Things To Do in Olympia
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Olympia Attractions
The superheroes who bring most visitors to Olympia are not gods and artists but ancient athletes. Remnants of the city’s games, inaugurated in 776 B.C., are copious; the stadium, gymnasium, training hall, and dormitories are scattered around the foot of the Kronion Hill. Athletes from throughout Greece were granted safe passage to the games under the Ekecheiria, a truce that promoted the notion of a united Greece. In their footsteps came spectators, touts, vendors, poetry reciters, entertainers, and prostitutes. The aim of the five-day festivities was for city-states to commingle peaceably; in part, however, they were also a wine-fueled bacchanal.
- Historic Site
The Ancient Site
In antiquity, every 4 years during the Olympic Games, so many people thronged here that it was said by the time the Games began, not even one more spectator could have wedged himself into the stadium. Fifth-century Roman Emperor Theodosius II, ruling that the Olympic games were pagan… - Museum
The Archaeological Museum
Even though you'll be eager to see the ancient site, you might want first to head across the road to the museum, which reopened after extensive renovations in 2004. The collection makes clear Olympia's astonishing wealth and importance in antiquity: Every victorious city and almost…
Olympia Shopping
Galerie Orphee, Antonios Kosmopoulos's shop on the main street in Ancient Olympia (tel. 26240/23-555), has a wide selection of books, an extensive range of CDs of Greek music, plus displays of contemporary art. What a pleasant contrast to Olympia's other shops, which have all too many T-shirts, museum reproductions, and machine-made rugs and embroideries sold as "genuine handmade crafts." Watch for any shops on the main drag selling attractively presented (but expensive) honey, olive oil, and other local products. I'm not giving shop names because in this economic climate, these shops tend to open and close unpredictably.
