Visiting Greece's Ancient Olympia, Where the Games Began

By John Roberts

Ancient Olympia is the home of the original Olympics.

We visited the Greek port Katakolon on our Princess Cruises sailing on Regal Princess. A quick ride to the historic grounds of Olympia allowed us to be transported back in time to the 8th century B.C. when the first Games were held to honor the god Zeus. They were held at the site every four years until the 4th century A.D.

Today, the ruins remain under excavation. So many statues and stones have been recovered and continue to be found. The items had been covered by up to 8-foot-deep alluvial deposits. Activity has taken place to recover and restore the ancient city since the early 1800s. 

We first toured a museum at the site that houses ancient artifacts and statues that have held up extremely well considering how old they are.

The Olympic torch used to light the cauldron that burns at the modern games is lit on-site at Olympia every four years for both the Winter and Summer Games. 

Original Olympic torch site.

After that, we toured the vast ruins site, where workers continue to dig very carefully for items. The Olympics were as much a religious festival as a sporting event. The festival also featured artists and poets eager to share their works. During wars, truces were enacted for the period of the games, allowing athletes to safely travel to Olympia. 

Finally, we made our way to the original Olympic stadium, where kids -- young and old -- enthusiastically run out and back along the ancient track. All of the competitions of the earliest games involved running in the stadium. Eventually, sports such as boxing, long jump, javelin throw and chariot races were added. Did you know: Athletes generally competed in the nude. I'm imagining some serious sunburn if the conditions during the Games ever were like the hot sunny day we visited.

I'm winning!