Visit Unesco World Heritage Site Olympia in Greece as part of a cruise shore excursion. Photo / Getty Images
Visit Unesco World Heritage Site Olympia in Greece as part of a cruise shore excursion. Photo / Getty Images
Buried hearts, bribes and a triumphant Spartan princess. You’ll find much more than temples and rocks at the birthplace of the Olympic Games, writes Lorna Riley.
It’s hot. Damn hot. So hot, in fact, that I contemplate shedding every sweat-damp stitch of clothing I’m wearing. As if on cue, our guide chimes in: “Now imagine you’re surrounded by beautiful muscular bodies - all naked, all glistening with oil.” In fact, I don’t have to imagine. I can just hold up the tablet slung around my neck and see those toned bodies stretching, wrestling and running.
We’re in Unesco World Heritage Site Olympia, nestled on the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, just north of Katakolon where our Holland America cruise ship Oosterdam has berthed. Our tour is called “Ancient Olympia in 3D”, and it’s a fascinating way to view both the archaeological ruins at the birthplace of the Olympic Games, and to see the complete buildings and the participants as they would have looked then.
The Unesco World Heritage Site of Olympia is nestled on the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece. Photo / 123rf
The ancient Olympics began as a religious festival, and were held every four years from the 8th century BC until the 4th century AD. No matter what wars were being fought throughout Greece, a truce was called during this time, allowing safe passage for the very best athletes to assemble and compete. At first, the only competition was a 200-metre running race, the stade (from which we get our modern word stadium); winners’ records endure, so we know the first ever Olympic champion was a fleet-footed fellow named Koroibos. Over time, other events were added such as the pentathlon, boxing, chariot races and wrestling. Only men were able to attend, although women could be declared the winner of a chariot race if they owned and trained the horses, as one Spartan princess did in 396BC.
The tour provided an innovative way to view Olympia's ruins; by using a tablet, visitors could see a 3D representation of how the structures and athletic participants would have looked in their prime. Photo / Supplied
The Olympics continued even after the Romans conquered Greece, although they didn’t do much for the integrity of the Games. It may be a myth that Nero fiddled while Rome burned, but he certainly fiddled the results of the Olympics he presided over in 67AD, and in which he won the chariot race (despite not finishing). After his assassination, judges were forced to return their bribes and the results of the Neronian Olympics were declared void.
The archaeological ruins at Olympia are sprawling, and still spectacular (despite one young woman, who may or may not be related to me, remarking “they’re just a lot of old rocks”). Despite Olympia’s importance for more than a thousand years, over time it became buried under more than eight metres of alluvial deposits, thought to be due to repeated tsunamis. After the exact location was rediscovered by an English antiquarian in 1766, a minor excavation by French archaeologists in 1829 located and identified the Temple of Zeus, while the first major excavation got underway in 1875, funded by the German government. The latter uncovered the central part of the sanctuary including not only the Temple of Zeus, but also the Temple of Hera and a number of other key buildings, as well as sculptures and bronzes. Excavations continue to this day, the workers toiling away in the oppressive heat.
The Temple of Zeus at Olympia was a central attraction. Before extensive excavations, it was hidden, only to be rediscovered by French archaeologists in 1829. Photo / Supplied
It’s truly humbling to be here, the site of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the 12m gold and marble Statue of Zeus; to view the myriad marble columns that once held up magnificent buildings, full of beautiful art; to rest against lichen-covered stone that sweat-soaked champions rested against thousands of years before; to walk beneath archways that once presided over sacrifices to the gods and fierce athletic competition.
Entrance to the original stadium in the greek city of Olympia. Photo / 123rf
Hera’s Altar is particularly significant: it was here, for their 1936 Olympics in Berlin, that the Germans established the flame-lighting ceremony that now signifies the beginning of our own modern Olympics. It’s clear this site is dear to many hearts, quite literally: Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the International Olympic Committee, died in 1937; a monument to him stands at Olympia, and his heart is buried there. Some of my fellow tourists show their appreciation by running the length of the stadium; the heat limits me to just taking a selfie, and I can’t help but smile at the oiled, semi-naked man who happily photobombs while I do so.
The Olympia Archaeological Museum, also on-site, is one of the most important in Greece, housing as it does great masterpieces from the long history of the Olympic Games, and thousands of years of art, displayed in chronological and thematic order from Prehistoric down to Roman times. And just outside the gates of Olympia, the small village is worth a quick visit for those all-important souvenirs.
My only complaint? Our excursion has been too brief, just four hours including the bus trip to and from Katakolon (which has excellent tavernas - I recommend the gyros - and even better shopping: try Kukuvaya for unique gifts and Theodore’s exceptional service). As you’d expect, Olympia is rather crowded. And if you visit in summer as we did, it’s very hot. But it seems some things never change. Philosopher Epictetus wrote of Olympia in the 1st century AD, “Are you not scorched? Are you not pressed by a crowd? Have you not abundance of noise, clamour, and other disagreeable things? But I suppose that setting all these things off against the magnificence of the spectacle, you bear and endure”.
I’ve more than endured Olympia, Epictetus. I’ve bloody loved it.
For more things to explore in Greece, see visitgreece.gr For cruise information, visit hollandamerica.com
