What to See at Ancient Olympia

The Temple of Zeus

Begin at the Temple of Zeus, the great Doric temple at the heart of the Altis, built around 470–456 BC. Its enormous fallen column drums lie where earthquakes toppled them — a powerful sight in themselves. Inside once stood Phidias's colossal gold-and-ivory Statue of Zeus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; the statue is lost, but its temple's sculptures survive in the museum.

Olympia was the sanctuary of Zeus and the birthplace of the Olympic Games, first held in 776 BC and staged here for almost a thousand years.

The Temple of Hera and the flame

Nearby stands the Temple of Hera, around 600 BC and one of the oldest temples in Greece, with several columns re-erected. This is where, before each modern Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is kindled from the sun and carried to the host city — so you are standing at the symbolic origin of the modern Olympic torch relay.

The Stadium and the Workshop of Phidias

Pass through the vaulted stone tunnel into the Stadium, where the original stone start and finish lines are still set in the track and grassy banks held the crowds. Back in the sanctuary, look for the Workshop of Phidias, where the statue of Zeus was made; the round Philippeion of Philip II of Macedon; and the Bouleuterion, where athletes swore the Olympic oath.

The museum treasures

Your ticket includes the Archaeological Museum of Olympia, with the Hermes of Praxiteles, the soaring Nike of Paionios, and the pediment figures and Labours-of-Herakles metopes from the Temple of Zeus — among the greatest ancient Greek sculptures anywhere. The Museum of the History of the Olympic Games of Antiquity, also included, tells the story of the Games, the contests and the champions.