Our Journey: 2018
Trip to Olympia site: (23-25 Augustus 2018)
While we were in the harbor of Zante we could clearly see the Peloponnese islands to the East.
We decided that we will visit the Peloponnese Islands in 2019. However, We could not resist
the opportunity to visit the site of the ancient Olympia. It was only 25 miles away. The ancient
Olympic Games were held there every 4 years starting in 776BC ending in 394AD. All Greek
men could participate and for this purpose a one month truce, between all Greek islands,
was declared around the dates of the games. Today the ancient games are considered the origin
of the current Olympic Games. The Olympic flame is still lit on the archeological site a few
months before the modern games. The champions gained enormous fame and received a lot of
honors and even the right not to pay taxes. Amongst the events organized during the games
were boxing, running with and without armor, jumping, discus throwing, wrestling as well as
equestrian events.
The athletes that wanted to participate had to be there one month in advance. A jury would
evaluate their level before deciding if they could compete. The athletes also had to eat meals
prepared by the committee in order to ensure they did not eat performance enhancing food.
Today the archeological site is in ruins but nevertheless you can easily realize how big the place
was. There was a temple dedicated to Zeus. There was a big stadium (212.54m*28.5m) where
more the 40,000 spectators could watch the games. Women could not watch the games as this
would have resulted in a mandatory death sentence. Besides the Olympic site there are 2
museums
full of artifacts found on the site. One museum is purely dedicated to the numerous statues and
artifacts found during the excavations. The second museum is more focused on the history of
the games and helps us better understand how the games were organized through history. It
takes about 4 to 5 hours to visit the site and the museum. The day we visited the site there
were only a few other tourists there, but the day before, 2 passenger boats had docked in
Katakolo and nearly 6,000 passengers visited Olympia. You can visit the site either by renting a
car in the harbor or taking a train.
We decided that we will visit the Peloponnese Islands in 2019. However, We could not resist
the opportunity to visit the site of the ancient Olympia. It was only 25 miles away. The ancient
Olympic Games were held there every 4 years starting in 776BC ending in 394AD. All Greek
men could participate and for this purpose a one month truce, between all Greek islands,
was declared around the dates of the games. Today the ancient games are considered the origin
of the current Olympic Games. The Olympic flame is still lit on the archeological site a few
months before the modern games. The champions gained enormous fame and received a lot of
honors and even the right not to pay taxes. Amongst the events organized during the games
were boxing, running with and without armor, jumping, discus throwing, wrestling as well as
equestrian events.
The athletes that wanted to participate had to be there one month in advance. A jury would
evaluate their level before deciding if they could compete. The athletes also had to eat meals
prepared by the committee in order to ensure they did not eat performance enhancing food.
Today the archeological site is in ruins but nevertheless you can easily realize how big the place
was. There was a temple dedicated to Zeus. There was a big stadium (212.54m*28.5m) where
more the 40,000 spectators could watch the games. Women could not watch the games as this
would have resulted in a mandatory death sentence. Besides the Olympic site there are 2
museums
full of artifacts found on the site. One museum is purely dedicated to the numerous statues and
artifacts found during the excavations. The second museum is more focused on the history of
the games and helps us better understand how the games were organized through history. It
takes about 4 to 5 hours to visit the site and the museum. The day we visited the site there
were only a few other tourists there, but the day before, 2 passenger boats had docked in
Katakolo and nearly 6,000 passengers visited Olympia. You can visit the site either by renting a
car in the harbor or taking a train.
