Goodman's Journey
  • Home
  • Blogroll

Ancient Olympia

1/23/2005

0 Comments

 
Picture
23 January ’05, Sunday. Hermes of Praxiteles taking infant Dionysos to Mt Nysa.
Nestor’s Palace is supposed to be the best preserved Mycenaean palace…well, it must be, because they covered the whole thing with a roof that is supported by 12 steel poles. What we saw was a exterior wall that is original and stands about 2 feet high, and a number of interior walls (all marking the rooms in the castle), that stood about 1 foot high. They did have most of the rooms and passageways marked well, and it was easy to go through. The highlight of the stop, was the terracotta bath tub that was still in place. The tub was decorated nicely and colorfully, but because of age (13th century BC) the colors have faded quite a bit. They also discovered over twelve hundred Linear B script tablets that went on to explain about the functions, colors and details of the palace. It was highly colored inside and out.
This morning we were out early to visit Ancient Olympia and the Archaeological Museum of Olympia. The sun was out bright and it was going to stay that way…I said so… The origins of Olympia date back to Mycenaean times. The Great Goddess Rea in the 1st millennium BC…then superseded by Zeus. A small regional festival, which included sporting events began in the 11th century BC. The FIRST Olympic Games were declared in 776 BC, and by 576 BC they were open to all male Greeks. Every four years on the first full moon of August, they held their sporting Olympic Festival, which included wrestling, chariot and horse racing, discus and javelin throwing, long jump and running. They also had pancratium (a very vicious form of fist fighting). Slaves and women were not allowed to enter the sanctuary as participants or spectators. Women trying to sneak in were thrown from a nearby rock. In AD 67, Nero entered the chariot race with 10 horses and ordered that all other competitors could have no more than 4 horses. Despite this advantage, he fell and abandoned the race. Even then, the judges declared Nero the winner…now come on, is that fair ??? I want a re-run… Back to the moment…our visit to the museum was one of the best we have seen. It was well laid out and all items in the museum were properly identified in English and at least 2 other languages. The inventory was wonderful and the quality of the inventory was even better. The site of Olympia was huge and was also laid out so that it was easy to get around to see and identify everything. Louise and I had our turn at the starting line in the Olympic Stadium. They have the original starting line (a solid marble line completely across the starting and finish). It is set for the 120 meter (220’), which is the longest run that can be done “all out”. I won’t tell you who won… (well, I was close anyway…). Some of the buildings were very large, and had lots of columns surrounding the exterior and the interior of the structures. The stone carvings are outstanding. It is amazing as to how many really good artists there were at that time. Tomorrow..North…

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    *Locations*

    All
    Amsterdam
    Austria
    Belgium
    Bosnya
    Canada
    Croatia
    Czech Republic
    Egypt
    England
    Estonia
    France
    Germany
    Germany Part 2
    Greece
    Hungary
    Ireland
    Italy
    Latvia
    Lithuania
    Luxembourg
    Madrid
    Mexico
    Mexico Bcs
    MX - Cabo San Lucas
    Netherlands
    Poland
    Portugal
    Scotland
    Serbia
    Slovakia
    Slovenia
    Spain
    Switzerland
    Turkey
    USA - Alabama
    USA - Alaska
    USA - Arizona
    USA - California
    USA - Colorado
    USA - Florida
    USA - Georgia
    USA - Idaho
    USA - Illinois
    USA - Indiana
    USA - Kentucky
    USA - Louisiana
    USA - Maine
    USA - Maryland
    USA - Massachusetts
    USA - Michigan
    USA - Minnesota
    USA - Mississippi
    USA - Montana
    USA - Nevada
    USA - New Jersey
    USA - New Mexico
    USA - New York
    USA - North Dakota
    USA - Ohio
    USA - Oregon
    USA - Pennsylvania
    USA - Seattle
    USA - South Dakota
    USA - Tennessee
    USA - Texas
    USA - Utah
    USA - Vermont
    USA - Washington
    USA - Wisconsin
    USA - Wyoming
    Utrecht Nl
    Wales


    *Archives*

    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    July 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009
    December 2008
    November 2008
    October 2008
    September 2008
    August 2008
    July 2008
    June 2008
    May 2008
    April 2008
    March 2008
    February 2008
    January 2008
    December 2007
    November 2007
    October 2007
    September 2007
    August 2007
    July 2007
    June 2007
    May 2007
    April 2007
    March 2007
    February 2007
    January 2007
    December 2006
    November 2006
    October 2006
    September 2006
    August 2006
    July 2006
    June 2006
    May 2006
    April 2006
    March 2006
    February 2006
    January 2006
    December 2005
    November 2005
    October 2005
    September 2005
    August 2005
    July 2005
    June 2005
    May 2005
    April 2005
    March 2005
    February 2005
    January 2005
    December 2004
    November 2004
    October 2004
    September 2004
    August 2004
    July 2004
    June 2004
    May 2004
    April 2004
    March 2004
    February 2004
    January 2004
    December 2003

Goodman's Journey © 2021 | All Rights Reserved.
​Website Creation by Amy Riordan, LLC