Yesterday we spent a few hours walking around the ruins at Olympia, home of the Ancient Olympics since 776 BC. Little remains intact of the many buildings on this rambling unordered site which evolved over many centuries but it is another honey-pot attraction with visitors drawn to the stadium and the site of one of the Ancient Wonders of the World - the huge Statue of Zeus.
Stadium - unseated and thought to hold 45,000 spectators |
Drawing of the Statue of Zeus - nothing remains here other than the temple base |
It sits in a beautiful valley between 2 rivers and could be a peaceful and tranquil place but the sound of the guards loud shrill whistles is a huge distraction. Either they are extremely officious at this site or there are some real transgressors in amongst the thousands of visitors filing in daily duly paying their €9 ticket price. No prizes for guessing which.....
This Oriental lady travelling alone was severely rebuked for trying to set up her Barbie pink compact camera on a lightweight tripod to take a picture of herself in front of the ruins - she was mortified. Dave waded in, offering to take the picture for her but not before questioning why this was such a crime. Official number 1, sticking to the rules, stated that tripods were forbidden as professional photographs were taken with them. There are visitors walking round with monster Digital SLR's and all the kit to take some stunning, and probably profitable, shots but they can't police that. Using common sense about this ladies predicament - impossible. Dave was a little riled by this!
Temple base |
Huge columns still lying where they fell |
This probably isn't allowed! Measuring for size..... |
Old aerial view of the temple |
Credit where credit is due when you buy your ticket you always get a mini-guide to the site, the information boards are, on the whole, excellent and the little museums holding artifacts found at the site are fantastic.
Miniature bronze women dancing in a circle (...round handbags??) |
Three dogs attacking a stag |
Just amazing....cabinets full of tiny bronze animals from the Geometric period |
Can't resist another lion spout photo - love the expressions on their faces! |
Pediments from the temple - posing not allowed Dave! |
All alone at Lagina, no ropes, no whistles, no charge! |
Got the best seat in the house at Stratonikea |
Palaistra - training centre for the athletes and lecture area |
Philippeion - circular building from 4th century BC |
Beautiful carved cross in Christian Basilica |
The old seer (looks like he's on a mobile phone - like every other Greek!) |
Dave on the stadium starting line |
Love the mobile phone statue.
ReplyDeleteCould he have seen into the future and sussed out one hand is for your mobile and the other for your Freddo Frapuccino?
DeleteGreetings from Poland! I always loved wandering around Turkey's ruins practically by yourself at times with no guardrails in sight!
ReplyDeleteHi Joy - you're right, you can't beat a Turkish ruin. We've done quite a few in Italy and now Greece and it is often frustrating. We're not vandals, we respect the sites but we enjoy the freedom to wander rather than being herded around. The Greeks only allow you to wander freely on their sites when it suits them - either if they can't maintain it (broken gates or fences) or they have huge concerts in them like Epidaurus.
DeleteLove the scale - the enormous and jaw-dropping and the teeny little details figures! Shame about the over-zealous control but I do envy your amazing travels. Axx
ReplyDeleteThe size of the statue is just amazing - in Britain we always get things compared to double decker buses don't we so it was about 3 double deckers!! That model was of Phidias, the designers, workshop - it must have looked stunning in place in the temple.
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