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Ancient Olympia

Ancient Olympia, one of the most important religious and social centres of Ancient Greece, is located in an area that justifiably shocked foreign travelers. The landscape is a masterpiece of nature, drowned in pines, cypresses, olives, oaks and laurels. It is here that the great athletic contests in the honour of Zeus, known as the Olympics, were held every four years for over 1,150 years, from 776 BC (or earlier) to AD 393.

There is so much to see at Olympia. The gymnasium and palaistra, both training grounds for the athletes, the athletes’ baths, one or several hostelries for important guests, the remains of countless monuments commemorating Olympic and other victories by individuals or city-states, the great 5th-century BC Temple of Zeus that housed the now-lost gold-and-ivory statue of the god that was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the venerable Temple of Hera from before 600 BC, other temples, and the stadium supposedly delineated by Herakles/Hercules himself are just some of the monuments to be seen, all neatly described by the travel writer Pausanias in the late second century AD. One of the individual items Pausanias mentions is a statue of Hermes (the youthful messenger god) carrying the infant Dionysos (the god of wine and more) by Praxiteles, the most famous 4th century BC Athenian sculptor. Pausanias does not say much about the Hermes of Praxiteles, but mentions it being placed in the Temple of Hera. It is in the ruins of that very temple that German archaeologist discovered a well-preserved, but broken, marble statue of high quality in 1874.
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Packages including: 
Ancient Olympia

West Peloponnese
8 days / 7 nights
Olympia | Pylos | Messinia
Mythical West Peloponnese

Get to know the western Peloponnese with its wonderful nature and world-famous archeological sites. You will experience unforgettable relaxation in unique accommodations.