history), am presently working for my Masters
in History, and plan to immediately progress to my PhD Doctorate.
I have a special academic interest in Europe's diverse ethnic
identities, languages, and cultures, and the political struggles
of native European and immigrant minority identities. See
my staff entry for more information.
BIBLIOGRAPHY/SOURCES
USED:
No additional citations or
sources necessary.
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