The building that today houses the Museum of the History of the Ancient Olympic Games in Olympia was erected in the 1880s and was one of the first provincial Museums in Greece.
Here, the artistic and historical treasures of Olympia, the Hermes of Praxiteles, the Nike of Paionios, the sculptural decoration of the temple of Zeus and dozens more findings of the systematic excavations that were in progress since 1875 under the responsibility of the German Arcaheological Institute were housed here for the first time.
These treasures since the late 1970s are exhibited at the “New” Archaeological Museum of Olympia.
The Syngreion (Old) Museum of Olympia, after an arduous restoration and rebuilding process, was restored thanks to the holding of the Olympic Games in Athens, at its unique and incomparable majesty and beauty.
In this second stage of its long history, the museum, through its exhibition deals with important chapters – milestones of the more than thousand-year history of the Olympic Games (but also Pythia, Isthmia, Nemea and Panathenaia) such as: the prehistory of the sport, the beginning of the games in Olympia, Zeus and his worship, Elis and its role in the organization of the games and the preparation of the athletes, women and sports, the disciplines, the winners of the games, etc.
The artefacts originate from the Sanctuary of Olympia but also from the collections of many Greek museums that were in included in the permanent exhbition as loans.
