Olympia

The valley of Gods and Heroes

At the foot of Mount Kronios, where the rivers Alpheios and Kladeos meet, lies the Sacred Altis — the Archaeological Site of Olympia.

Olympia in antiquity was a place of particular religious and ideological importance.


Here, the Olympic Games were born: a festival dedicated to Zeus, to the peaceful contest and fair play. 

Among the ancient ruins and the shade of timeless trees, the spirit of Greece still breathes — in the Temple of Zeus, the Pelopion, the Bouleyterion, the Workshop of Phidias, and the Temple of Hera, all bearing witness to the enduring harmony of faith, art, and excellence.


Together with the Archaeological Museum of Olympia, which houses the most significant treasures of the sanctuary, the site stands as a living monument of world heritage — an eternal symbol of peace, knowledge, and human virtue.

be inspired through a journey into the myths, nature and culture
«Ἄριστον μὲν ὕδωρ· ὁ δὲ χρυσὸς αἰθόμενον πῦρ ὥτε διαπρέπει νυκτὶ μεγάνορος πλούτου· εἰ δ’ ἄεθλα γαρύεν, φίλον ἦτορ, μὴ πόρσω βάλε· ἄλλον γὰρ οὔ τι φαεννότερον ἄστρον ἐρήμας δι’ αἰθέρος ἁμέρας ἢ ἅλιον.»
«Best is water, while gold, like fire blazing in the night, shines preeminent amid lordly wealth. But if you wish to sing of athletic games, my heart, look no further than the sun for another star shining more warmly by day through the empty sky, nor let us proclaim a contest greater than Olympia»
PINDAR, OLYMPIAN ODES - OLYMPIAN I (1-9) , FOR HIERON OF SYRACUSE WINNER, SINGLE-HORSE RACE, 476 B.C. Loeb Classical Library
«Best is water, while gold, like fire blazing in the night, shines preeminent amid lordly wealth. But if you wish to sing of athletic games, my heart, look no further than the sun for another star shining more warmly by day through the empty sky, nor let us proclaim a contest greater than Olympia.»
The Sacred Site of Olympia

The archaeological site of Ancient Olympia includes the Sanctuary of Zeus, featuring temples and buildings intimately linked to religious worship.

It also includes secular, administrative and athletic facilities such as the Prytaneion, the Leonidaion, the Gymnasium and the Palestra, and the first Stadium in the history of architecture.

All the buildings, together with the altars and the valuable offerings, supported the organization and celebration of the Olympic Games and gave immense fame and prestige to the Sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia.

These well-preserved monuments offer a vivid glimpse into the integration of athletic, civic and sacred life in ancient Greece.

Go to the Archaeological Site
dazzling exhibits

Some of the world’s most valuable works of art of ancient Greece are on display here, many dating back thousands of years.


The exhibits present the long and fascinating history of the most famous sanctuary of antiquity, the pan-Hellenic sanctuary of Zeus, father of gods and men as the ancient Greeks believed, where the Olympic Games were born.


Among the many precious exhibits the sculptures collection, for which the museum is most famous, the bronzes collection, the richest collection of its type in the world, and the large terracottas collection, are especially noteworthy.

Archaeological Museum of Olympia

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a place of particular religious and ideological value

The Olympic Games in antiquity represented peace and the nobility of competition.

 

These ideals and values have continued to this day.

Through the priceless artefacts that once decorated the sanctuary, visitors can feel the ideals and be inspired by the same elements that drove athletes and pilgrims in antiquity. 

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The Archaeological Site of Olympia has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1989.

Unesco
Some of what you will see

Located in the Ilia (Elis) region in the northwest of the Peloponnese Peninsula, Olympia is considered one of the most important places to trace the roots of the Western world.

Nike of Paionios

A milestone in the development of ancient Greek sculpture, this celebrated statue, is the earliest known monumental Nike in Greek art and a characteristic example of the Rich Style.

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Female griffin with her young

Large cut-out embossed bronze sheet. A female griffin is depicted nursing her young, just visible under her belly (B 104).

The eye of the mythic being is inlaid ivory, and the decorative details are rendered through delicate engraving and dots. It may have decorated an architectural member, attached to a wooden core.

This bronze relief is an exquisite example of Archaic Hellenic art; produced in a Corinthian workshop (630-620 BC).

Apollo from the western pediment of the temple of zeus

The god Apollo, invisible to the combatants, is the central figure of the composition presented at the western facade of the Temple of Zeus, above the heads of the pilgrims.

According to the myth, the god of light and reason determines the outcome of the dramatic engagement between Lapiths and Centaurs, between the Man and Beast.

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Archaeological Museum of Pirgos

Once the old municipal market of the city of Pirgos now one of the best-preserved examples of a Neoclassical architecture in the western Peloponnese.
The Archaeological Museum of Pirgos invites you to make a journey in time through works of art and explicit exhibits of different kind of materials.
It is located in the heart of the city, very close to the main square.

Archaeological Site and Museum of Elis

Visit the Archaeological Site and the Museum of Elis, antiquity's largest city in the Northwestern Peloponnese and the capital of the homonymous city-state who had the responsibility of the organization of the great panhellenic festival in honour of Zeus in Olympia.

The Temple of Apollo Epikourios

The Temple of Apollo Epikourios was erected near the ancient city of Figaleia by its citizens between 420-400 B.C.
It is the work of the renowned architect Iktinos who previously designed the Parthenon in Athens.
The Temple has many unique elements that made the edifice very impressive. Already in antiquity
it was considered to be among the finest temples of the Peloponnese. Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1986

The Chlemoutsi Castle

Built in 1220-1223 by the Frankish knight and ruler Godefroid I Villeardouin in a strategic location the castle protected the capital Andravida, the harbour of Glarentza and, of course, the palace of the House of the Villehardouin that was situated within its walls.

For a long time it served as the strongest fortress of the Frankish principality of Achaia.

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