Olympia

Introduction
History and excavations
The remains

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Map of southeastern Europe highlighting Greece and marking the location of Olympia with a red star, indicating its status as a World Heritage Site. Olympia is shown in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula, surrounded by neighboring countries and nearby seas including the Ionian, Aegean, and Mediterranean.

Olympic medals hang against a blurry background.

Marble sculpture of a Lapith woman struggling with a centaur, both partially damaged, from the west pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, displayed in the Archaeological Museum at Olympia.

Praxiteles: Hermes Carrying the Infant Dionysus

At a Glance

Stone columns of the palaestra, part of the ancient gymnasium at Olympia, Greece, stand in rows on grassy ground with trees in the background.

Olympia summary

Quizzes

Taj Mahal, Agra, India. UNESCO World Heritage Site (minarets; Muslim, architecture; Islamic architecture; marble; mausoleum)

Wonders of the World Quiz

Temple ruins of columns and statures at Karnak, Egypt (Egyptian architecture; Egyptian archaelogy; Egyptian history)

History Buff Quiz

Marble bust of Alexander the Great, in the British Museum, London, England. Hellenistic Greek, 2nd-1st century BC. Said to be from Alexandria, Egypt. Height: 37 cm.

Ancient Greece

Ancient Egyptian carving of Pharaoh Seti I holding his flail before the god of the underworld Osiris with Horus behind him. Abydos Temple, Egypt. Ancient carving, on public display for 2,000 years

Archaeology: Great Discoveries Quiz

Related Questions

How did Elis gain control of Olympia from Pisa and Pisatis?
How did ancient Olympic boxing differ from modern boxing?
How did athletes enter the Olympic stadium through the Krypte?
How did earthquakes affect the ruins of Olympia?
How did excavated clay molds help date the creation of the Statue of Zeus?
How did mudslides and river silt help preserve ancient Olympia?
How did the Exedra of Herodes Atticus supply drinking water to Olympia?
How did the Olympic truce protect travelers to and from Olympia?
How far inland from the Ionian Sea was Olympia?
How large was the sacred precinct of the Altis?
How long was the dolichos race at ancient Olympia?
How long was the stade race at ancient Olympia?
How many spectators could the stadium at Olympia hold?
How often were the ancient Olympic Games held at Olympia?
How tall was the Statue of Zeus at Olympia?
What archaeological evidence identified Phidias's workshop at Olympia?
What architectural order was used for the Temple of Zeus at Olympia?
What materials were used to make Phidias's Statue of Zeus?
What oath did athletes take beside the statue of Zeus Horkios?
What objects did the Statue of Zeus hold in its hands?
What were the Zanes statues at the entrance to the stadium?
When did boxing become an Olympic event in ancient Greece?
When did the Archaeological Museum at Olympia open in its present location?
When did the first controlled excavations at Olympia take place?
When do the earliest archaeological remains at Olympia date from?
When was the Olympic stadium fully excavated and restored?
When was the Temple of Hera at Olympia built?
When was the Temple of Zeus at Olympia built?
When was the diaulos race added to the ancient Olympic Games?
When was the sanctuary at Olympia established?
When were chariot races introduced at Olympia?
When were the ancient Olympic Games abolished?
When were the first ancient Olympic Games held at Olympia?
When were wrestling and the pentathlon added to the Olympic Games?
Where was ancient Olympia located in Greece?
Where were horse races and chariot races held at Olympia?
Which Greek city-state controlled Olympia after 572 BCE?
Which Macedonian rulers were honored by the Philippeum?
Which actions were forbidden in the ancient pankration competition?
Which event was held at the first recorded Olympic Games in 776 BCE?
Which famous statue was discovered in the Temple of Hera at Olympia in 1877?
Which god did the religious festival at Olympia honor?
Which myths were shown in the pediment sculptures of the Temple of Zeus?
Which organizations conducted much of the late 20th-century research at Olympia?
Which rivers met near the ancient sanctuary of Olympia?
Which stories were depicted in the metopes of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia?
Which woman was permitted to watch the Games from the altar of Demeter Chamyne?
Who created the Statue of Zeus at Olympia?
Who designed the Temple of Zeus at Olympia?
Who led the French excavation of the Temple of Zeus in 1829?
Who received the prize in ancient Olympic chariot races?
Who sat in the stone seats reserved for judges in the Olympic stadium?
Who stayed in the Leonidaeum at Olympia?
Why did ancient Olympic champions receive honors beyond the wreath awarded at Olympia?
Why do the columns of the Temple of Hera show different styles?
Why was ancient Olympia named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1989?
Why was the Echo Colonnade at Olympia given its popular name?
Why was the Philippeum built at Olympia?
Why was the Statue of Zeus at Olympia counted among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World?
Why was the stadium at Olympia moved eastward in the 4th century BCE?
Which countries make up the Balkans?
Where are the Balkans?
What is the climate of the Balkans?
Is ancient Greece a country?
Was ancient Greece a democracy?
Why is ancient Greece important?
Where did the Ottoman Empire start?
How did the Ottoman Empire start?
Why was the Ottoman Empire called “the sick man of Europe”?
How did the Ottoman Empire end?

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External Websites

International Olympic Committee - Ancient Olympia
Ancient History Encyclopedia - Olympia, Greece
Ancient-Greece.org - History of Ancient Olympia
UNESCO World Heritage Convention - Archaeological Site of Olympia
In2Greece - Olympia
LiveScience - Olympia: Site of Ancient Olympics

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Olympia - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
Olympia - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Olympia

ancient site, Greece

Written by

Eugene Vanderpool

Professor of Archaeology, American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1949–71.

Eugene Vanderpool

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

History

Olympia, ruined ancient sanctuary, home of the ancient Olympic Games, and former site of the massive Statue of Zeus, which had been ranked as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Olympia is located near the western coast of the Peloponnese peninsula of southern Greece, 10 miles (16 km) inland from the Ionian Sea, near a point where the Alpheus (Alfios) and Cladeus (Kladios) rivers meet. Set amid an idyllic countryside consisting of low,...

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