5/28: Olympic Ruins Exploration

• Today was one of the most interesting and meaningful days of the trip. Today, we took a 15-minute bus ride to the Olympic ruins of Olympia. Which houses some of the oldest ruins that give us an idea of what the Ancient Olympic Games used to look like. Filled with temples of different gods as well as training centers for the athletes, this area of Olympia used to be the center of the ancient Olympic Games. People from all the different city-states in Greece as well as some outsiders from other countries came to compete in the other games that the Greeks put on. If you were victorious in the games you would receive a headband made out of olive branches from the original Athena's olive tree which was seen as a great honor to many Greeks during that time. They would also name the years after you to help keep track of time. For example, if I had won the ancient Olympics three years in a row the years would have been named Josh 1, 2, and 3. Everything about this trip to Olympia was very eye-opening as I did not know much about the ancient Olympic Games until then. To try and channel our own Ancient Olympic spirit we took to the same race track the ancient Olympians used to try and see who would win the games. I did not take part in the run as I did not want to hurt myself but my friends had a great time battling it out. I also learned about the sexism that took place during the games as women were not able to watch the games and if they were caught they were sentenced to death. Because of this rule, women did not take much interest in the Olympics as they wanted to preserve their lives so the cities of Greece created something called the Hera games, which was a similar type of games to the Olympics but with fewer games and an emphasis on more feminine sports. Even though there were some women who stayed far away from the Olympics there were some who resisted and actually ended up winning the Ancient Olympic Games. This entire trip to the Ancient Olympic ruins was very interesting and enlightening to me on how the Olympics we know and love today got to where it is today. It was not always perfect and did not have the same values as we do today but everything has to start somewhere. After our long and academic trip to the ancient Olympic ruins, we traveled to the center of town and had a great Greek lunch filled with classic Greek dishes such as gyros.

5/28 Olympia Ruins and Museums

 Today was our full day in Greece and our only day in Olympia. We started our day with a light breakfast from the hotel we were staying at and then headed to our first site. We began at the archaeological sites of Olympia. The archaeological site of Olympia, located in the western Peloponnese region of Greece, is one of the most significant sanctuaries of ancient Greece and the original location of the Olympic Games. It also contributed as a religious center for Zeus, the king of all Greek Gods. There were many remains of old temples and structures. At one point, there was a Temple of Zeus that was once named one of the seven wonders of the world.  This place was a common ground between all ancient Greek cities, where they got to compete in the form of Olympic games. We viewed sites like the race track where Greeks used to run under a large stadium. We raced on the track just like the athletes would have centuries ago. We also saw the remains of what used to be a gymnasium where athletes would practice for the games and perform some events. This structure was half of what it used to be, unfortunately. We saw the old bathrooms, the echo stoa, the palaestra, and the temple of Zeus.  Fun fact is that the OCOG used to be located in one of the ruins as well. There was not much left of these places, but seeing the remains was pretty cool. It, unfortunately, fell to ruins by the Roman Empire but was revisited and brought back to life in the 1800s when the Olympics were re-created. 

After viewing some of these sites, we took a walk to some of the museums linked with the archeological sites. In these museums, we got some history about some of the objects used in the games. We saw statues that used to be in the temples and learned the significance behind the different eras and sides of the games. Some important statues included that of Zeus, Hera, and Hermes as they all had very important roles in the ancient Olympic games. We also saw a layout of what Olympia used to look like, and every structure that we had previously mentioned we got to see in full. There were also important gear like weapons and helmets that showed the lifestyle of the athletes and Greek people. My favorite statue was the disc thrower, as we talked about this statue on the trip and it was the first one I had seen. 

After the museums, we went to get some food and shop in the local shops. We got some authentic Greek food which was amazing, and we all got some gifts from the stores. After, we met back up with our bus driver and departed for the long and awaited trip to Athens for the remainder of the trip. We ended with some late dinner and had a full day of fun for our first day in Athens tomorrow!