Olympia

On Friday, June 8^th, we drove down to Olympia.  We had previously been to Greece twice, in 1998 and 2008, but had spent almost all of our time in the islands, so one of the things that most surprised us about the Greek mainland was how little of the driving involved flat or straight roads.  It was constantly left, right, up and down.  It’s a good thing that we aren’t subject to motion sickness. 

Costas, our bus driver, was very, very good.  We wouldn’t want to rent a car and drive in Greece.

The other thing about the Greek countryside that we hadn’t previously considered was how much of it is covered in olive trees.  Greece is by far the highest per capita consumer of olive oil in the world.  It began to feel almost claustrophobic, even creepy—Greece seems almost more crowded with olive trees than China is crowded with people.

On arrival at Olympia, the group went to the Archaeological Museum, where we met our local guide, Niki.  Olympia was the site of a major temple to Zeus, king of the gods.  In the temple was a 40-foot tall statue of Zeus, made of wood, covered with ivory and gold.  This was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.  Nearby was a temple to Zeus’s wife, Hera.  Starting in 776 B.C., games were held every four years in Zeus’s honor.  These Olympic Games were not the only games in the ancient world (the bronze charioteer we saw in Delphi had won at the Pythian Games there), but they were by far the most prestigious.

In the museum were some interesting pieces: statues from the temple pediments; offerings to the god, including a Persian helmet and a battered Athenian helmet with the name of the general Miltiades (perhaps the very helmet he wore at the battle of Marathon!); a statue of Hermes holding the infant Dionysus.

The site itself doesn’t have much that is still standing.  There are many, many pedestals, with inscriptions and with footprints where the bronze statues of Olympic victors once stood.  And there is the original Olympic stadium, which could hold 45,000 spectators (men only, since the contestants performed naked).  Mary Joy ran from the starting blocks to the finish line.

We had nice vegetarian lunch nearby (Mary Joy bought the cookbook), then drove to the resort town of Kardamyli, where we checked into Hotel Esperides, a family-run collection of apartments.  Costas went to work grilling dinner in the courtyard, and we had a very nice evening.