Greece - the Panhellenic games of Olympia and Delphi

If you were asked on a quiz night the frequency of the Olympic Games, this would be a banker for most with the answer of course being four, but why is this?

The answer is the games was one of four Panhellenic Games held in Ancient Greece which alternated between Olympia dedicated to Zeus, the Pythian Games at Delphi in honour of Apollo, the Isthmian Games on the Isthmus of Corinth in honour of Poseidon while the Nemean Games joined Olympia in honouring Zeus as well as Hercules. The last two occurring every two years, either side of Olympia but at different times of the year.

The sportsman of the era would simply move from one sporting festival to another bringing great prestige to their city-state or colony if victorious, bestowing on themselves demi-god status in the process.

Although their actual prize was a simple garland of either olive (Olympia), laurel (Delphi), pine (Isthmian) or wild celery (Nemean) depending on which location the sport was won.

Statues of past winners would be erected in their honour, as were surprisingly those that had cheated as a very public penance. Honour was everything.

The statues may have gone but many of the bases recording pass winners survive

The sports included chariot racing, wrestling, boxing, pankration (a mix of wrestling and boxing) and running races, being men only and normally completed in the nude. The main stadium which is a now a word used universally around the world gets its name from a Greek unit of measure known as a stadion, which is roughly 190 metres in length.

I was lucky enough to visit the location of the two most prestigious games at Olympia and Delphi which were also sacred sanctuaries and still leaves you in awe two thousand years later.

Olympia - Olympic Games

The iconic Olympic games are traditionally said to of started in 776 BCE continuing until 394 CE when abolished by the Christian Emperor, Theodosius I. It also led to the creation of the Olympiad calendar so to unify the Greek world as beforehand, different parts of Greece following their own version, which caused great confusion.

As ever with Greece, two myths (Pelops and Oinomaos) involving gods and kings led to the siting of a sanctuary here, which by the Hellenistic times had seen the building of treasuries, sports-related buildings and great temples, one of which housed one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World, as in the 12.4-metre high edifice of Zeus.

Today the site can be rather confusing at first sight with piles of stone blocks and pillars on what is actually quite a compact site.

On arrival, you walk past the Gymnasium into the Palaistra where the wrestlers, boxers and jumpers would undress and cover themselves in oils before training for the day. The philosophers and orators would also give their lectures here.

A room and courtyard of the Palaistra

The main religious building was the Temple of Zeus completed in 456 BCE and made up of 13 great columns along its length and six across, the temple was set on fire by the orders of the Roman emperor in 522 and again in 551 CE. Finally finished off by two great earthquakes as was the rest of the site, before being covered in silt.

The Temple of Zeus

The original column material is too brittle to re-assemble, so a single column of new material has been constructed to demonstrate the height of this once mighty temple.

The Temple of Hera is the oldest temple of the sanctuary dating from around the 7th century BCE with legend suggesting it once held the disk of the Sacred Truce, with the nearby Hera’s Altar being where the lighting of the Olympic flame takes place.

The Temple of Hera

Hera’s Altar in the foreground

For many, the highlight is the Stadium which was moved outside the ancient precinct in the 5th Century BCE. Thought to of had a capacity of 45,000, only male spectators were allowed to sit on the grass bank with the small stone platform reserved for the judges.

Walking through the Monumental arch gives you a real buzz as does running a race along the 190-metre track. If you are a runner, this is a real treat.

The Monumental Arch leading to the Olympic stadium

The Stadium finish line

The rest of the site is made of various monuments, baths and buildings which provided accommodation and meeting places for the Olympic committee and distinguished visitors. While a building converted to an early Christian church was built over the workshop of Pheidias, who sculptured the ivory and gold statue of Zeus.

Amazingly the archaeologists found a number of moulds believed to of been used in the statue's construction. Alas, the actual statue was taken back to Constantinople and destroyed in front of the public as a show of strength against what Christians saw as a pagan era.

Moulds believed to of been used in the making of the Statue of Zeus

The Philippeion, named after the Macedonian king, Philip ll who dedicated the building to Zeus after the victory at Chaironeia in 338 BCE.

Some of the 138 column bases which made up the Ionic colonnade of the Leonidanion, a large hostel built for distinguished visitors around 330 BCE.

One of the many bath complexes which can be found at Olympia.

One of my favourite buildings was the Octagon later converted into a bathhouse but originally served as part of the temporary residence for Emperor Nero as he trained for the Olympic games of 67 CE (which had been postponed by two years so he could attend). To think a Roman emperor once walked this same walkway.

But also to the fact despite rules dedicating a chariot could only have four horses, Nero stood behind ten. Although he was nearly killed when he was thrown off the chariot while taking a corner, but somehow was still declared the winner!

Looking towards the Octagon and Nero's house

Lucky for us, offerings to the gods were traditionally buried so have survived to the modern-day while the excellent museum holds a number of statues from the site and the pediment figures from the Temple of Zeus, making this one of the best Ancient Greek museums around.

Some of the votive offerings buried in the grounds of the Sanctuary

The Nike of Olympia once stood in the south-eastern corner of the Zeus Temple

The Hermes of Praxiteles made of Parian marble once stood in the Altis

and dates from 330 BCE and stands 2.13cm in height.

The east pediment of the Temple of Zeus made up of 21 figures retells the local myth of the chariot race between the king of Pisa and a Lydian prince.

The west pediment of the Temple of Zeus depicts the struggle between

the Centaurs and Lapiths, known as the Centauromachy.

Delphi (Pythos) - Pythian games

The Pythian games were held two years after the Olympics, like the World Championships are today with the winners of the sporting events receiving wreaths of laurel. However for many, the site will be better known as the home of the oracle (Sybyl) and the sanctuary of Apollo.

The Sacred Way leading up to the Sanctuary of Apollo

The Sacred Way takes you into the sanctuary enclosure once flanked by treasuries, monuments, and statues. The white marble and gleaming of gold must have been an awe-inspiring sight to the visitor, which would of always of been the intention.

The reconstructed Treasury of Athenians dedicated to Apollo Pythios commemorated the establishment of Athens democracy in 510 BCE. In the 2nd and 3rd Century CE it was used at Delphi's pawnbroker office showing how buildings were reused over time.

Eventually, you reach the remains of the Temple of Apollo dated to the 4th Century BCE although its foundations reach way back to the 7th Century BCE.

The Oracle is said to of resided in a room below the temple. Traces of gases may account for the oracle's behaviour although nothing is known for sure. Emperor Hadrian is said to of visited twice to sort council.

Temple of Apollo would have been seen for miles gleaming in the morning light on the lower slope of Mount Parnassus.

Further up the slope reside the ancient theatre giving a very impressive view of the sanctuary and valley having been founded in the 4th century BCE. As with many theatres, It was remodelled over the following years and could seat 4500 spectators.

Not surprisingly, one of the last major upgrades coincided with the visit of Nero, as part of his quest to take part in all four Panhellenic games.

Looking down at the theatre at Delphi

Finally, you get to the stadium, the home of the Pythian Games with a track of 177 metres in length and a capacity for 6500 spectators. The length of track wasn't always the same between stadiums but may of be been because of the physical constraints in this case.

Originally founded in the 4th Century BCE, the chariot racing would have taken place at a different location at the Hippodrome.

The stadium at Delphi, the marble seating was added by Emperor Hadrian

Looking towards the start line at the Delphi stadium

On the lower slopes, you find the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia and the Tholos of Delphi, one of the most photographed ancient structures in Greece but relatively new having been built between 380 and 370 BCE. The other temple remains are a lot older.

The Tholos of Delphi is seen as a masterclass in design

The dancers once stood on a column 13 metres high while the omphalos in the foreground is probably a Roman copy of the original which once stood in the adyton, where the prophetic responses were given via the Pythia (Oracle).

According to mythology, the stone marked the centre of the earth, the point where the two eagles released by Zeus at the opposite ends of the earth eventually met.

The most famous exhibit in the museum is the Charioteer found in the sanctuary of Apollo and is thought to commemorate the winner of the chariot race at the games in 470 BCE.

Isthmus of Corinth - Isthmian Games

Nothing remains of the site of the Isthmian Games although is thought to of been close to the Corinth canal. Before the canal was built, in days of old, the Greeks would drag boats the four miles across the Isthmus so saving several days of sailing getting around the Peloponnese.

The Corinth canal which separates the Peloponnese from mainland Greece