Olympia
Olympia, the Olympic games, games held every four years at Olympia
- a sacred region in Elis Pisatis, with an olive wood, where the Olympian games were held; there, too, were the famous temple and statue of Juppiter Olympius: cum Olympiam venisset, maximā illā quinquennali celebritate ludorum, Cic. de Or. 3, 32, 127; id. N. D. 2, 2, 6: cum uno die duo suos filios victores Olympiae vidisset, id. Tusc. 1, 46, 111; 2, 20, 46; Auct. Her. 4, 3, 4; Liv. 26, 24, 14.—Hence,
- A Ŏlympĭăcus, a, um, adj., = Ὀλυμπιακος, Olympic: cursus, Auct. Her. 4, 3, 4: palma, Verg. G. 3, 49: corona, Suet. Ner. 25: rami, i. e. oleaster, Stat. Th. 6, 554: palaestra, Luc. 4, 614.—
- B Ŏlym-pĭānus, a, um, adj., Olympic (post-class.), Marc. Emp. 35.—
- C Ŏlympĭcus, a, um (gen. plur. Olympicūm for Olympicarum, Plaut. Trin. 2, 4, 23 (424)), adj., = Ὀλυμπικός, Olympic (poet. and in post-class. prose): pulvis, Hor. C. 1, 1, 3: certamen, Just. 12, 16, 6; 13, 5, 3.—
- D Ŏlympĭus, a, um, adj., = Ὀλυμπιος, Olympic (class.): certamina, the Olympic games, Plaut. Men. 2, 3, 59 (409): ludi, id. Stich. 2, 1, 34 (307): delubrum Olympii Jovis, Mel. 2, 3, 4; Vulg. 2 Macc. 6, 2; Plin. 4, 5, 6, § 14. There was also a temple of Juppiter Olympius in Athens, Suet. Aug. 60; and in Syracuse, Liv. 24, 21: equa, that had run in the Olympic races, Plin. 28, 11, 49, § 181.—
- 2 Subst.
- a Ŏlympĭus, ĭi, m., an appellation bestowed on distinguished men by the Greeks and Romans; of Pericles, Plin. 34, 8, 19, § 74; Val. Max. 5, 10, 1 ext.; on coins, also of the Roman emperors, Hadrian and Commodus, Eckhel. D. N. t. 6, p. 518.—
- b Ŏlympĭum, ĭi, n., the temple of the Olympic Jupiter, Liv. 24, 33, 3.—
- c Ŏlympia, ōrum, n., Gr. τὰ Ὀλύμπια (sc. ἱερά), the Olympic games held every four years at Olympia: sic ut fortis equus, spatio qui saepe supremo Vicit Olympia, in the Olympic games (Gr. Ὀλύμπια νικᾶν), Enn. ap. Cic. Sen. 5, 14 (Ann. v. 442 Vahl.): ad Olympia proficisci, Cic. Div. 2, 70, 144: magna coronari Olympia (Gr. Ὀλύμπια τὰ μεγάλα; opp. to the games held elsewhere), Hor. Ep. 1, 1, 50: Olympiorum solenne ludicrum, Liv. 28, 7: Olympiorum victoria, the victory in the Olympic games, Cic. Tusc. 2, 17, 41.—
- E Ŏlympĭas, ădis, f., = Ὀλυμπιάς, an Olympiad, the period of four years that elapsed between the Olympic games, and which the Greeks usually employed in the computation of time: centum et octo annis, postquam Lycurgus leges scribere instituit, prima posita est Olympias, Cic. Rep. 2, 10, 18: si Roma condita est secundo anno Olympiadis septumae, id. ib. 2, 10, 18; 2, 15, 28: ante primam Olympiadem condita, id. ib. 2, 23, 42: sextā Olympiade, Vell. 1, 8, 1.—In the poets sometimes for lustrum, i. e. a period of five years: quinquennis Olympias, Ov. P. 4, 6, 5: ter senas vidit Olympiadas, Mart. 7, 40, 6.—
- F Ŏlympĭēum, i, n., = Ὀλυμπιεῖον, a temple of the Olympic Jupiter, Vell. 1, 10, 1.
- , Ὀλύμπια, the Olympic games, games held every four years at Olympia, Enn. ap. C., H.
OLY´MPIA(ὀλύμπια), usually called the Olympic games, the greatest of the national festivals of the Greeks. It was celebrated at Olympia in Elis, the name given to a small plain to the west of Pisa, which was bounded on the north and north-east by the mountains Cronion and Olympus, on the south by the river Alpheus, and on the west by the Cladeus, which flows into the Alpheus. Olympia does not appear to have been a town, but rather a collection of temples and public buildings, a full description of which does not come within the plan of this work. The whole district within the above-mentioned bounds was holy ground (τέμενος), sacred to Olympian Zeus, within which, on its northern side, was a quadrangular enclosure, of peculiar sanctity, called the Altis. The latter was in historic. times adorned with the most exquisite work that Hellenic art could produce in sculpture, painting, and architecture. Within it stood the temples of Olympian Zeus (Ὁλυμπιεῖον), of Hêra (Ἡραιον), and the treasurehouses of many Hellenic states; while in the centre rose the high altar of Zeus, in sacrifice whereon he revealed his will to his chosen priests, the Iamidae (Pind. Olymp. vi.). Many relics of ancient art have been recently discovered in the Altis and the surrounding space, and much light has been thrown on the topography of Olympia, by excavations conducted according to the agreement made in 1874 between the Greek and German governments. For a minute, full, and highly interesting account of the results thus obtained, the reader may be referred to the work of Adolf Boetticher, Olympia, das Fest und seine Stätte, 2nd edit., Berlin, 1886.
The origin of the Olympic games is buried in obscurity. The legends of the Elean priests attributed the institution of the festival to the Idaean Heracles, and referred it to the time of Cronos. According to their account, Rhea committed her new-born Zeus to the Idaean Dactyli, also called Curetes, of whom five brothers, Heracles, Paeonaeus, Epimedes, Iasius, and Idas, came from Ida in Crete, to Olympia, where a temple had been erected to Cronos by the men of the golden age; and Heracles, the eldest, conquered his brothers in a foot-race, and was crowned with the wild olive-tree. Heracles hereupon established a contest, which was to be celebrated every five years, because he and his brothers were five in number (Paus. 5.7.4). Fifty years after Deucalion's flood they said that Clymenus, the son of Cardys, a descendant of the Idaean Heracles, came from Crete, and celebrated the festival; but that Endymion, the son of Aethlius, deprived Clymenus of the sovereignty, and offered the kingdom as a prize to his sons in the foot-race; that a generation after Endymion the festival was celebrated by Pelops to the honour of the Olympian Zeus; that when the sons of Pelops were scattered through Peloponnesus, Amythaon, the son of Cretheus and a relation of Endymion, celebrated it; that to him succeeded Pelias and Neleus in conjunction, then Augeas, and at last Heracles, the son of Amphitryon, after the taking of Elis. Afterwards Oxylus is mentioned as presiding over the games, and then they are said to have been discontinued till their revival by Iphitus. (Paus. 5.8.1, 2.) Most ancient writers, however, attribute the institution of the games to Heracles, the son of Amphitryon (Apollod. 2.7.2; Diod. 4.14; compare Strabo, 8. p. 355), while others represent Atreus as their founder. (Vellei. 1.8; Hermann, Pol. Ant. § 23, n. 10.) But of all the traditions respecting the origin of the Olympic games, far the most interesting to us is that which Pindar adopts. According to him (Olymp. 11.24-77; 3.14), they were founded by Herakles Amphitryoniades to commemorate his victory over the Moliones and Augeas. We translate freely a passage from the Eleventh Olympic ode:--Thereupon did the valiant son of Zeus, gathering together in Pisa all his host and all the spoil of oxen which he drave, proceed to measure out a hallowed precinct (ζάθεον ἄλσος) consecrate to Zeus most mighty; and in the open plain with a fence of stakes he marked the Altis off, and appointed the space around it to be a place of rest, whereon the folk might take their evening meal; the while he honoured Alpheus' stream in union with the twelve sovereign gods. Then gave he to Kronos' Hill its name; for heretofore, as long as Oinomaos reigned, nameless it rose and wet with many a snowflake. And at this, the birth-rite of the festival, the Destinies, I ween, stood by, yea and Time, sole test of what is good and true, which as it onward sped did manifest in what wise the hero portioned out, and slew, and sacrificed, as first-fruits, the spoils which war had given him; in what wise too, in sooth, with this, the First Olympiad, and the victories thereat won, he ordained that henceforth, as each term of four years closed, the feast should be renewed. The poet goes on to give a list of the victors at this celebration of the games, and it is worth observing that his record differs entirely from that of Pausanias, both in the names of the victors and in the other particulars (Paus. 5.7, p. 392).
Strabo (viii. pp. 354, 355) rejects all these legends, and says that the festival was first instituted after the return of the Heraclidae to the Peloponnesus by the Aetolians, who united themselves with the Eleans. It is impossible to say what credit is to be given to the ancient traditions respecting the institution of the festival; but they appear to show that religious festivals had been celebrated at Olympia from the earliest times, and it is difficult to conceive that the Peloponnesians and the other Greeks would have attached such importance to this festival, unless Olympia had long been regarded as a hallowed site. The first historical fact connected with the Olympian games is their revival by Iphitus, king of Elis, who is said to have accomplished it with the assistance of Lycurgus, the Spartan lawgiver, and Cleosthenes of Pisa; and the names of Iphitus and Lycurgus were inscribed on a disc in commemoration of the event; which disc Pausanias saw in the temple of Hera at Olympia. (Paus. 5.4.4; 5.20.1-Z3; Plunt. Lyc. 1, 23.) It would appear from this tradition, as Thirlwall (Hist. of Greece, 2. p. 386) has remarked, that Sparta concurred with the two states most interested in the establishment of the festival, and mainly contributed to procure the consent of the other Peloponnesians. The celebration of the festival may have been discontinued in consequence of the troubles consequent upon the Dorian invasion, and we are told that Iphitus was commanded by the Delphic oracle to revive it as a remedy for intestine commotions and for pestilence, with which Greece was then afflicted. Iphitus thereupon induced the Eleans to sacrifice to Heracles, whom they had formerly regarded as an enemy, and from this time the games were regularly celebrated. (Paus. l. c.) Different dates are assigned to Iphitus by ancient writers, some placing his revival of the Olympiad at B.C. 884, and others, as Callimachus, at B.C. 828. (Clinton, Fast. Hell. p. 409, t.) The interval of four years between two successive celebrations of the festival was called an Olympiad; but the Olympiads were not employed as a chronological era till the victory of Coroebus in the foot-race B.C. 776. [OLYMPIAS]
The most important point in the renewal of the festival by lphitus was the establishment of the ἐκεχειρία (in the Elean dialect θέρμα = θεσμά; see Müller, Dor. 1. p. 252), or sacred armistice, the formula for proclaiming which was inscribed in a circle on the disc mentioned above. The proclamation was made by peaceheralds (σπονδοφόροι), first in Elis and afterwards in the other parts of Greece; it put a stop to all warfare for the month in which the games were celebrated, and which was called ἱερομηνία. The territory of Elis itself was considered especially sacred during its continuance, and no armed force could enter it without incurring the guilt of sacrilege. When the Spartans on one occasion sent forces against the fortress Phyrcum and Lepreum during the existence of the Olympic truce (ἐνταῖς Ὀλυμπιακαῖς σπονδαῖς), they were fined by the Eleans, according to the Olympic law, 2000 minae, being two for each Hoplite. (Thucyd. 5.49.) The Eleans, however, pretended not only that their lands were inviolable during the existence of the truce, but that by the original agreement with the other states of Peloponnesus their lands were made sacred for ever, and were never to be attacked by any hostile force (Strabo, 8. p. 358); and they further stated that the first violation of their territory was made by Pheidon of Argos. But the Eleans themselves did not abstain from arms, and it is not probable that such a privilege would have existed without imposing on them the corresponding duty of refraining from attacking the territory of their neighbours. The later Greeks do not appear to have admitted this claim of the Eleans, as we find many cases in which their country was made the scene of war. (Xen. Hell. 3.2, § 23, &c.; 7.4, &c.)
The Olympic festival was probably confined at first to the Peloponnesians; but as its celebrity extended, the other Greeks took part in it, till at length it became a festival for the whole nation, No one was allowed to contend in the games but persons of pure Hellenic blood: barbarians might be spectators, but slaves were entirely excluded. All persons who had been branded by their own states with atimia, or had been guilty of any offence against the divine laws, were not permitted to contend (Lex apud Dem. c. Aristocrat. p. 631,. § 37). When the Hellenic race had been extended by colonies to Asia, Africa, and other parts of Europe, persons contended in the games from very distant places; and in later times a greater number of conquerors came from the colonies than from the mother country. After the conquest of Greece by the Romans, the latter were allowed to take part in the games. The emperors Tiberius and Nero were both conquerors, and Pausanias (Paus. 5.20.4) speaks of a Roman senator who gained the victory. During the freedom of Greece. even, Greeks were sometimes excluded, when they had been guilty of a crime which appeared to the Eleans to deserve this punishment. The horses of Hieron of Syracuse were excluded from the chariot-race through the influence of Themistocles, because he had not taken part with the other Greeks against the Persians. (Plut. Them. 25; Aelian, Ael. VH 9.5.) All the Lacedaemonians were excluded in the 90th Olympiad, because they had not paid the fine for violating the Elean territory, as mentioned above (Thuc. 5.49, 50; Paus. 3.8.2); and similar cases of exclusion are mentioned by the ancient writers.
No women were allowed to be present or even to cross the Alpheus during the celebration of the games under penalty of being hurled down from the Typaean rock. Only one instance is recorded of a woman having ventured to be, present, and she, although detected, was pardoned in consideration of her father, brothers, and son having been victors in the games. (Paus. 5.6,, § 5
It would appear from another passage of Pausanias that virgins were allowed to be present, though married women were not παρθένους δὲ οὑκ εἴργουσι θεασᾶσθαι, 6.20.6); but this statement is opposed to all others on the subject, and the reading of the passage seems to be doubtful. (See Valckenaer, ad Theocr. Adon. pp. 196, 197.)
; Ael. VH 10.1.) An exception was made to this law in favour of the priestess of Demeter Chamyne, who sat on an altar of white marble opposite to the Hellanodicae. (Paus. 6.20.6; compare Suet. Nero 100.12.) Women were, however, allowed to send chariots to the races; and the first woman whose horses won the prize was Cynisca, the daughter of Archidamus, and sister. of Agesilaus. (Paus. 3.8.1.) The number of spectators at the festival was very great; and these were drawn together not merely by the desire of seeing the games, but partly through the opportunity it afforded them of carrying on commercial transactions with persons from distant places (Veil. 1.8; mercatus Olympiacus, Justin (Justin. 13.5), as is the case with the Mohammedan festivals at Mecca and Medina. Many of the persons present were also deputies (θεωροί) sent to represent the various states of Greece; and we find that these embassies vied with one another in the number of their offerings and the splendour of their general appearance, in order to support the honour of their native cities. The most illustrious citizens of a state were frequently sent as θεωροί. (Thuc. 6.16; [Andoc.] c. Alc. § 21.)The Olympic festival was a Penteteris (πεντετηρίς), that is, according to the ancient mode of reckoning, a space of four years elapsed between each and the next succeeding festival, in the same way as there was only a space of two years in a τριετηρίς. According to the Scholiast on Pindar (ad Ol. 3.35, Boeckh), the Olympic festival was celebrated at an interval sometimes of 49, sometimes of 50 months; in the former case in the month of Apollonius, in the latter in that of Parthenius. This statement has given rise to much difference of opinion from the time of J. Scaliger; but the explanation of Boeckh in his commentary on Pindar is the most satisfactory, that the festival was celebrated on the first full moon after the summer solstice, which sometimes fell in the month of Apollonius, and sometimes in Parthenius, both of which he considers to be the names of Elean or Olympian months: consequently the festival was usually celebrated in the Attic month of Hecatombaeon. It lasted, after all the contests had been introduced, five days, from the 11th to the 15th days of the month inclusive. (Schol. ad Pind. Ol.v. 6.) The fourth day of the festival was the 14th of the month, which was the day of the full moon, and which divided the month into two equal parts (διχόμηνις μήνα, Pind. O. 3.19; Schol. ad loc.).
The festival was under the immediate superintendence of the Olympian Zeus, whose temple at Olympia, adorned with the statue of the god made by Phidias, was one of the most splendid works of Grecian art (Paus. 5.10, &c.). There were also temples and altars to most of the other gods. The festival itself may be divided into two parts, the games or contests (ἀγὼν Ὀλυμπιακός, ἀέθλων ἅμιλλαι, κρίσις ἀέθλων, τεθμὸς ἀέθλων, νικαφορίαι), and the festive rites (ἑορτή) connected with the sacrifices, with the processions and with the public banquets in honour of the conquerors. Thus Pausanias distinguishes between the two parts of the festival, when he speaks of τὸν ἀγῶνα ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ πανήγυρίν τε Ὀλυμπιακήν (5.4.4). The conquerors in the games, and private individuals, as well as the theori or deputies from the various states, offered sacrifices to the different gods; but the chief sacrifices were offered by the Eleans in the name of the Elean state. The order in which the Eleans offered their sacrifices to the different gods is given in a passage of Pausanias (Paus. 5.14.5). There has been considerable dispute among modern writers, whether the sacrifices were offered by the Eleans and the Theori at the commencement or at the termination of the contests; our limits do not allow us to enter into the controversy, but it appears most probable that certain sacrifices were offered by the Eleans as introductory to the games, but that the majority were not offered till the conclusion, when the flesh of the victims was required for the public banquets given to the victors.
The contests consisted of various trials of strength and skill, which were increased in number from time to time. There were in all twenty-four contests, eighteen in which men took part and six in which boys engaged, though they were never all exhibited at one festival, since some were abolished almost immediately after their institution, and others after they had been in use only a short time. We subjoin a list of these from Pausanias (Paus. 5.8.2, 3; 9.1-Z2, 2: compare Plut. Symp. 5.2), with the date of the introduction of each, commencing from the Olympiad of Coroebus:--1. The foot-race (δρόμος), which was the only contest during the first 13 Olympiads. 2. The δίαυλος, or foot-race, in which the stadium was traversed twice, first introduced in Ol. 14. 3. The δόλιχος, a still longer foot-race than the δίαυλος, introduced in Ol. 15.
Some words appear to have dropped out of the passage of Pausanias. In every other case he mentions the name of the first conqueror in each new contest, but never the name of the conqueror in the same contest in the following Ol. In this passage, however, after giving the name of the first conqueror in the Diaulos, he adds, τῇ δὲ ὲξῆς Ἄκανθος. There can be little doubt that this must be the name of the conqueror in the Dolichos; which is also expressly stated by Africanus (apud Eus. Χρον. I. Ἑλλ. ὀλ. p. 39).
For a more particular account of the δίαυλος and δόλιχος see STADIUM4. Wrestling (πάλη) [LUCTA], and 5. The Pentathlum (πένταθλον), which consisted of five exercises [PENTATHLUM ], both introduced in Ol. 18. 6. Boxing (πυγμή), introduced in Ol. 23. [PUGILATUS] 7. The chariot-race with four full-grown horses (ἵππων τελείων δρόμος, ἅρμα), introduced in Ol. 25. 8. The Pancratium (παγκρἀτιον) [PANCRATIUM], and 9. The horse-race (ἵππος κέλης), both introduced in Ol. 33. 10 and 11. The foot-race and wrestling for boys, both introduced in Ol. 37. 12. The Pentathlum for boys, introduced in Ol. 38, but immediately afterwards abolished. 13. Boxing for boys, introduced in Ol. 41. 14. The foot-race, in which men ran with the equipments of heavy-armed soldiers (τῶν ὁπλιτῶν δρόμος), introduced in Ol. 65, on account of its training men for actual service in war. 15. The chariot-race with mules (ἀπήνη), introduced in Ol. 70; and 16. The horse-race with mares (κάλπη), described by Pausanias (Paus. 5.9.1, 2), introduced in Ol. 71, both of which were abolished in Ol. 84. 17. The chariot-race with two full-grown horses (λππων τελείων συνωρίς), introduced in Ol. 93. 18, 19. The contest of heralds (κήρυκες) and trumpeters (σαλπιγκταί), introduced in Ol. 96. (African. ap. Euseb. Χρον. I. Ἑλλ. ὀλ. p. 41; Paus. 5.22.1; compare Cic. ad Fam. 5.1. 2) 20. The chariot-race with four foals (πώλων ἅρμασιν), introduced in Ol. 99. 21, The chariot-race with two foals (πώλων συνωρίς), introduced in Ol. 128. 22. The horse-race with foals (πῶλος κέλης), introduced in Ol. 131. 23. The Pancratium for boys, introduced in Ol. 145. 24. There was also a horse-race (ἵππος κέλης) in which boys rode (Paus. 6.2.4; 12.1-Z2; 13.6-Z2), but we do not know the time of its introduction. Of these contests, the greater number were in existence in the heroic age, but the following were introduced for the first time by the Eleans:--all the contests in which boys took part, the foot-race of Hoplites, the races in which foals were employed, the chariot-race in which mules were used, and the horse-race with mares (κάλπη). The contests of heralds and trumpeters were also probably introduced after the heroic age.Pausanias (Paus. 5.9.3) says that up to the 77th Olympiad all the contests took place in one day; but as it was found impossible in that Olympiad to finish them all in so short a time, a new arrangement was made. The number of days in the whole festival, which were henceforth devoted to the games, and the order in which they were celebrated, has been a subject of much dispute among modern writers, and in many particulars can be only matter of conjecture. The following arrangement is proposed by Krause (Olympia, p. 106):--On the first day, the initiatory sacrifices were offered, and all the competitors classed and arranged by the judges. On the same day, the contest between the trumpeters took place; and to this succeeded on the same day and the next the contests of the boys, somewhat in the following order:--the Foot-Race, Wrestling, Boxing, the Pentathlum, the Pancratium, and, lastly, the Horse-Race. On the third day, which appears to have been the principal one, the contests of the men took place, somewhat in the following order:--the simple Foot-Race, the Diaulos, the Dolichos, Wrestling, Boxing, the Pancratium, and the Race of Hoplites. On the fourth day the Pentathium, either before or after the Chariot and Horse Races, which were celebrated on this day. On the same day or on the fifth, the contests of the Heralds may have taken place. The fifth day appears to have been devoted to processions and sacrifices, and to the banquets given by the Eleans to the conquerors in the games.
The judges in the Olympic games, called Hlellanodicae (Ἑλλανοδίκαι), were appointed by the Eleans, who had the regulation of the whole festival. It appears to have been originally under the superintendence of Pisa, in the neighbourhood of which Olympia was situated, and accordingly we find in the ancient legends the names of Oenomaus, Pelops, and Augeas as presidents of the games. But after the conquest of Peloponnesus by the Dorians on the return of the Heraclidae, the Aetolians, who had been of great assistance to the Heraclidae, settled in Elis, and from this time the Aetolian Eleans obtained the regulation of the festival, and appointed the presiding officers. (Strabo, viii. pp. 357, 358.) Pisa, however, did not quietly relinquish its claim to the superintendence of the festival, and it is not improbable that at first it had an equal share with the Eleans in its administration. The Eleans themselves only reckoned three festivals in which they had not had the presidency,--namely, the 8th, in which Pheidon and the Piseans obtained it; the 34th, which was celebrated under the superintendence of Pantaleon, king of Pisa; and the 104th, celebrated under the superintendence of the Piseans and Arcadians. These Olympiads the Eleans called ἀνολυμπίαδες, as celebrated contrary to law. (Paus. 6.22.2; 4.2-Z2.)
The Hellanodicae were chosen by lot from the whole body of the Eleans. Pausanias (Paus. 5.9.4, 5) has given an account of their numbers at different periods; but the commencement of the passage is unfortunately corrupt. At first, he says, there were only two judges chosen from all the Eleans, but that in the 25th Ol. (75th Ol.?) nine Hellanodicae were appointed, three of whom had the superintendence of the horse-races, three of the Pentathlum, and three of the other contests. Two Olympiads after, a tenth judge was added. In the 103rd Ol. the number was increased to 12, as at that time there were 12 Elean Phylae, and a judge was chosen from each tribe; but as the Eleans afterwards lost part of their lands in war with the Arcadians, the number of Phylae was reduced to eight in the 104th Ol., and accordingly there were then only eight Hellanodicae. But in the 108th Ol. the number of Hellanodicae was increased to 10, and remained the same to the time of Pausanias (Paus. l. c.).
The Hellanodicae were instructed for ten months before the festival by certain of the Elean magistrates, called Νμοφύλακες, in a building devoted to the purpose near the marketplace, which was called Ἑλλανοδικαιών. (Paus. 6.24.3.) Their office probably only lasted for one festival. They had to see that all the laws relating to the games were observed by the competitors and others, to determine the prizes, and to give them to the conquerors. An appeal lay from their decision to the Elean senate. (Paus. 6.3.3.) Their office was considered most honourable. They wore a purple robe (πορθυρίς), and had in the Stadium special seats appropriated to them. (Paus. 6.20, § § 5, 6, 7; Bekker, Anecd. p. 249, 4.) Under the direction of the Hellanodicae was a certain number of ἀλύται with an ἀλυτάρχης at their head, who formed a kind of police, and carried into execution the commands of the Hellanodicae. (Lucian, 100.40, vol. 1. p. 738, Reitz; Etym. M. p. 72. 13.) There were also various other minor officers under the control of the Hellanodicae.
All free Greeks who had complied with the rules prescribed to candidates were allowed to contend in the games. The equestrian contests were necessarily confined to the wealthy; but the poorest citizens could contend in the athletic contests, of which Pausanias (Paus. 6.10.1) mentions an example. This, however, was far from degrading the games in public opinion; and some of the noblest as well as meanest citizens of the state took part in these contests. The owners of the chariots and horses were not obliged to contend in person; and the wealthy vied with one another in the number and magnificence of the chariots and horses which they sent to the games. Alcibiades sent seven chariots to one festival, a greater number than had ever been entered by a private person (Thuc. 6.16), and the Greek kings in Sicily, Macedon, and other parts of the Hellenic world contended with one another for the prize in the equestrian contests.
All persons who were about to contend had to prove to the Hellanodicae that they were freemen, of pure Hellenic blood, had not been branded with atimia, nor guilty of any sacrilegious act. They further had to prove that they had undergone the preparatory training (προγυμνάσματα) for ten months previously, and the truth of this they were obliged to swear to in the Βουλευτήριον at Olympia before the statue of Zeus Ὅρκιος The fathers, brothers, and gymnastic teachers of the competitors, as well as the competitors themselves, had also to swear that they would be guilty of no crime (κακούργημα) in reference to the contests. (Paus. 5.24, § 2.) All competitors were obliged, thirty days previous to the festival, to undergo certain exercises in the Gymnasium at Elis, under the superintendence of the Hellanodicae. (Paus. 6.26.1-3; 24.1-Z2.) The different contests, and the order in which they would follow one another, were written by the Hellanodicae upon a tablet (λεύκωμα) exposed to public view. (Compare Dio Cass..)
The competitors took their places by lot, and were of course differently arranged according to the different contests in which they were to be engaged. The herald then proclaimed the name and country of each competitor. (Compare Plato, Leg. 8. p. 833.) When they were all ready to begin the contest, the judges exhorted them to acquit themselves nobly, and then gave the signal to commence. Any one detected in bribing a competitor to give the victory to his antagonist was heavily fined; the practice appears to have been not uncommon from the many instances recorded by Pausanias (Paus. 5.21).
The only prize given to the conqueror was a garland of wild olive (κότινος), which according to the Elean legends was the prize originally instituted by the Idaean Heracles. (Paus. 5.7.4.) But according to Phlegon's account (Περὶ τῶν Ὀλυμπίων, p. 140), the olive crown was not given as a prize upon the revival of the games by Iphitus, and was first bestowed in the seventh Olympiad with the approbation of the oracle at Delphi. This garland was cut from a sacred olive-tree, called ἐλαία καλλιστέφανος, which grew in the sacred grove of Altis in Olympia, near the altars of Aphrodite and the Hours. (Paus. 5.15.3.) Heracles is said to have brought it from the country of the Hyperboreans, and to have planted it himself at the τέρμα of the hippodrome outside the Altis. (Pind. O. 2.14; Muller, Dor. 2.12.3.) A boy, both of whose parents were still alive (ἀμφιθαλὴς παῖς), cut it with a golden sickle (χρυσῷ δρεπάνῳ). The victor was originally crowned upon a tripod covered over with bronze (τρίπους ἐπίχαλκος), but afterwards, and in the time of Pausanias, upon a table made of ivory and gold. (Paus. 5.12.3; 20.1-Z2, 2.) Palm branches, the common tokens of victory on other occasions, were placed in their hands. The name of the victor, and that of his father and of his country, were then proclaimed by a herald before the representatives of assembled Greece. The festival ended with processions and sacrifices, and with a public banquet given by the Eleans to the conquerors in the Prytaneum. (Paus. 5.15.8.)
The most powerful states considered an Olympic victory gained by one of their citizens to confer honour upon the state to which he belonged; and a conqueror usually had immunities and privileges conferred upon him by the gratitude of his fellow-citizens. The Eleans allowed his statue to be placed in the Altis, which was adorned with numerous such statues erected by the conquerors or their families, or at the expense of the states of which they were citizens. On his return home, the victor entered the city in a triumphal procession, in which his praises were celebrated frequently in the loftiest strains of poetry. (Compare ATHLETAEVol. 1. p. 239 a.)
Sometimes the victory was obtained without a contest, in which case it was said to be ἀκονιτί. This happened either when the antagonist, who was assigned, neglected to come or came too late, or when an Athletes had obtained such celebrity by former conquests or possessed such strength and skill that no one dared to oppose him. (Paus. 6.7.2.) When one state conferred a crown upon another state, a proclamation to this effect was frequently made at the great national festivals of the Greeks (Demosth. de Cor. p. 265).
As persons from all parts of the Hellenic world were assembled together at the Olympic games, it was the best opportunity which the artist and the writer possessed of making their works known. In fact, it answered to some extent the same purpose as the press does in modern times. Before the invention of printing, the reading of an author's works to as large an assembly as could be obtained, was one of the easiest and surest modes of publishing them;. and this was a favourite practice of the Greeks and Romans. Accordingly, we find many instances of literary works thus published at the Olympic festival. Herodotus is said to have read his history at this festival; but though there are some reasons for doubting the correctness of this statement, there are numerous other writers who thus published their works, as the sophist Hippias, Prodicus of Ceos, Anaximenes, the orator Lysias, Dio Chrysostom, &c. (Compare Lucian, Herod. 100.3, 4, vol. 1. p. 834, Reitz.) It must be borne in mind that these recitations were not contests, and that they formed properly no part of the festival. In the same way painters and other artists exhibited their works at Olympia. (Lucian, l. c.)
The Olympic games continued to be celebrated with much splendour under the Roman emperors, by many of whom great privileges were awarded to the conquerors. [ATHLETAEVol. 1. p. 241.] In the sixteenth year of the reign of Theodosius, A.D. 394 (Ol. 293), the Olympic festival was for ever abolished; but we have no account of the names of the victors from Ol. 249.
Our limits do not allow us to enter into the question of the influence of the Olympic games upon the national character; but the reader will find some useful remarks on this subject in Thirlwall's Hist. of Greece, vol. 1. p. 390, and Grote's Hist. of Greece, iv. pp. 75 if.
There were many ancient works on the subject of the Olympic games and the conquerors therein. One of the chief sources from which the writers obtained their materials must have. been the registers of conquerors in the games, which were diligently preserved by the Eleans. (Ἠλείων ἐς τοὺς Ὀλυμπιονίκας γράμματα, Paus. 3.21.1, 5.21.5-Z3, 6.2-Z2.1; τὰ Ἠλείων γράμματα ἀρχαῖα 5.4.4.) One of the most ancient works on this subject was by the Elean Hippias, a contemporary of Plato, and was entitled ἀναγραφὴ Ὀλυμπιονικῶν (Plut. Numa, 1). Aristotle also appears to have written a work on the same subject (Diog. Laert.). There was a work by Timaeus of Sicily, entitled Ὀλυμπιονῖκαι ἢ χρονικὰ πραξίδια, and another by Erastosthenes (born B.C. 275), also called Ὀλυμπιονῖκαι (Diog. Laert.). The Athenian Stesicleides is mentioned as the author of an ἀαγραφὴ τῶν ἀρχόντων καὶ ολυμπιονικῶν (Diog. Laert.), and Pliny (Plin. Nat.8.82) speaks of Scopas (?) as a writer of Olympionicae.
There were also many ancient works on the Greek festivals in general, in which the Olympic games were of course treated of. Thus the work of Dicaearchus Περὶ Ἀγώνων (Diog. Laert.) contained a division entitled ὁ Ὀλυμπικός (Athen. 14. p. 620 d).
One of the most important works on the Olympic games was by Phlegon of Tralles, who lived in the reign of Hadrian; it was entitled περὶ τῶν Ὀλυμπίων or Ὀλυμπίων καὶ Χρονικῶν Συναγωγή, was comprised in 16 books, and extended from the first Olympiad to Ol. 229. We still possess two considerable fragments of it. The important work of Julius Africanus, Ἑλλήνων Ὀλυμπιάδες ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης, &c., is preserved to us by Eusebius; it comes down to Ol. 249. Dexippus of Athens, in his χρονικὴ ἱστορία, carried down the Olympic conquerors to Ol. 262.
In modern works much useful information on the Olympic games is given in Corsini's Dissert. Agonisticae, and in Boeckh's and Dissen's editions of Pindar. See also Meier's article on the Olympic Games, and Rathgeber's articles on Olympia, Olympieion, and Olympischer Jupiter in Ersch and Gruber's Encyclopädie; Dissen, (Ueber die Anordnung der Olympischen Spiele, in his Kleine Schriften, p. 185; Krause, Olympia oder Darstellung der grossen Olynmpischen Spiele, Wien, 1838; and Boetticher, Olympia, 1886.
In course of time festivals were established in several Greek states in imitation of the one at Olympia, to which the same name was given. Some of these are only known to us by inscriptions and coins; but others, as the Olympic festival at Antioch, obtained great celebrity. After these Olympic festivals had been established in several places, the great Olympic festival is sometimes designated in inscriptions by the addition of in Pisa, er ἐν Πείσῃ. (Compare Boeckh, Inscr. n. 247, pp. 361, 362; n. 1068, p. 564.) We subjoin from Krause an alphabetical list of these smaller Olympic festivals. They were celebrated at:--
Aegae in Macedonia. This< festival was in existence in the time of Alexander the Great. (Arrian, Arr. Anab. 1.11.)
Alexandria. (Gruter, Inscr. p. cccxiv. n. 240.) In later times, the number of Alexandrian conquerors in the great Olympic games was greater than from any other state.
Anazarbus in Cilicia. This festival was not introduced till a late period. (Eckhel, Doctr. Num. 3. p. 44.)
Antioch in Syria. This festival was celebrated at Daphne, a small place 40 stadia from Antioch, where there was a large sacred grove watered by many fountains. The festival was originally called Daphnea, and was sacred to Apollo and Artemis (Strabo, 16. p. 750; Athen. 5. p. 194), but was called Olympia, after the inhabitants of Antioch had purchased from the Eleans, in A.D. 44, the privilege of celebrating Olympic games. It was not, however, regularly celebrated as an Olympic festival till the time of the Emperor Commodus. It commenced on the first day of the month Hyperberetaeus (October), with which the year of Antioch began. It was under the presidency of an Alytarches. The celebration of it was abolished by Justin, A.D. 521. The writings of Libanius, and of Chrysostom, the Christian Father, who lived many years at Antioch, gave various particulars respecting this festival.
Athens. There were two festivals of the name of Olympia celebrated at Athens, one of which was in existence in the time of Pindar (Pind. N. 2.23, &c.; Schol. ad loc.), who celebrates the ancestors of the Athenian Timodemus as conquerors in it, and perhaps much earlier (Schol. ad Thuc. 1.126). It was celebrated to the honour of Zeus, in the spring between the great Dionysia and the Bendideia. (Boeckh, Inscr. pp. 53, 250-252.) The other Olympic festival at Athens was instituted by Hadrian A.D. 131; from which time a new Olympic era commenced. (Corsini, Fast. Att. vol. ii. pp. 105, 110, &c.; Spartian. Hadr. 13.) [OLYMPIAS]
Attalia in Pamphylia. This festival is only known to us by coins. (Rathgeber, l. c. p. 326.)
Cyzicus. (Boeckh, Inscr. n. 2810.)
Cyrene. (Boeckh, Explicat. Pind. p. 328.)
Dium in Macedonia. These games were instituted by Archelaus, and lasted nine days, corresponding to the number of the nine Muses. They were celebrated with great splendour by Philip II. and Alexander the Great. (Diod. 17.16; Dio Chrysost. vol. 1. p. 73, Reiske; Suidas, s. v. Ἀναξανδρίδης.)
Ephesus. This festival appears by inscriptions, in which it is sometimes called Ἀδριανὰ Ὀλύμπια ἐν Ἐφέσῳ, to have been instituted by Hadrian. (Boeckh, Inscr. n. 2810; compare n. 2987, 3000.)
Elis. Besides the great Olympic games, there appear to have been smaller ones celebrated yearly. (Anecdot. Gr. ed. Siebenk. p. 95.)
Magnesia in Lydia. (Rathgeber, l. c. pp. 326, 327.)
Zeapolis.(Corsini, Diss. Agon. 4.14, p. 103.)
Nicaea in Bithynia. (Eustath. ad Dionys. Perieg. pp. 172, 173, in Geogr. Min. ed. Bernhardy.)
Nicopolis in Epeirus. Augustus, after the conquest of Antony, off Actium, founded Nicopolis, and instituted games to be celebrated every five years (ἀγὼν πεντετηρικός) in commemoration of his victory. These games are sometimes called Olympic, but more frequently bear the name of Actia. They were sacred to Apollo, and were under the care of the Lacedaemonians. (Strabo, 7. p. 325.) [ACTIA]
Olympus in Thessaly, on the mountain of that name. (Schol. ad Apoll. Rhod. Argonaut. 1.599.)
Pergamos in Mysia. (Boeckh, Inscr. n. 2810; Mionnet, 2.610, n. 626.)
Side in Pamphylia. (Rathgeber, p. 129.)
Smyrna. Pausanias (Paus. 6.14.1) mentions an Agon of the Smyrnaeans, which Corsini (Diss. Agon. 1.12, p. 20) supposes to be an Olympic festival. The Marmor Oxoniense expressly mentions Olympia at Smyrna, and they also occur in inscriptions. (Gruter, Inscr. p. 314, 1; Boeckh, Inscr. ad n. 1720.)
Tarsus in Cilicia. This festival is only known to us by coins. (Krause, p. 228.)
Tegea in Arcadia. (Boeckh, Inscr. n. 1513, p. 700.)
Thessalonica in Macedonia. (Krause, p. 230.)
Thyatira in Lydia. (Rathgeber, p. 328.)
Tralles in Lydia. (Krause, p. 233.)
Tyrus in Phoenicia. (Rathgeber, p. 328.)
[W.S] [J.I.B]OLY´MPIA (ἡ Ὀλυμπία), the temple and sacred grove of Zeus Olympius, situated at a small distance west of Pisa in Peloponnesus. It originally belonged to Pisa, and the plain, in which it stood, was called in more ancient times the plain of Pisa; but after the destruction of this city by the Eleians in B.C. 572, the name of Olympia was extended to the whole district. Besides the temple of Zeus Olympius, there were several other sacred edifices and public buildings in the sacred grove and its immediate neighbourhood; but there was no distinct town of Olympia.
The plain of Olympia is open towards the sea on the west, but is surrounded on every other side by hills of no great height, yet in many places abrupt and precipitous. Their surface presents a series of sandy cliffs of light yellow colour, covered with the pine, ilex, and other evergreens. On entering the valley from the west, the most conspicuous object is a bold and nearly insulated eminence rising on the north from the level plain in the form of an irregular cone. (Mure, vol. 2. p. 281.) This is Mount CRONIUS, or the hill of Cronus, which is frequently noticed by Pindar and other ancient writers. (παρ' εὐδειέλον Κρόνιον, Pind. O. 1.111; πάγος Κρόνου, Ol. 11.49; ὑψηλοίο πέτρα ἀλίβατος Κρονίου, Ol. 6.64; Κρόνου παρ' αἰπὺν οχθον, Lycophr. 42; ὁ Κρόνειος, Xen. Hell. 7.4. 14; τὸ ὄρος τὸ Κρόνιον, Paus. 5.21.2, 6.19.1, 6.20.1; Ptol. 3.16.14.) The range of hills to which it belongs is called by most modern writers the Olympian, on the authority of a passage of Xenophon. (Hell. 7.4.14). Leake, however, supposes that the Olympian hill alluded to in this passage was no other than Cronius itself; but it would appear, that the common opinion is correct, since Strabo (8. p. 356) describes Pisa as lying between the two mountains Olympus and Ossa. The hills, which bound the plain on the south, are higher than the Cronian ridge, and, like the latter, are covered with evergreens, with the exception of one bare summit, distant about half a mile from the Alpheius. This was the ancient TYPAEUS(Τυπαῖον), from which women, who frequented the Olympic games, or crossed the river on forbidden days, were condemned to be hurled headlong. (Paus. 5.6.7.) Another range of hills closes the vale of Olympia to the east, at the foot of which runs the rivulet of Miráka. On the west the vale was bounded by the CLADEUS(Κλάδεος), which flowed from north to south along the side of the sacred grove, and fell into the Alpheius. (Paus. 5.7.1; Κλάδαος, Xen. Hell. 7.4. 29) This river rises at Lala in Mount Pholoë. The Alpheius, which flows along the southern edge of the plain, constantly changes its course, and has buried beneath the new alluvial plain, or carried into the river, all the remains of buildings and monuments which stood in the southern part of the Sacred Grove. In winter the Alpheius is full, rapid. and turbid; in summer it is scanty, and divided into several torrents flowing between islands or sandbanks over a wide gravelly bed. The vale of Olympia is now called Andílalo (i. e. opposite to Lala), and is uninhabited. The soil is naturally rich, but swampy in part, owing to the inundations of the river. Of the numerous buildings and countless statues, which once covered this sacred spot, the only remains are those of the temple of Zeus Olympius. Pausanias has devoted nearly two books, and one fifth of his whole work, to the description of Olympia; but he does not enumerate the buildings in their exact topographical order: owing to this circumstance, to the absence of ancient remains, and to the changes in the surface of the soil by the fluctuations in the course of the Alpheius, the topography of the plain must be to a great extent conjectural. The latest and most able attempt to elucidate this subject, is that of Colonel Leake in his Peloponnesiaca, whose description is here chiefly followed.
Olympia lay partly within and partly outside of the Sacred Grove. This Sacred Grove bore from the most ancient times the name of ALTIS(ἡ Ἄλτις), which is the Peloponnesian Aeolic form of αλσος. (Paus. 5.10.1.) It was adorned with trees, and in its centre there was a grove of planes. (Paus. 5.27.11.) Pindar likewise describes it as well wooded (Πίσας εὔδενδρον ἐπ' Ἀλφέω ἄλσος, Ol. 8.12). The space of the Altis was measured out by Hercules, and was surrounded by this hero with a wall. (Pind. O. 11.44.) On the west it ran along the Cladeus; on the south its direction may be traced by a terrace raised above the Alpheius; on the east it was bounded by the stadium. There were several gates in the wall, but the principal one, through which all the processions passed, was situated in the middle of the western side, and was called the Pompic Entrance (ἡ Πομπικὴ εἴσοδος, Paus. 5.15.2). From this gate, a road, called the Pompic Way, ran across the Altis, and entered the stadium by a gateway on the eastern side. 1. The Olympieium, Olympium, or temple of Zeus Olympius. An oracle of the Olympian god existed on this spot from the most ancient times (Strab. 8. p. 353), and here a temple was doubtless built, even before the Olympic games became a Pan-Hellenic festival. But after the conquest of Pisa and the surrounding cities by the Eleians in B.C. 572, the latter determined to devote the spoils of the conquered cities to the erection of a new and splendid temple of the Olympian god. (Paus. 5.10. §§ 2, 3.) The. architect was Libon of Elis. The temple was not, however, finished till nearly a century afterwards, at the period when the Attic school of art was supreme in Greece, and the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis had thrown into the shade all previous works of art. Shortly after the dedication of the Parthenon, the Eleians invited Pheidias and his school of artists to remove to Elis, and adorn the Olympian temple in a manner worthy of the king of the gods. Pheidias probably remained at Olympia for four or five years from about B.C. 437 to 434 or 433. The colossal statue of Zeus in the cella, and the figures in the pediments of the temple were executed by Pheidias and his associates. The pictorial embellishments were the work of his relative Panaenus. (Strab. 8. p. 354), [Comp. Dict. of Biogr. Vol. 3. p. 248.] Pausanias has given a minute description of the temple (5.10); and its site, plan, and dimensions have been well ascertained by the excavations of the French Commission of the Morea. The foundations are now exposed to view; and several fine fragments of the sculptures, representing the labours of Hercules, are now in the museum of the Louvre. The temple stood in the south-western portion of the Altis, to the right hand of the Pompic entrance. It was built of the native limestone, which Pausanias called poros, and which was covered in the more finished parts by a surface of stucco, which gave it the appearance of marble. It was of the Doric order, and a peripteral hexastyle building. Accordingly it had six columns in the front and thirteen on the sides. The columns were fluted, and 7ft. 4in. in diameter, a size greater than that of any other existing columns of a Grecian temple. The length of the temple was 230 Greek feet, the breadth 95, the height to the summit of the pediment 68. The roof was covered with slabs of Pentelic marble in the form of tiles. At each end of the pediment stood a gilded vase, and on the apex a gilded statue of Niké or Victory; below which was a golden shield with the head of Medusa in the middle, dedicated by the Lacedaemonians on account of their victory over the Athenians at Tanagra in B.C. 457. The two pediments were filled with figures. The eastern pediment had a statue of Zeus in the centre, with Oenomaus on his right and Pelops on his left, prepared to contend in the chariot-race; the figures on either side consisted of their attendants, and in the angles were the two rivers, Cladeus to the right of Zeus, and Alpheius to his left. In the western pediment was the contest of the Centaurs and the Lapithae, Peirithous occupying the central place. On the metopes over the doors at the eastern and western ends the labours of Hercules were represented. In its interior construction the temple resembled the Parthenon. The cella consisted of two chambers, of which the eastern contained the statue, and the western was called the Opisthodomus. The colossal statue of Zeus, the master-work of Pheidias, was made of ivory and gold. It stood at the end of the front chamber of the cella, directly facing the entrance, so that it at once showed itself in all its grandeur to a spectator entering the temple. The approach to it was between a double row of columns, supporting the roof. The god was seated on a magnificent throne adorned with sculptures, a full description of which, as well as of the statue, has been given in another place. [ Dict. of Biogr. Vol. 3. p. 252.] Behind the Opisthodomus of the temple was the Callistephanus or wild olive tree, which furnished the garlands of the Olympic victors. (Paus. 5.15.3.) GROUND PLAN OF THE OLYMPIEIUM.2. The Pelopium stood opposite the temple of Zeus, on the other side of the Pompic way. Its position is defined by Pausanias, who says that it stood to the right of the entrance into the temple of Zeus and to the north of that building. It was an enclosure, containing trees and statues, having an opening to the west. (Paus. 5.13.1.)3. The Heraeum was the most important temple in the Altis after that of Zeus It was also a Doric peripteral building. Its dimensions are unknown. Pausanias says (5.16.1) that it was 63 feet in length; but this is clearly a mistake, since no peripteral building was so small; and the numerous statues in the cella, described by Pausanias, clearly show that it must have been of considerable dimensions. The two most remarkable monuments in the Heraeum were the table, on which were placed the garlands prepared for the victors in the Olympic contests, and the celebrated chest of Cypselus, covered with figures in relief, of which Pausanias has given an elaborate description (5.17--19). We learn from a passage of Dion Chrysostom (Orat. 11. p. 163), cited by Leake, that this chest stood in the opisthodomus of the Heraeum; whence we may infer that the cella of the temple consisted of two apartments.4. The Great Altar of Zeus is described by Pausanias as equidistant from the Pelopium and the Heraeum, and as being in front of them both. (Paus. 5.13.8.) Leake places the Heraeum near the Pompic entrance of the Stadium, and supposes that it faced eastward; accordingly he conjectures that the altar was opposite to the backfronts of the Pelopium and the Heraeum. The total height of the altar was 22 feet. It had two platforms, of which the upper was made of the cinders of the thighs sacrificed on this and other altars.5. The Column of Oenomaus stood between the great altar and the temple of Zeus. It was said to have belonged to the house of Oenomaus, and to have been the only part of the building which escaped when it was burnt by lightning. (Paus. 5.20.6.)6. The Metroum, or temple of the Mother of the Gods, was a large Doric building, situated within the Altis (Paus. 5.20.9.) It is placed by Leake to the left of the Pompic Way nearly opposite the Heraeum.7. The Prytaneium is placed by Pausanias within the Altis, near the Gymnasium, which was outside the sacred enclosure (5.15.8.)8. The Bouleuterion, or Council-House, seems to have been near the Prytaneium. (Paus. 5.23.1, 24.1.)9. The Philippeium, a circular building, erected by Philip after the battle of Chaeroneia, was to the left in proceeding from the entrance of the Altis to the Prytaneium. (Paus. 5.17.4, 5.20.10.)10. The Theecoleon, a building belonging to the θεηκόλοι or superintendents of the sacrifices (Paus. 5.15.8). Its position is uncertain.11. The Hippodamium, named from Hippodameia, who was buried here, was within the Altis near the Pompic Way. (Paus. 6.20.7.)12. The temple of the Olympian Eileithyia (Lucina) appears to have stood on the neck of Mount Cronius. (Paus. 6.20.2.)13. The Temple of the Olympian Aphrodite was near that of Eileithyia. (Paus. 6.20.6.)14. The Thesauri or Treasuries, ten in number, were, like those at Delphi, built by different cities, for the reception of their dedicatory offerings. They are described by Pausanias as standing to the north of the Heraeum at the foot of Mount Cronius, upon a platform made of the stone poros (Paus. 6.19.1).15. Zanes, statues of Zeus, erected from the produce of fines levied upon athletae, who had violated the regulations of the games. They stood upon a stone platform at the foot of Mount Cronius, to the left of a person going from the Metroum to the Stadium. (Paus. 5.21.2.)16. The Studio of Pheidias, which was outside the Altis, and near the Pompic entrance. (Paus. 5.15.1.)17. The Leonidaeum, built by Leonidas, a native, was near the Studio of Pheidias. Here the Roman magistrates were lodged in the time of Pausanias (Paus. 5.15. §§ 1, 2).18. The Gymnasium, also outside the Altis, and near the northern entrance into it. (Paus. 6.21.2.) Near the Gymnasium was (19) the Palaestra. 20 and 21. The Stadium and the Hippodrome were two of the most important sites at Olympia, as together they formed the place of exhibition for all the Olympic contests. Their position cannot be determined with certainty; but as they appear to have formed a continued area from the circular end of the Stadium to the further extremity of the Hippodrome, the position assigned to them by Leake is the most probable. He places the circular end of the Stadium at the foot of the heights to the NE. of the summit of Mount Cronius, and the further end of the Hippodrome on the bank of the Alpheius.
The Stadium is described by Pausanias as a mound of earth, upon which there was a seat for the Hellanodicae, and over against it an altar of marble, on which sat the priestess of Demeter Chamyne to behold the games. There were two entrances into the Stadium, the Pompic and the Secret. The latter, through which the Hellanodicae and the agonistae entered, was near the Zanes; the former probably entered the area in front of the rectilinear extremity of the Stadium. (Paus. 6.20.8, seq.) In proceeding towards the Hippodrome from that part of the Stadium where the Hellanodicae sat was the Hippaphêsis or starting place of the horses (ἡ ἄφεσις τῶν ἵππων). In form it resembled the prow of a ship, the embolus or beak being turned towards the racecourse. Its widest part adjoined the stoa of Agnaptus. At the end of the embolus was a brazen dolphin standing upon a pillar. Either side of the Hippaphesis was more than 400 feet in length, and contained apartments, which those who were going to contend in the horse-races obtained by lot. Before the horses a cord was extended as a barrier. An altar was erected in the middle of the prow, on which was an eagle with outstretched wings. The superintendent of the race elevated this eagle by means of machinery, so as to be seen by all the spectators, and at the same time the dolphin fell to the ground. Thereupon the first barriers on either side, near the stoa of Agnaptus, were removed, and then the other barriers were withdrawn in like manner in succession, until all the horses were in line at the embolus.
One side of the Hippodrome was longer than the other, and was formed by a mound of earth. There was a passage through this side leading out of the Hippodrome; and near the passage was a kind of circular altar, called Taraxippus (Ταράξιππος), or the terrifier of horses, because the horses were frequently seized with terror in passing it, so that, chariots PLAIN OF OLYMPIA.
A A. Course of the Alpheius in 1829.B B. The Cladeus.1. Site of Pisa. a2. Mount Cronius.3. Village Miráka.
PLAN OF THE ALTIS AT OLYMPIA (after Leake).1. Olympieium.2. Pelopium.3. Heraeum.4. Great Altar of Zeus.5 Pillar of Oenomaus.6. Metroum.7. Prytaneium.8. Bouleuterion.9. Philippeium.11. Hippodamium.12. Temple of Eileithyia.3. Temple of Aphrodite.14. Treasuries.5. Zanes.6. Studio of Pheidias.Gymnasium.19. Palaestra.20. Stadium.21. Hippodrome:-- a a. Secret entrance to the Stadium.b b. Pompic entrance to the Stadium.c. Stoa of Agnaptus.d. Hippaphĕsis.e e. Chambers for the horses.f. Embolus.g. Taraxippus.h. Passage out of the Hippodrome.i i.νύσσαι. k. Temple of Demeter Chamyne.l l. Artificial side of the Hippodrome.m m. Natural height.22. Theatre.
were broken. There was a similar object for frightening horses both at the Corinthian Isthmus and at Nemea, in consequence of which the difficulty of the race was increased. Beyond the Taraxippus were the terminal pillars, called νύσσαι, round which the chariots turned. On one of them stood a brazen statue of Hippodameia about to bind the taenia on Pelops after his victory. The other side of the Hippodrome was a natural height of no great elevation. On its extremity stood the temple of Demeter Chamyne. (Paus. 6.20.15--5.21.1.) The course of the Hippodrome appears to have been two diauli, or four stadia. (Δρόμου δὲ εἰσι τοῦ ἱππίου μῆκος μὲν δίαυλοι δύο, Paus. 6.16.4.) Mure, indeed (vol. 2. p. 327), understands μῆκος in this passage to refer to the length of the area; but Leake (Peloponnesiaca, p. 94) maintains, with more probability, that it signifies the length of the circuit.22. The Theatre is mentioned by Xenophon (Xen. Hell. 7.4.31), but it does not occur in the description of Pausanias. A theatre existed also at the Isthmus and Delphi, and would have been equally useful at Olympia for musical contests. Xenophon could hardly have been mistaken as to the existence of a theatre at Olympia, as he resided more than 20 years at Scillus, which was only three miles from the former spot. It would therefore appear that between the time of Xenophon and Pausanias the theatre had disappeared, probably in consequence of the musical contests having been discontinued.Besides the buildings already mentioned, there was a very large number of statues in every part of the Sacred Grove, many of which were made by the greatest masters of Grecian art, and of which Pausanias has given a minute description. According to the vague computation of Pliny (Plin. Nat. 34.7. s. 17) there were more than 3000 statues at Olympia. Most of these works were of brass, which accounts for their disappearance, as they were converted into objects of common utility upon the extinction of Paganism. The temples and other monuments at Olympia were, like many others in different parts of Greece, used as materials for modern buildings, more especially as quarries of stone are rare in the district of Elis. The chiefs of the powerful Albanian colony at Lala had in particular long employed the ruins of Olympia for this purpose.
The present article is confined to the topography of Olympia. An account of the games and of everything connected with their celebration is given in the Dictionary of Antiquities.
(Stanhope, Olympia, Lond. 1824; Krause, Olympia, 1838; Mure, Tour in Greece, vol. 2. p. 280, seq.; Leake, Peloponnesiaca, p. 4, seq.; Curtius, Peloponnesos, vol. 2. p. 51, seq.)
(τὰ Ὀλύμπια). The Olympian Games; the chief national festival of the Greeks, celebrated in honour of Zeus at Olympia, in the Peloponnesian district Pisatis, belonging to the Eleans, at the point where the Cladeus runs into the Alpheus. The institution of this ancient festival is sometimes referred to Pisus, the mythical founder of the city Pisa, which was afterwards destroyed by the Eleans, and before whose gates lay the sanctuary of Zeus; sometimes to Pelops, in whose honour funeral games were held at this point on the banks of the Alpheus.
These were restored, it is said, by Heracles, who instituted the regular order of the festival. This opinion did not become current until the Dorian States, established after the immigration of the Heraclidae into the Peloponnesus, had been admitted to a share in the festival, which was originally frequented only by the Pisitans and their immediate neighbours. This admission dates from Lycurgus of Sparta and Iphitus of Elis, who, at the direction of the Delphic oracle, restored the festival of Zeus, now fallen into oblivion, and established the sacred Truce of God (see ekecheiria), which insured a safe conduct at the time of the festival for all strangers resorting thither, even through hostile territory. In course of time the membership extended itself further, over all the Hellenic States in and out of Greece; and the festival was not only visited by private individuals, but also received sacred envoys from the several states. Through all the assaults of time it lasted on, even during the Roman rule, and was not abolished until A.D. 394, under the reign of Theodosius.
From the time of the above-mentioned restoration by Iphitus and Lycurgus it was a quinquennial celebration—that is, it was held once in every four years, in midsummer (July to August), about the beginning or end of the Greek year. A regular and continuous list of the victors was kept from B.C. 776, when Coroebus won the race in the Stadium, and with this year begins the Olympiad reckoning prevalent among the historians from the time of Timaeus (q.v.). The duration of the festival was in course of time extended to at least five days.
The place where the festival was celebrated was the Altis (see plan), a sacred precinct at the foot of the hill of Cronus (Κρόνος), 403 feet high. The precinct, which was about 750 feet long by 570 feet broad, was surrounded by a wall ascribed to Heracles, having entrances at the northwest and southwest. The centre, both by position and by religious association, was formed by the great sacrificial altar of Zeus, which rose on an elliptical base 128 feet in circumference to a height of 32 feet, and was composed of the ashes of the victims mingled with the water of the Alpheus. Round it were grouped the four most important sanctuaries—the temples of Zeus, Hera (Ἡραῖον), the Mother of the Gods (Μητρῷον), and the holy enclosure of Pelops (Πελόπιον) —besides a multitude of altars consecrated some to gods and some to heroes, and a countless host of dedicatory offerings and statues of every kind, among them, southeast of the temple of Zeus, the Niké of Paeonius (q.v.).
The temple of Zeus, which was begun about B.C. 572 by the Elean Libo, was not completed in its main outline until about 450. It was a Doric hypaethral building, having no roof over the cella or temple proper; and it was also peripteral—that is, it was surrounded by a single row of columns. It was built of the local conchyliferous limestone (called πῶρος by Pausanias, v. 10. 2). In its more finished parts it was overlaid with fine stucco, giving the appearance of marble, and was also richly decorated with colour. It was 210 feet in length, 91 in breadth, and 65 in height. The outer hall had 6 columns along its breadth and 13 along its length (each 34 feet high), while the inner hall had a double row of nine columns. The eastern pediment was occupied by a representation of the contest between Pelops and Oenomaüs, with Zeus as the centre (fig. 1); the western, by one of the battle between the Centaurs and Lapithae, with Apollo as centre (fig. 2). The former was designed by the already-mentioned Paeonius; the latter, by Alcamenes of Athens.
The accompanying illustrations indicate the figures belonging to the two pediments, so far as their fragmentary portions were recovered in the excavations begun by the German archaeologists in 1875. While the outer metopes beneath these pediments had no ornament except a large plain boss on each, twelve other metopes sculptured with reliefs adorned the outer walls at each end of the cella or temple proper, six over the door of the πρόναος, and six over that of the ὀπισθόδομος. All these have been discovered—four by the French in 1829, and eight by the Germans in 1875-79. Their subjects are the labours of Heracles. The best preserved of the series, and one of them which, as compared with the rest, is apparently the work of a mature and well-trained school of sculpture, is that representing Heracles bearing the heavens. Atlas stands by, offering to Heracles the apples of the Hesperides, and on the other side one of the daughters of Atlas is touching the hero's burden with her arm, as though endeavouring to aid him in sustaining it. In the chamber at the western end of the cella stood the greatest work of Greek art, the statue of Zeus, wrought in gold and ivory by Phidias (q.v.). Outside the sacred enclosure, though still in direct connection with it, were, to the west, the Gymnasium, and to the east the Hippodrome and the Stadium. The Hippodrome has been washed away by the encroachments of the Alpheus. The Stadium, which was 600 Olympic feet in length, has been excavated to an extent sufficient to determine the length of the single course, between the starting-place and the goal, to be 192.27 metres=630.81845073 English feet. The Olympic foot therefore measured .3204 of a metre=1.05120036 feet. The parallel grooves in the slabs of stone at each end of the Stadium still show the spot where the feet of the competitors in the foot-race were planted at the moment immediately preceding the start. There is room for twenty at either end, separated from one another by posts at intervals of four Olympic feet from one another.
The festival consisted of two parts—(1) the presentation of offerings, chiefly, of course, to Zeus, but also to the other gods and heroes, on the part of the Eleans, the sacred embassies, and other visitors to the feast; and
(2) the contests. In the first Olympiad the contest consisted of a simple match in the Stadium (race-course), which had a length of a trifle more than 210 yards. The runners ran in heats of four, and then the winners in each heat competed together, the first in the final heat being proclaimed victor. About B.C. 724 the double course (δίαυλος) was introduced, in which the runners had to make a circuit of the goal and return to the starting-point; about 720 came the δόλιχος or long race, where the distance of the Stadium had to be covered either 6, 7, 8, 12, 20, or 29 times (Schol. on Electra, 691); in 708, the πένταθλον, or fivefold contest, consisting of leaping, running, quoit (δίσκος) and spear throwing, and wrestling (the last being also practised by itself); in 688, boxing. In 680 chariot-racing on the Hippodrome was introduced, and, though this was twice as long as the Stadium, it had to be traversed from eight to twelve times in both directions (at first with four horses, after 500 with mules, and after 408 with two horses). From 648 there were races in which the horsemen, towards the end of the race, had to leap from their horses and run beside them with the bridle in their hands. With the same year began the practice of the παγκράτιον (a combination of wrestling and boxing); with 520, the race in armour, with helmet, greaves, and shield, though afterwards the shield alone was carried. Competitions between heralds and trumpeters also found a place here. Originally it was only men who took part in the contests; but after 632, boys also shared in them.
The contests were open only to freemen of pure Hellenic descent, provided that no personal disgrace had in any way attached to them; but after the Romans came into closer relationship with Greece they were opened to them also, and indeed (as is well known) the Romans were not officially considered barbarians. Even to barbarians, however, and to slaves, permission was given to view them, while it was refused to all married women (Pausan. vi. 20. 9), or more probably all women whatsoever, except the priestess of Demeter, who even received a place of honour among the spectators. Those who took part in the competitions had to take a solemn oath at the altar of Zeus to the effect that they had spent at least ten months in preparation for the games, and that they would not resort to any unfair trick in the course of their contest: this oath was taken for boy competitors by an older relative. Special practice for thirty days at Elis was also usual, but probably only for those who were coming forward for the first time. The duties of heralds and judges were discharged by the Hellanodicae (Ἑλλανοδίκαι), appointed by popular election from among the Eleans themselves. Their number rose in course of time from 1 to 2, 9, 10, and 12, but after 348 it was always 10. Distinguished by purple robes, wreaths of bay-leaves, and a seat of honour opposite the Stadium, they kept guard over the strict observance of all the minute regulations for the contests, and in general maintained order. In these duties they were supported by a number of attendants provided with staves. Transgressions of the laws of the games, and unfairness on the part of competitors, were punished by forfeiture of the prize or by fines of money, which went to the revenue of the temple. Out of the money from penalties of this kind, a whole row of bronze images of Zeus (called Ζᾶνες) was erected in front of the eleven treasure-houses along the eastern end of the northern wall of the Altis.
The games were opened with the sound of trumpets and the proclamation of heralds, the marshalling of the various competitors in the Stadium, accompanied by the announcement of their name and country by the herald, and the appointment by lot of the pairs of combatants. The victors in the several pairs of competitors had then apparently to contend in couples with each other until one couple alone remained, and the winner in this was declared victor. If the number of combatants had been uneven, so that one of them had remained without an opponent, he had finally to meet this rival. The contests were accompanied by the music of flutes. The name of the victor (and one whom no adversary had come forward to meet counted for victor) as well as his home were proclaimed aloud by the herald, and a palm-branch presented to him by the Hellanodicae. The actual prize he only received at the general and solemn distribution on the last day of the festival. This was originally some article of value; but at the command of the Delphic Oracle this custom was dropped, and the victors were graced by a wreath of the leaves of the sacred wild-olive, said to have been originally planted by Heracles, which had been cut with a golden knife by a boy of noble family with both parents living. After about 540 the victors also possessed the right to put up statues of themselves in the Altis.
The festival ended with a sacrifice made by the victors wearing their crowns at the six double altars of the hill of Cronus, and with a banquet in the Prytaneum of the Altis. Brilliant distinctions awaited the victor on his return home, for his victory was deemed to have reflected honour on his native land at large. He made his entry, clad in purple, upon a chariot drawn by four white horses, amid the joyous shouts of all the people, and then rode amid an exultant escort to the temple of the highest god, and there deposited his wreath as a votive offering. During the ride, as also at the banquet which followed thereupon, the song of victory, often composed by the most celebrated poets, was chanted by choral bands. There was no lack of other rewards: at Athens the Olympian victor received 500 drachmae, the right to a place of honour at all public games, and board in the Prytaneum for the rest of his life. The opportunity afforded by the assembling of so vast a crowd from all parts of Greece at Olympia was utilized, from about the middle of the fifth century before Christ, by authors, orators, poets, and artists to make themselves known in the widest circles by the recital or exhibition of their works. When the compliment of a crown was offered by one State to another, the distinction was made generally known by being proclaimed by the heralds at the Olympian Games.
The buildings that formerly stood upon the Olympian plain are described by Pausanias in the sixth book of his work; and since the German archaeologists began in 1875 their explorations and excavations on its site, the ground-plans of nearly all these structures have been traced from existing remains. A good account of these excavations and of their discoveries will be found in the article by Flasch in Baumeister's Denkmäler, cited below. In 1895 preparations were begun in Athens under the patronage of the king of Greece for a celebration of the ancient games to be held in 1896.
For more elaborate details regarding the Games, see Krause, Olympia (1836); Bötticher, Olympia (1883); Baumeister, Denkmäler des klassischen Alterthums (1888); Laloux and Monceaux, Restauration de l'Olympie (1889); and Curtius and Adler, Olympia, die Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen (1891).
(Ὀλυμπία). A small plain in Elis where the Olympian Games were held. It was surrounded on the north by the hill Cronus or Cronius, on the south by the river Alpheus, and on the west by the river Cladeus. Within its limits was the sacred precinct of Zeus called Ἄλτις (a dialectic form of ἄλσος, “grove”). For particulars regarding the Games, see the preceding article.
A sanctuary in the W Peloponnese, 18 km inland from the Ionian Sea, at the point where the Alpheios and Kladeos rivers meet (42 m), just S of the foot of the hill of Kronos (122.7 m). Throughout practically all of antiquity Olympia was under the control of Elis (q.v.). The settlement in the area of the shrine was continuously inhabited from the Early to the Late Helladic period (2800-1100 B.C.), as evidenced by the apsidal, rectangular, and elliptical structures of the Early and Middle Helladic periods which have been uncovered, as well as by numerous sherds, stone implements, and figurines of the EH, MH and LH periods. Similar buildings and small finds as well as an extensive cemetery with chamber tombs have been found in the area to the N (NW of the hill of Kronos), where stands the new Museum. The first signs of the cult of Pelops and Hippodameia at Olympia appeared as early as the LH period, as well as the first athletic contests. Of the tumuli of the two heroes remains were found only of the circular peribolos of Pelops, near the Pelopion of historical times. Recent objections to this identification have not been persuasive. The site of the Hippodameion remains unknown; it may have been in the S part of the Altis (Paus. 6.20.7; 5.15.7).
The cults of Kronos, Gaia, Eileithuia, Themis, et al., evidently date back to the same periods or even earlier. Their shrines center around the S foot of the hill of Kronos, whence come the majority of the prehistoric finds. With the predominance of the Aitolo-Dorian tribes of NW Greece in Elis after the Dorian invasion and the extension of their control over Olympia, which until then had been controlled by Pisa, the worship of Zeus was introduced to the Sanctuary. From that time to the beginning of the 8th c. the Sanctuary gradually developed, but its activities were limited to the area of Elis and perhaps the neighboring territories. From this period come numerous offerings: bronze and terracotta statuettes of men and animals, chiefly bulls and horses, as well as chariots and drivers, all of primitive workmanship. After 776 B.C. when the Games were reorganized and established as Panhellenic (this marks the beginning of the historical period), Olympia developed rapidly, and the number of terracotta and bronze offerings multiplies. The greatest number of these are statuettes of horses and horsemen, symbols of the equestrian aristocracy which had evidently replaced the monarchy. There are also bronze cauldrons and tripods, and weapons of excellent workmanship. During this period the sacred grove of Olympia, the Altis, which was planted with plane trees, wild olives, poplars, oaks, and pines (Paus. 5.7.7, 13.1-3, 27.11; Strab. 8.353) and enclosed by a low peribolos or fence, acquired a very few, simple structures: altars of the Gods, and the heroa of Pelops and Hippodameia. The single column that was left of Oinomaos megaron after Zeus, according to tradition, destroyed it with a lightning bolt, must also have been visible there; it was preserved into the time of Pausanias (5.20f). There was also the remnant of an ancient form of tree worship in a sacred wild olive tree which still flourished, and which Idaian Herakles, according to the myth, had brought from the lands of the Hyperboreians and planted there.
To the Geometric period belong the foundations of a rhomboid altar (?) built of unworked stones which was found within the site of the ancient Prytaneion and which may have been the precursor of the altar of Hestia. To the end of the Geometric period belongs one of the apsidal buildings, no. 4, which until recently was considered to be prehistoric. The site of the stadium of this period is not known; it may have been on the same site as was the archaic one. In the Archaic period (7th and 6th c.) the activities of the Sanctuary involved not only the world of mainland Greece, but the colonies around the Mediterranean. The increased importance of Olympia brought about its decoration with the first monumental structures. At the foot of the hill of Kronos was built the Temple of Hera. According to the usual modern view this was begun ca. 650 B.C. as a small Doric building with only a pronaos (10 x 39.5 m) and not until ca. 600 B.C. was it enlarged by the addition of an opisthodomos and peristyle colonnade (18.76 x 50 m; 6 x 16 columns). Recent researches have shown, however, that the whole building was completed at one time, ca. 600.
The Heraion, narrow and of heavy proportions, is the oldest example of a monumental temple in Greece. The lower part and the huge orthostat blocks of the cella are preserved and are of a local shell limestone, while the upper parts of the walls were of mud brick and the superstructure of wood with terracotta tiles on the roof. At the peak of each gable was a round terracotta acroterion. One of these has been restored (diam. 2.42 m) but of the other only a few fragments remain. The original wooden columns were gradually replaced, at long intervals, by stone ones. The last wooden one, made of oak, was preserved to the time of Pausanias, in the opisthodomos of the temple (Paus. 5.16.1). Each of the replacement columns was in the style of its own period, so that the columns as a whole provide an example of the development of the Doric column, particularly in respect to the capitals, from the archaic to the Roman period. At the back of the cella is preserved the bench on which rested the stone statues of Hera and Zeus (Paus. 5.17.1). Only the head of Hera has been found.
Along a natural terrace on the S slope of the hill of Kronos, a little above the Heraion, the treasuries were built in the 6th c. These are naiskoi of megaron form, dedicated by the Greek cities, particularly by colonies. The oldest of these, the Sikyonian treasury in its first phase, was about contemporary with the Heraion, while the newer ones belong to the first half of the 5th c. (the Treasuries of Sikyon and Gela in their second phase). Arranged one beside the other, they border the N edge of the Altis. Pausanias (6.19.1f) gives their names. The remains of 15 are preserved, but two of them only as traces—the two under the Exedra of Atticus. Five only are certainly identified: the Treasuries of Sikyon, Selinos, Metapontis, Megara, and Gela. Numerous architectural fragments of the first and last have been preserved. Of the pedimental sculptures of the Treasuries only a few pieces remain, with the exception of the Treasury of the Megarians of which the pedimental sculptures, although badly mutilated, are preserved. They are carved in high relief. The treasuries, which may at first have had a sacred purpose, were later used to safeguard valuable offerings (Paus. 6.19.lf). The stepped supporting wall in front of the treasuries was built later, in 330 B.C.
The Pelopion (Paus. 5.13.1) was renewed in the 6th c. Its peribolos at that time had five sides and a propylon, which was replaced in the 5th c. by a more monumental one. Recent theory dating the Pelopion to the 4th c. does not seem well founded. To the late 6th c. belongs the older Prytaneion with the seats of the Prytanei at the N corner of the Altis. The sacred hearth with its everlasting fire was in a special area of the same building (Paus. 5.19.9). In the following centuries the Prytaneion was enlarged and continually altered.
No trace of the Great Altar of Zeus SE of the Temple of Hera is preserved (Paus. 5.13.8). Since it was a mound slowly built up from the ashes of sacrifices and from the altar of the Prytaneion (Paus. 5.13; 15.9), it melted away in the rains after worship at the sanctuary ceased. The area in front of the Altar and particularly the slope of the terrace where the treasuries stood was perhaps the Theater mentioned by Xenophon (Hell. 7.4. 31), so called from its view of the sacrifices at the Altar and of other rites.
The archaic stadium, which was plain and had banks not of the usual form, stretched along the slope in front of the treasuries. Its W end, where the starting line was, opened out towards the Great Altar of Zeus. The stadium of the 5th c. was on the same spot or a little to the E, but this one had a track at a lower level and the banks, now more nearly normal, along the long sides; it formed part of the sacred area, since the games had a clearly religious character. But in the mid-4th c. a new stadium was built, which is still visible 82 m to the E and 7 m N of its predecessor. It was outside the sanctuary, since the games had begun to be more secular in character. The track of the new stadium was 215.54 m long and ca. 28.5 m wide, while the stone starting-points were 192.28 m apart as opposed to the 186 m of the Classical stadium. The banks enclosed the track on four sides and could hold 45,000 spectators. There were only a few stone seats for important persons; others sat directly on the ground. The exedra for the Hellanodikai (judges) was of stone, and was opposite the altar of Demeter Chamyne (Paus. 6.20.9). In the Roman period the exedra was given a more resplendent form and the stadium was remodeled twice. In the Hellenistic period the NW corner of the stadium communicated with the sanctuary through a narrow, roofed corridor, the Krypte (Paus. 5.20.8), which had Corinthian columns at its W end. To the NE of the archaic stadium was a bronze-smelting establishment, and a large number of wells to provide water for the thousands of spectators during the period of the games. Thousands of earlier dedications were thrown into them in the Classical period when the stadium was moved to the E and covered this spot.
The hippodrome, which had a length of four stadia (ca. 780 m) has not been excavated and has probably, at least in part, been washed away by the Alpheios river. It was S of the stadium and parallel to it. When it took its final form in the Classical period, Kleoitas worked out a new arrangement of the starting gates (Paus. 6.20. lOf). The S end of the sanctuary was closed off in the mid-6th c. by the S building of the Bouleuterion (14 x 30.5 m). This was a rectangular building with an apse at one of its short ends, a continuation of the type of prehistoric and Geometric building found in the Altis. In the 5th c. a second apsidal room was added parallel to the first, and between them a rectangular room where stood the Altar of Zeus Horkios. Here the athletes made their prescribed vows (orkoi) before the Games. These three buildings were enlarged in the 4th c. by an Ionic portico across the E face. The chronology and purpose of the two structures W of the Bouleuterion are uncertain.
In the 5th c. the sanctuary reached its peak of greatness and wealth. The Truce, which had been in operation from the archaic period on, and the recognition of Elis as “sacred and unassailable” (Polyb. 4.73) secured the unhampered development and prosperity of the area and of the sanctuary. At this time the most important building, the gigantic Temple of Zeus, was erected in the middle of the Altis. It was begun ca. 470 B.C., immediately after the reorganization of the state, at the same time as Elis synoecism, and it was finished in 456. The temple, Doric peripteral (27.68 x 64.12 m; 6 x 13 columns), was the work of the Elian architect Libo. It is the largest temple in the Peloponnese and was considered the finest expression and the standard of Doric temple architecture. It was constructed of local shell limestone, covered with white stucco. Only the roof and sima and lion-head water spouts were made of Parian marble, although later the frequent local earthquakes made replacements of Pentelic marble necessary. Each of the continual repairs was in the style of its own period. The marble pedimental groups on the E end represented the chariot race of Oinomaos and Pelops with Zeus in the center, and on the W end the battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs at the marriage of Peirithoos and Deidameia, with Apollo in the center. The twelve metopes, six each above the entrances of the pronaos and opisthodomos, represent the twelve labors of Herakles. These sculptures, now more or less restored, are the most representative examples of the severe style of Greek art from the period after the Persian wars. The central acroterion at each pediment was a gilded Nike, the work of Paionios, and the corner acroteria were gilded cauldrons. The chryselephantine statue of Zeus seated on a throne, the work of Phidias, was placed at the back of the cella in 430 B.C. Of this masterpiece, described in detail by Pausanias (5.10. if) nothing remains but some representations, chiefly on coins of Elis. The gigantic figure (12.37 m) held in his right hand a chryselephantine Nike and in his left a scepter. The throne and base were decorated with mythical scenes, and with gods, demigods, and heroes made of gold, ebony, and precious stones. For the making of this piece a workshop (ergasterion) was put up W of the temple (Paus. 5.15.1) which survived, with various changes, until the late Roman period. It measured 14.57 x 32.18 m, and in and around it were found numerous tools, glass ornaments, clay molds and other artists' materials which definitely belong to the period of the chryselephantine Zeus.
Two other buildings were erected at about the same time N of the workshop. One of them, rectangular with a peristyle court, is probably identified with the Theokoleon, the meeting place of the Theokoloi, the priests of Olympia (Paus. 5.15.8). This was altered and enlarged to the E and S in the Hellenistic period. The other building, W of the Theokoleon, consists of a circle inside a square and is called the Heroon in a later Hellenistic inscription found on the spot. A recent theory that this was originally a bath and was later dedicated to its anonymous Hero is not based on any sound evidence. To the W again, towards the Kladeos river, were the baths (Loutra, 5.75 x 21.56 m) and a swimming pool (kolymbeterion, 16 x 24 m). The baths were enlarged in 300 B.C. and again in 100 B.C., when a hypocaust was put in underneath; the building was abandoned in the Roman period when baths were built in many parts of the sanctuary.
The later Classical period was for Elis one of internal problems and clashes with her neighbors, especially when the Arkadians took Olympia in 364 B.C. and with the Pisans directed the games of that Olympiad (104th 0l.). They withdrew in 362 B.C. and Elis again took over supervision of the sanctuary. These disturbances, however, did not prevent new building activity, which gave the sanctuary its final form and architectural organization. For the first time the delicate Ionic order and its relative, the Corinthian, were brought into the sanctuary, which had been dominated by the Doric. In the newer buildings white marble was used to the almost complete exclusion of the shell limestone previously employed. These were signs of a general change in the character of the sanctuary. When the stadium was shifted E to its present position, the isolation of the Altis was completed with the erection of the Stoa of the Echo (or the Seven Echo stoa) 12.50 x 98 m along its E side. The name came from the fact that an echo in it was proliferated seven times. It was also called The Painted Stoa (Poikile) from the wall paintings in it (Paus. 5.21.17; Plin. NH 36.100). It was built shortly after 350 B.C. and had two colonnades: the inner one was Doric and the outer may have been Corinthian; there were also rooms along the back.
At this period the main sanctuary (ca. 200 x 175 m) was separated from the supporting complex and the secular buildings by a monumental peribolos with five gates, three on the W side and two at the S. At the beginning of the 4th c. the Metroon, the Temple of Kybele, mother of the gods, was built in front of the terrace on which the treasuries stood. Of this temple, which was Doric peripteral (10.62 x 20.67 m; 6 x 11 columns), only the stylobate and portions of the stone epistyle are preserved, and of the pedimental sculptures only a marble statue of Dionysos reclining. From the time of Augustus on the metroon was used for the worship of the Roman emperors; sculptured portraits of many of them stood in the temple. Along the treasury terrace, between the metroon and the stadium, are preserved the bases of 16 bronze statues of Zeus, the Zanes. These were set up between 378 B.C. and A.D. 125 with the money paid as a fine by athletes who had committed fouls in winning the Games (Paus. 5.21.2f). The S boundary of the sanctuary in its larger sense was defined by the south stoa (80.56 m long), which had two colonnades, the outer Doric and the inner Corinthian, with a wall at the back. The stoa was in the form of a T with a colonnaded extension in its center towards the Alpheios river; it was built at the same time as the Stoa of the Echo, and its euthynteria and steps were similarly of marble. The recently suggested identification of this stoa with the proedria (Paus. 5.15.4) is not based on any evidence.
At the beginning of the 4th or end of the 5th c. B.C. the SE building was erected, which according to one opinion is the Sanctuary of Hestia (Xen. Hell. 7.4.31). The W part is preserved, a row of four rooms with Doric colonnades on their four sides (14.66 x 36.42 m). The building was altered and expanded to the E in the Hellenistic period. At the SE corner of the Hellenistic addition, an early 5th c. altar of Artemis was recently found. The SE building was destroyed in the 1st c. A.D. for the foundations of a peristyle villa, probably built for Nero.
The elegant circular peripteral building S of the Prytaneion, the Philippeion (diam. 15.24 m) was begun by Philip II after the battle of Chaironeia (338 B.C.) but finished by his son, Alexander the Great. It stood on a marble stepped krepidoma, mostly preserved, and was surrounded by an Ionic colonnade. Corinthian half-columns were placed at intervals around the interior of the circular cella, at the back of which, opposite the entrance, were five portrait statues standing on a semicircular base, representing Alexander the Great between his parents and his grandfathers. These statues were the work of Leochares and were of gold and ivory (Paus. 5.20.9). This type of circular building, used earlier for divine worship, was now for the first time utilized for worship of the hero cult of the Macedonian dynasty.
In the W part of the sanctuary, S of the Workshop of Phidias, stood the hostelry called the Leonidaion, built in 330 B.C., named for its donor and architect, Leonidas of Naxos. It is 74.82 by 81.08 m and on all four sides its rooms open inward on a peristyle court with Doric columns. On the outside the building was surrounded by an Ionic colonnade. Originally intended for distinguished visitors and illustrious spectators, the building was later used as a residence for Roman officials (Paus. 5.15.lf).
In the Hellenistic period (3d-1st c. B.C.) there was no new building in the middle of the main sanctuary. There was only restoration and repair, with very few enlargements, at fairly frequent intervals, because severe earthquakes were common. Vigorous building activity however, went on outside the area of the Altis, to provide comfortable accommodation for athletes and spectators.
To the W of the Altis, near the Kladeos, the Palaestra, was built in the 4th c., a training ground for practice in wrestling, boxing, and jumping. It was a nearly square (66.35 x 66.75 m) building with a peristyle court, around which were covered areas for dressing, applying oil, sand, etc. The columns of the peristyle were Doric, but those of the entrances to the rooms were Ionic. To the N of the Palaestra and connected with it was the gymnasium, an enclosed, rectangular building (120 x 220 m) with a wide court in the center and colonnades on the four sides. The columns were Doric on the long sides and Ionic on the short. Here the athletes trained for contests demanding space, such as javelin throwing, discus throwing, and running. This was built in the early 2d c. B.C., while the monumental entrance between the gymnasium and the Palaestra, in the form of an amphiprostyle Corinthian propylon, belongs rather to the late 2d c. B.C.
The sanctuary was crowded with thousands of altars and statues of gods, demigods, and heroes, of Olympic victors and kings and generals, the work of the most notable sculptors of antiquity (Paus. 5.14.4f; 21.lf; 6.1.lf). Very few statues remain, but a large number of bases have been found. Similar statues were put up in Roman times, but these were mostly of Roman notables and emperors, and were erected not by their own choice but by cities and private persons who wished to secure their good will. By that time the best of the older works had been moved into the Heraion, which took on the appearance of a museum (Paus. 5.17.lf).
In 146 B.C., the consul Mummius dedicated 21 gilded shields after his victory over the Greeks at the Isthmus. He fixed them on the metopes of the Temple of Zeus. On the other hand, in 85 B.C. Sulla robbed the treasuries of the sanctuary (as well as those of Epidaurus and Delphi) to meet the demands made by the war against Mithridates. Sulla decided to shift the Olympic games to Rome and organized the 175th Olympiad (80 B.C.) there, but Olympia recovered from this period of decline in the time of Augustus, after 31 B.C. Roman emperors and magistrates showed their interest in the sanctuary and the Games in different ways which harmonized with their political programs in Greece. Under Nero the Altis was enlarged and surrounded by a new peribolos, 3 m wider on the W side than the old one, and 20 m on the S. The simple gates of the sanctuary were replaced by monumental propylaea. At about the same time baths were erected W of the Greek baths and N of the Prytaneion. Later other baths were built NE of Nero's villa, and W of the Bouleuterion. Another hotel (xenodocheion) rose W of Phidias' Workshop, and during this period the older buildings were maintained or altered. Finally, in A.D. 160 Herodes Atticus built a magnificent fountain, the Nymphaion or Exedra (width 33 m, ht. ca. 13 m). It took the form of a semicircle with a circular naiskos at each of the two ends. The walls were of brick faced with polychrome marble. Above the semicircular wall and in the apsidal recesses that made up the central facade were 20 statues of Antoninus Pius and his family as well as the family of Herodes Atticus. The space between the two naiskoi was occupied by two basins, one in front of the semicircular wall and the other on a lower platform. The water, brought from an abundant spring 4 km W of Olympia, ran first into the upper, semicircular basin, next into the lower rectangular one, and then, via a network of conduits, throughout the whole sanctuary.
The first serious destruction to the monuments of the sanctuary came with the threat of the Herulian invasion. In the end the invasion did not reach as far as Olympia, but a strong wall was built to protect the richer treasuries and particularly the chryselephantine statue of Zeus. This wall, which used to be thought Byzantine, surrounded the Temple of Zeus and the S part of the sanctuary up to the south stoa. It was built with material from other buildings, both within and without the sanctuary, which were demolished for the purpose, except for the Temple of Hera.
Even in this crippled state and although it continued to decline, the sanctuary lasted for another century. There were some restorations in this period, particularly in the time of Diocletian (A.D. 285-305). The end came in A.D. 393-394 with the decree of Theodosius I, which prohibited worship in pagan sanctuaries. In A.D. 426 an edict of Theodosius II caused the ruin of the monuments of the Altis, and it was completed by two violent earthquakes in 522 and 551. In the 5th and 6th c. there was a small settlement of Christians at Olympia, and the Workshop of Phidias, the only building left whole, was changed into a Christian basilica. The floods of the Alpheios and Kladeos and the earth washing down from the sandy hill of Kronos covered almost the whole of the sanctuary to a depth of 7 m. The Kladeos also changed its course and, washing through the sanctuary, swept away many of the buildings in the W part. The first discoveries of the monuments of Olympia were made in 1829; systematic excavation began in 1875 and has continued to the present day.
BIBLIOGRAPHYA. Blouet, Expédition scientifique de Morée I (1831) 56ffMPI; A. Bötticher, Olympia2(1886) MPI; E. Curtius & F. Adler, Olympia. Die Ergebnisse 5 vols. (1890-97) MPI(new ed. 1966); B. Leonardos, Olympia (1901); D. Arch. Inst., Berichte über die Ausgrabungen in Olympia 8 vols., continuing (1937-) PI; J. Wiesner, RE XVIII, 1 (1939) s.v. Olympia 1ff; E. Kunze, Olympische Forschungen 6 vols. & atlas (1944-66) PI; id., Olympia: Neue deutsche Ausgrabungen im Mittelmeergebiet und im vorderen Orient (1959) 263ffMPI; I. Ι. Κοντῆς, Τό Ἱερόν τῆς Ὀλυμπίας, κατα τόν Δ ' π. Χ. αἰῶνα (1958) PI; H. Berve et al., Griechische Tempel und Heiligtumer (1961) 10ff, 118ffPI; U. Jantzen, EAA V (1963) 635ffPI; N. Papachatzis, Παυσανίου Ἑλλάδος περιήγησις, Books V & VI (1965); G. Gruben, Die Tempel der Griechen (1966) 43ffMPI; W. Dörpfeld, Alt Olympia2 (1966) PI; E. Kirsten & W. Kraiker, Griechenlandkunde 5I (1967) 265ffMPI; E. Meyer, Pausanias' Beschreibung Griechenlands 2(1967) 605ffMPI; id., Der kleine Pauly 4 (1972) 279ff s.v. Olympia; L. Drees, Olympia (1968) MPI; P. Grunauer, “Der Zeustempel in Olympia,” Berr. der Koldway Gesellschaft 25 (1969) 13ffPI; id., “Der Zeustempel in Olympia,” BonnJbb 171 (1971) 1 14ffPI; S. Miller, “The Prytaneion at Olympia,” AthMitt 86 (1971) 79ffPI; W. Hoepfner, “Zwei Ptolemaierbauten,” ibid. Suppl. 1 (1971) PI; N. Yalouris, “Das Akroter der Heraions in Olympia,” ibid. 87 (1972) PI; id., Olympia (1972) MPI; A. Mallwitz, Olympia und seine Bauten (1972) PI; H. V. Herrmann & M. Hirmer, Olympia, Heiligtum und Wettkampfstätte (1972) MPI.
Cult, games, history: F. Mezö, Geschichte der Olympischen Spiele (1930) PI; L. Deubner, Kult und Spiele im alten Olympia (1936) PI; L. Ziehen, RE XVII, 2 (1937) 252ff s.v. Olympia; K. Meuli, “Der Ursprung der Olympischen Spiele,” Die Antike 17 (1941) 189ff; L. Moretti, “Olympionikai, i vincitori negli antichi agoni,” MemLinc ser. 8, 8, 2 (1957) 53ff; id., “Supplemente al Katalogo degli Olympionikai,” Klio 52 (1970) 295ff; International Olympic Academy, Reports 12 vols. (1961-72) I; H. V. Herrmann, “Zur ältesten Geschichte von Olympia,” AthMitt 77 (1962) 3ffMPI; W. Rudolf, Olympischer Kampfsport in der Antike (1965) I; N. E. Gardiner, Athletics of the Ancient World 2(1967) I; A. Hönle, Olympia in der Politik der griechischen Staatswelt (1968); J. Jüthner, Die athletischen Leibesübungen der Griechen (1968) PI; H. Bengston, Die Olympische Spiele in der Antike (1971); H. A. Harris, Greek Athletes and Athletics (1972) I.
Art: C. Seltmann, The temple coins of Olympia (1921) I; E. Buschor & R. Hamann, Die Skulpturen des Zeustempels zu Olympia (1924) I; id., “Die Olympiameister,” AthMitt 51 (1926) 163ff; W. Hege & G. Rodenwaldt, Olympia (1936) MPI; G. Becatti, Problemi Fidiaci (1951) I; id., “Controversie Olympiche,” Studi Miscellanei 18 (1971) 67ffI; J. Liegle, Der Zeus der Phidias (1952) I; C. M. Kraay, Greek Coins (1966) I; G. Richter, “The Pheidian Zeus at Olympia,” Hesperia 35 (1966) 166ffI; B. Ashmole & N. Yalouris, The Sculptures of the Temple of Zeus (1967) PI; J. Fink, Der Thron des Zeus in Olympia (1967) I; E. Simon, “Zu den Giebeln des Zeustempel von Olympia,” AthMitt 83 (1968) 147ffI; W. Heilmeyer, “Giessereibetriebe in Olympia,” JdI 84 (1969) 1ffI; F. Eckstein, ΑΝΑΘΗΜΑΤΑ (1969) PI; B. Ridgway, The Severe Style in Greek Sculpture (1970) I; M.-L. Säflund, The East Pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia (1970) PI; B. Ashmole, Architect and Sculptor in Classical Greece (1972) MPI.
N. YALOURIS- Paus. 5.1.7
- its distance from Lacedaemon: Paus. 6.16.8
- Alpheus at: Paus. 5.7.1
- annexed by Pelops: Paus. 5.1.7
- Lacedaemonians debarred from sanctuary at: Paus. 3.8.3
- Lacedaemonian army advances to: Paus. 3.8.4
- description of: Paus. 5.10.1-Paus. 6.21.3
- sacred grove of Zeus called Altis: Paus. 5.10.1
- temple of Zeus: Paus. 5.10.2-Paus. 5.12.8
- precinct of Pelops: Paus. 5.13.1-7
- altars: Paus. 5.13.8-Paus. 5.15.10
- Workshop of Phidias: Paus. 5.15.1
- Leonidaeum: Paus. 5.15.1-3
- Theecoleon: Paus. 5.15.8
- gymnasium: Paus. 5.15.8, Paus. 6.21.2
- wrestling schools: Paus. 5.15.8
- Prytaneum: Paus. 5.15.8, 9, 12
- temple of Hera: Paus. 5.16.1-Paus. 5.20.5
- pillar of Oenomaus: Paus. 5.20.6-8
- Metroum: Paus. 5.20.9
- Philippeum: Paus. 5.20.9ff.
- offerings, 5.21-27
- Painted Colonnade or Colonnade of Echo: Paus. 5.21.17
- Hippodamium: Paus. 5.22.2, Paus. 6.20.7
- Council House: Paus. 5.23.1, Paus. 5.24.9
- statues of victors and other men, 6.1-18
- treasuries: Paus. 6.19
- sanctuary of Ilithyia and Sosipolis: Paus. 6.20.2-6
- stadium: Paus. 6.20.8ff.
- hippodrome: Paus. 6.20.10-Paus. 6.21.1
- offerings there: Hdt. 7.170, Hdt. 9.81
- sacrifice to obtain oracles: Hdt. 8.134