Ancient Olympia

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Very low key day. The nice thing about Olympia is that it's small enough for you to walk to all of the main sites. Don't have to worry about missing a bus. So took my time in the morning getting down to Ancient Olympia. The one bad/annoying thing, though, was all of the tour buses. These are the people that swoop in in the mornings, are herded around, do stupid things, and then drive off after a couple of hours in their massive buses. They give true meaning to the travel term, "ugly American" (although the most annoying are actually the Italian groups).

Once the big groups left, a handful of people remained, and Ancient Olympia is large enough where you don't really run in to the same person twice. Enjoyed the Stadium the best. This is where the races took place, and what made it so wonderful was that the ancient beginning and end lines were still visible in the sand (through a giant slab of marble with foot and hand holds). Also came across another ruined Ancient Wonder of the World: the Statue of Zeus. There's absolutely nothing left of the statue, but it was sculpted by Phidias, who was basically the Michelangelo of his day. Just down from the temple where the statue was placed was the work-shop where he made it.

Olympia also has a world-class archeological museum, I think almost beating out the one in Athens. It's small and compact, and houses one of the great sculptures of the ancient world, Praxiteles' "Hermes." This statue makes some of Michelangelo's look like child's work. The highlight of the museum. Other than that, spent the afternoon at some of Olympia's cafes, trying to beat the heat with a cappuccino freddo. Back on the bus tomorrow, and finally out of the Peloponnese. Time for Delphi.

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Photos

The Gymnasium
This is where the wrestling matches took place.

Famous Stadium Gate
Obviously, this is how you get to the stadium.

The Race-track
There were never any seats, except for the judge's box.

The finish line
Competitors had to run absolutely naked down the track!! A lot of flipping and flopping going on!!

Altar of Hera
Might not look like a lot, but this is where the Olympic flame was first lit.

Ruined Temple of Hera
Praxiteles' "Hermes" originally stood inside the temple.

Ruined Temple of Zeus
Destroyed by a massive earthquake, this is where the Statue of Zeus once stood. The standing column was reconstructed for the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Phidias' work-shop
Where he sculpted Zeus. They also found a lot of his tools when they excavated the place. Randomly turned into an early Christian church.

Statue of Zeus
This is what people think it probably looked like.

"Hermes"
Originally had a bunch of grapes in his hand. Hermes, the messenger God, was told by Zeus to send off Dionysius, the God of wine, to be raised in the wilds.

Bronze female figure
I thought her bone-made eyes were creepy.