Ancient Olympia travel guide

Being the original site of the Olympic games, Olympia is one of the best known ancient sites in the world, and it doesn’t disappoint.

The first recorded games were held in 776 BC, nearly 3,000 years ago. It’s a large but compact site, everywhere you look there are the columns and foundations of temples, alters, treasuries, gymnasium and other buildings. There are important temples to Hera (Zeus’ wife/sister) and Zeus himself.

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Much damage was caused by an earthquake in the 3rd century AD, the massive column sections of the Temple to Zeus collapsed on the ground where they fell is an extraordinary sight.

Going through the famous archway, the minimalist design of the stadium is a surprise, earth banks around the side with no seating except for a small enclosure for the officials. A raised line of stone marks the starting line which competitors put their back foot against - the original starting block.

What is most striking is that the basic design of stadiums hasn’t changed in 3 thousand years - an entrance archway, banked and curved seating for spectators around a sporting field, judges emclosure, and starting blocks are still the basic components of a mondern stadium.

The museum is outstanding, full of priceless artifacts from the site. The scale of the sculpted frieze from Zeus’ temple is breathtaking.