Olympia: The Birthplace of the Olympic Games
- Location of the Olympic Games, traditionally starting in 776 BC and held every four years
- Large complex of temples with stadium and gymnasia
- Location of Workshop of Pheidias, later turned into an early Christian church
Although a large sanctuary, Olympia is best known as the birthplace of the Olympic Games, traditionally dating from 776 BC and held every four years. In addition, Olympia also contained temples to major Greek deities, such as Zeus and Hera. With its stadium and gymnasia, Olympia was the center of sport and competition for the entire Greek world. This ancient interest in sport was reflected even in the writings of Paul, who famously compared living the Christian life to a foot race (see 1 Corinthians 9:24 and Hebrews 12:1). Also of interest is the Workshop of Pheidias, a famous sculptor, which later was converted into an early Christian church.
The site of Olympia, although the location of an earlier Mycenaean site, became a center of Greek culture beginning in 776 BC, the traditional date for the first Olympic Games. Held every four years, these Games continued over one thousand years, until 393 AD, when they were shut down under the ban on pagan festivals by Theodosius I. The Games, based on a festival to the god Zeus, took place during a five-day period in August or September. Only Greeks could compete, married women were forbidden from attendance, and a sacred truce was upheld for cities at war to compete. Events included various distances of footraces, horse racing, pentathlon, and the pancration (a type of no-holds-barred boxing).
A focal point of the site is the ancient stadium. Upon entering the stadium, one sees a space that could have held up to 40,000 people (although no permanent seating was built). The starting and finishing lines, 600 Olympic feet apart, still remain from ancient times. Outside of the Olympic Games, Olympia was still an important religious center, with lodging for pilgrims, administrative buildings, and several temples. The most important of these temples was the Temple to Zeus, built in the fifth century. The temple contained one of the seven Wonders of the World, the chryselephantine (gold and ivory) statue of the deity. Perhaps twelve meters high and built by the famous sculptor Pheidias, nothing remains of the statue. The workshop of Pheidias, identified by tools used for making the statue of Zeus and a cup with the sculptor’s name, would later become a church. During the early Byzantine period, the workshop was divided into aisles and augmented with a semi-circular apse on the east, reflecting its new role as a place of Christian worship.
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