Greece: Olympia

The Stadium

We are still on our butterfly spotting holiday, but today we have abandoned the rest of the gang to made a side trip to Olympia, the one major site that we haven't yet seen. We got there by a high speed taxi ride over the mountains which took a while to recover from. Olympia is rather different from Delphi as it is much larger and on a flat site. The site plan indicates that the recommended route for exploration is an anti-clockwise loop, starting with the Gymnasium on the right.

Olympia is primarily about the Olympic games and so the Gymnasium, used for practicing races, javelin and discus seems a reasonable place to start. It dates from the 2nd century BC. There is not much left however, so considerable imagination is required.

Further along is the Palaestra (3rd century BC), a square building with a central courtyard surrounded by a colonnade. It was principally a training area for wrestling, boxing and jumping.

Next we passed a rather different style of building, with not a column in sight. This was once the workshop of Pheidias and later an early Christina basilica. The zone at the rear of the site has a number of buildings which have Roman origins.

A little further along was the curiously named SW Building, a complex of baths dating from the 1st-3rd century AD.

This marked the furthest point from the entrance and we now headed across the rear of the site, delighted by these unusually coloured Oleanders.

Now we came to the South portico (4th century BC) which marked the southern boundary of the site. It consisted of a interior Doric colonnade and and an outer Corinthian one. The capitals of the Corinthian columns give some idea of what it might have been like.

Beyond this, in the far corner, is the so-called Octagon, or Nero's House. It was altered in the 3rd century and occupied briefly by the Roman Emperor Nero when he attended the games

Heading now towards the front of the site, we rather ignored the Temple of Zeus on our left and passed the remains of the Echo Stoa (an covered colonade which was 100m long)  which once had two tall Ionic columns topped by statues of Ptoleny and Arsinoe. One of these remains, albeit without its statue

Now we came the passageway which marks the entrance to the Stadium which was laid out in the 5th century BC. The Stadium is said to have been able to accommodate 45,000 spectators (see the photo at the head of this post).

Just along from the Stadium entrance is the Nymphaion, a monumental fountain of a kind found in Renaissance Italy, and in front of it the Altar of Hera.

The Altar has been used to light the Olympic flame ever since the Berlin Olympics in 1936.

Immediately adjacent is the Temple of Hera. Dating from the end of the 7th century BC, it is the oldest temple on the site. There were originally 6 columns across the front and rear and 16 along the sides.

Finally, we come to the circular temple called the Philippeion, restored in 2005. It was started by Philip of Macedon some time after 338 BC to mark his victory over the Greeks at Chaeronia

To complete our visit we had a quick look round the excellent Museum, whose colonaded courtyard offered a nod to Classical antiquity.

Among many interesting exhibits we especially admired this sculpture of Zeus and Ganymede. In Greel mythology Ganymede was a beautufl Trojan boy who Zeus fell in love with his and abducted him in the form of an eagle to serve as cup-bearer to the Gods.

I also found this collection of Greek helmets very striking.

Conditions: sunny and very hot.

Rating: five stars.

Greece: Delphi

The Temple of Apollo

We are in Greece on a butterfly spotting holiday, but this morning we are taking time out from that to visit the famous site of Delphi, where there was a celebrated Oracle (the Pythia, who became ecstatic and prophesied as the voice of the god Apollo) and where the Pythian Games were held.

Our first impression on entering is of the site stretching uphill - it's not clear how far or what's up there.

We started to climb up the Sacred Way and at the first level there were the remains of several structures whose original purpose was unclear: they were perhaps Treasuries. The brickwork and truncated columns were very atmospheric.

The first unambiguous sight was the Athenian Treasury which dates from about 500 BC. It was used to house offerings to the god Apollo. It was restored in 1903-06 and in 2004 and gives a clear idea of what such a structure looked like. It employs the Doric order and the metopes, the decorative panels which run under the roof line, illustrate the exploits of the great heroes Heracles and Theseus.

Close by is the Rock of the Sibyl, by tradition the place where the first Sibyl delivered her prophesies.
 

Immediately adjacent are two fascinating structures. The first is a 2015 replica of the Tripod of the Plataeans which commemorated a naval victory over the Persians at Plataea in 479 BC. The original was moved to Constantinople by Constantine the Great in 324 AD.

Beside it is the pedestal of the statue of Aemilius Paulus, a Roman Consul who defeated the king of Macedon in 168 BC.

Now we approached the remaining columns of the large Temple of Apollo which dates from the 4th century BC.

A steep climb above the temple leads to the Theatre, completed in the second century BC and with a capacity of 5000.

This is the even more dramatic view of the Theatre seen from above.

We continued to climb and eventually reached the astonishing Stadium located right at the top of the site, built of stone and 177.5m in length. There was seating for 6,500 spectators.

Above is the finishing line, while below is the remains of the three-arched entrance.

At length we headed back downhill. On the way I enjoyed this wooded area which put me in mind of the paintings of Paul Cézanne.

As we returned past the Temple of Apollo, we were forcefully struck by the Polygonal Wall which stabilises the huge terrace upon which the Temple of Apollo sits.

Conditions: hot and sunny.

Rating: five stars. Simply magnificent.

Note: Much of the information in this post comes from helpful information panels scattered around the site. Additional information is from Greek sanctuaries and temple architecture by Mary Emerson. Not an easy read, but a very comprehensive and informative source.