Ancient Olympia

Altar and Temple of Hera

We experienced a taste of the modern Olympics in Athens when we visited the Panathenaic Stadium.  Today, we visited Ancient Olympia where the Olympics were first held circa 776 B.C. and continued for over a thousand years to 393 A.D.  These quadrennial athletic contests were held to honor and worship Zeus, king of the gods.

Ancient Stadium

Our journey to Olympia took us through the mountains and along the Gulf of Corinth, traveling over the gulf across the modern bridge built just a decade ago.  We stopped briefly along the way in a small town whose English name is Lemon Canyon so Mom could touch the water and collect a rock to take home.

On the starting line

Olympia is located on the large peninsula of Greece known as the Peloponnese. We toured the archaeological site and saw the ruins of the Temple of Zeus and the gymnasium where the athletes trained.  Our two favorite parts of the site were the stadium, where the original marble starting and finish lines still adorn the track, and the Temple and Altar of Hera, where the flame is lit each Olympic year to travel to Athens and then on to the host country.

Temple of Zeus

Lots of families, young and old, took their place on the starting line and sprinted the length of the stadium.  Although we didn't witness any Olympic-caliber times, it was still amazing to to be able to run sprints in the same place as thousands of athletes have for three millennia.