Olympia

The archaeological sanctuary of Olympia lies in the western Peloponnese of Greece and was the site of the ancient Olympic Games, held there every four years from a traditional starting date of 776 BC for well over a thousand years. Its ruins include the Temple of Zeus, which once housed a colossal gold and ivory statue of the god by the sculptor Phidias counted among the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, alongside the Temple of Hera, a stadium, a gymnasium, and the workshop where Phidias is believed to have worked. The sanctuary was excavated extensively beginning in 1875 by the German Archaeological Institute, whose long running campaigns recovered most of what is visible today after centuries of earthquake damage and river silting had buried the site. Olympia's architectural remains, distinct from its modern role as a town and from any single sanctuary's religious life, illustrate the classical Greek building forms, columned temple and stadium construction that shaped later Western architecture. The site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1989.