Ancient Olympia: Olympic Games, Temple of Zeus, and Panhellenic Unity

The city of Olympia was not an inhabited site of permanent residents; rather, it was the site of the administration for the Olympic Games. Traditionally, it was thought that the site had been used since the Bronze Age as a sanctuary for Zeus, although no buildings exist from this time. The site held religious festivals probably from the ninth century onward and was organized by the city of Elis. Traditionally, the games were established in 776, but they probably did exist some years earlier. When the power of Elis diminished, the site was taken over by the nearby city of Pisa. By 600, the site was restored to Elis and placed under its control. It was during this period that the earliest buildings were constructed.

The Temple of Hera was built around 600, while the treasuries, Pelopion, Bouleterion, and athletic structures were constructed in the seventh century. In the sixth century, the stadium was built. During the Classical Age, from 550 to 400, numerous buildings were constructed, including the Temple of Zeus, the hippodrome, baths, and prytaneion. In the late Classical Age, the Metroon, Echo Stoa and South Stoa completed the major buildings, while the early Hellenistic Age saw the erection of the Phillipeion and Leonidaion. During the later Hellenistic period, the palaestra, gymnasium, and additional baths, were constructed, with the propylon completing the pre-Roman site.

The central region of Olympia lay to the south of Mount Cronus and east of the River Kladeos, a tributary of the River Alpheios, which ran south of the Altis. It was located in an ancient grove or sanctuary called the Altis, with 600 feet on each side being walled on the west, south, and east sides, while the north was open, bounded by Mount Kronus. By the Roman period, there were over seventy buildings, including temples, treasuries, athletic facilities, and civic buildings. Many of these buildings were beyond the walled Altis. Although buildings were arranged around the Altis, it was still open and contained open green space. Sites from the Archaic and Classical period exist and were arranged in the Altis or Sacred Grove of Olympia from the northwest moving east.

At the northwest corner was the Propylon, a monumental gateway to the city proper dating from the Roman period. To the north of the sanctuary was the Prytaneion from the Classical period, lying just east of the gateway. It was here that the city’s hearth was kept and where the chief magistrate or king lived. Originally, it was the main center of the government, and often the city’s laws were kept there. It is possible that at Olympia, the magistrates and priests lived in the large Prytaneion, a structure which was doubled in size during the Hellenistic period to accommodate the increase in priests. Just to the south of this building, and also outside the sanctuary, was the Hellenistic Philippeion, a circular temple about forty-five feet in diameter, which contained statues of Philip II of Macedon; Philip’s son Alexander the Great; his mother, Olympias (the former wife of Philip); Amyntas III, the king and father of Philip II; and Eurydice, the wife of Amyntas III.

Just east of the Prytaneion and Philippeion, inside the sanctuary, was the Temple of Hera or Heraion, which was the oldest temple at Olympia and probably reflects the ancient history of the city. Originally a joint temple between Hera and Zeus, it was built at the beginning of the sixth century, and an earthquake destroyed it in the early fourth century. It was the oldest peripteral (having columns around all four sides) at Olympia and measured 61.5 by 164.1 feet, having six columns across and sixteen columns in length. The temple housed many treasures from antiquity, including the so-called chest of Cypselus.

To its south, beside the later Phillippeion, was the Pelopion, allegedly the tomb of the legendary Pelops, the king of the Peloponnese. In the pentagonal structure was a dirt mound altar used for animal sacrifice since the Archaic period. Farther east was the Metroon, an ancient Greek temple to the mother goddess, Cybele or Demeter. Although the structure dated from the fourth century, it was probably built on a much older site. To its north, also outside the Altis, was a series of temples or treasuries that housed the goods donated from each city. Located on the north side of the Altis, they were built on the terraces of Mount Kronus. Each treasury was a single room with a single door, for security. Running from west to east were the treasuries of Sicyon and Syracuse, followed possibly by buildings from Epidamnus, Byzantium, Sybaris, Cyrene (then an unknown city), possibly an altar, Selinunte, Metapontum, Megera, and Gela. To the east of the treasuries was the great stadium and hippodrome used for the Olympic Games.

Connecting the north-to-south side of the Altis was the 300-foot Painted Stoa, begun in the fourth century and later known as the Echo Stoa due to its acoustic ability; the finish line of the stadium was in full view from here. Farther south was the Hestia Stoa, completing the eastern side of the Altis. Along the southern side of the Altis was the great temple of Zeus. It became the idealized Doric temple of the Classical Age. Begun in the fifth century, it was built on a preexisting religious site and completed in 457. It was also a peripteral temple measuring 230 feet long by 95 feet wide, and 68 feet high.

The temple contained a 40-foot statue of Zeus by Phidias, the great sculptor who also created the statue of Athena in the Parthenon. Farther south, outside the Altis, was the Stoa and Bouleuterion, or local assembly building. It included two buildings dating from the sixth century, a square structure, and a stoa. The square building had two apsidal halls projecting in parallel from the west side. The Bouleuterion was the meeting place for the local Elean senate, which controlled the Olympic Games and was used for their administration. This building is where the athletes registered to compete and drew lots for the competition. If a controversy or complaint reared its head, it was decided here, and penalties were meted out when appropriate. Athletes would take their oaths at the beginning of the games at an altar to Zeus.

On the western side, outside the Altis, was a series of buildings running north to south: the gymnasium or training ground for athletes, and the palaestra, part of the gymnasium, a square building about 215 feet by 215 feet wide, built at the end of the Classical or early Hellenistic period. The central part of the building was an open arena used for boxing and wrestling training, with rooms arranged along four sides. Farther south was a Heroon, or tomb for an unknown hero. It was near the workshop of Phidias. To the west, the earliest baths were constructed in the fifth century for the athletes. Finally, at the southwest corner was the Leonidaion, a place for the athletes to reside during competitions. It was built at the end of the Classical Age in 330 by Leonidas of Naxos.

Olympia was an important religious site that helped unite Greece every four years for the Olympic Games held in August and September. Since the site was not a residential city, but rather a religious site with games associated with it, the desire by nearby cities to control it was more about prestige and potentially commerce than territory. The major Peloponnesian forces were often willing to interfere with who controlled Olympia, backing either Pisa or Elis, allied with Sparta. The Temple of Zeus was named one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.