Greece 24 - Olympia /chariots of fire/ running the 200 yard dash naked

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Well you have to do it don't you? Stand on the starting line for the 200 yard dash in the stadium in Olympia where it all started. All as in the Ancient Olympic Games and the modern version we all know and love. Queue music - Vangelis - Chariots of Fire and it's off you go. Running naked as the day you were born trying to beat other naked men.

Olympia was on the way home as we are now wending our way slowly back to Igoumenitsa. Finding the ancient site was not easy. We mistakenly ended up at the car park of Camping Atreus where we intended to stop the night. The lady owner ran up the path as we turned round to try again for the archaelogical park. Parking in the end was relatively easy. There was a lack of buses and a huge car park sadly unshaded. Oddly it was quite a long walk to the park and we actually lost Suzy on the way back. Going in one entrance and coming out a completely different one throws you. The buses were there just parked somewhere else.

In the sweltering heat we walked slowly to pay at the desk. Again reduced for over 65's we got three tickets. The first for the ancient ruins and the stadium, the second for the museum of archaelogy on site and the third ticket was for the museum to the history of the modern Olympic movement.

Our first stop was the gymnasium and the palaestra the wrestling school. My mum and dad loved wrestling and it was staple viewing on a Saturday night. I guess not this sort of wrestling though . They watched more Mick McManus and Jacky Pallo the wrestling celebrities of their day. A jumble of stones with not much definition but evocative none the less.

We continued trying to avoid the crowds who now descended on the place. Large groups with their guides. English being spoken everywhere. We [assed the stones that made up the Greek baths and the Hostel of the Leonidion before heading up the sacred way. To one side of us the small but exquisite temple of Hera, the Peloppeon with its cult altars to the lesser gods all set for worship and cleansing before the contests began.

The highlight of any tour of Olympia has to be the entrance to the stadium. An arched tunnel. Quite small and narrow through which the competitors entered the arena to compete. The stadium was uncovered between 1941 and 1944 under the orders of Hitler possibly. The running track sits there in the bowl of the stadium. There are no seats apart from the judges seats and the seats of dignitaries . If you wanted to watch you sat on the hot hard baked earth . You had to be male. Females were not allowed in the stadium either to compete or to view. Instead they had to sit on the bank above watching the naked competitors flexing their finely honed bronzed bodies and running with their bits dangling out. Glenn stood on the starting line. A white marble length of stone with two grooves cut in . One for the front foot and one for back. He took up the pose of the runner but did not run in the time honoured tradition of nakedness.

Leaving the stadium we walked along the Sacred Way reminded that only free born Greeks could compete. Beyond us the impressive Temple of Zeus built between the years 470 BC and 456 BC. It rivalled anything Athens could offer. Its finds were displayed in the rather small but excellent museum. The long rich history of the olympics has come down to us through the summer and winter events. It was a pleasure and a priviledge to be here and witness where it all started.

The museum was cool and fresh and delightfully modern. It was relatively empty too which give us chance to view the exhibits both large and small in cases. Glenn hunted out Greek helmuts. I sought out the famous statue of Zeus abducting Ganymede. The cases were full of votive offerings, weights that would not look out of place in a modern gym. A huge frieze re-assembled from the Temple of Zeus took up centre stage. It told the story of old Hercules and his labours. An unexpected treat that we had not expected and one well worth the entrance fee. We would pay it over again as it was so interesting inside.

Our night stop was the campsite we had driven into and driven out again. This time we waited for the young lady owner. She was expecting a Dutch caravan and motorhome club rally but had a couple of spaces just for folks like us. She set us up and we were later joined by a french couple with their dog travelling in a motorhome with a bicycle towed on a trailer. Orange trees filled the gardens and as always I took a few for my supper . In the morning when I went to pay I saw yet another example of Greek hospitality . It is said that the Greeks will treat you like royalty and that is true. The Dutch lady in front wanted cigarettes. The mother of the owner explained she had only Greek cigarettes which are not to everyones taste. If the lady wanted to wait for her daughter to arrive she was sure she would be able to get some different cigarettes for her. The cigarette smoking duth lady explained she was going out on a bus trip and could not wait. The owners mother then offered one of her own cigarettes . Now how often does that happen these days?

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Comments

[Ake Och Emma]

Must go there
We absolutely have to go there some day. The home of the original Olympic Games would is on our Bucket List for sure. /Ake

[JenGog]

Greece
I can honestly say it was an eyeopener . sitting here waiting for the boat back to Italy I feel sad at leaving

[JenGog]

Greece
What wonderful place it is - you really need to add it to your bucket list . We are feeling really odd being home again. I worked two days last week and have itchy feet already .