Today you can wander among fallen stone-works, walk where athletes walked, view the remains of temples, priests' dwellings and public buildings.Time, and events. Earthquakes and emperor Theodosius I. Go on a quiet day, or try to ignore the tourists and you almost hear the hustle and bustle from all those years ago. Nothing in the main site has been re-constructed - it lies exactly as it fell and 1500 years later uncovered.
Theodosius I abolished the games in AD 394 because he considered them paganistic. (Sometimes the abolition is attributed to Theodosius II but it cannot be Theodosius II because he only became (co)Emperor in AD402).
Situated where rivers Alpheios and Kladios meet, the Sanctuary of Zeus played host to the Olympic Games for over a thousands years, from 776 BC to the end of 4th century BC. At first, the games lasted one day only and had a single event, a sprint the length of the stadium.
It wasn't long before other events were added, such as the chariot race, discus, javelin, long jump, boxing, wrestling and the pentathlon. All these events required extra time and so the games were extended to five days.
Winners would return to their families and cities with their crown of olive leaves and would be heroes, bringing enormous status and wealth.The stadium, with seating for at least 30,000 spectators, remains today, and visitors can walk the dusty surface, and stage impromptu re-runs of those ancient events.
Inside the museum there are many precious artifacts and many of the more important statues including Zeus and Apollo have been reconstructed.
Zeus
ApolloMore Pictures
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