Exploring the Ancient Ruins of Olympia, Greece

Exploring the Ancient Ruins of Olympia, Greece

March 17, 2018 Olympia, Greece 

Today we went exploring among the ancient ruins of Olympia, Greece. Our tour guide was amazing, she pointed out numerous noteworthy spots in this massive and momentous complex that we would have otherwise just walked past them.  Although I felt very privileged to be walking among so many wonderful archeological ruins, I found it rather odd to be walking on top of many, many pieces of discarded terracotta pottery shards.  They were everywhere, in fact, our guide even picked one up and discussed how they radiocarbon date these fragments (she has a background in archaeology!).  I did all I could to keep my hands in my pockets or else one fragment might find its way into them!

As we first entered the vast grounds of this ancient city complex, we quickly saw that there were the ruins of massive temples, shops, and houses everywhere you looked.  I was overwhelmed not only at the huge number of ruins and artifacts that were lying about, but also the profusion of colorful wildflowers that grew everywhere among the ruins.  This time of the year is clearly a wonderful time to be in Greece.

Earlier this morning Nida and I had run a mini-marathon on the track where the first Olympics were held in 776 B.C.  We cooled down by walking around the ruins that were scattered all over the grounds.  The climate was perfect and after taking many photographs of this wonderful place, we rejoined our tour group.

This day was moving much too quickly and after spending some time on our own looking at the archeological ruins, our tour group met at the adjoining Archaeological Museum.  There we viewed astonishing Greek works of art such as the Nike of Paionios and terracotta statues dating back to the 5th century B.C.   And although we have seen several archeological sites on this trip, I was still captivated.  

This had been one of my favorite days so far in Greece.  After taking in the splendid artifacts in the museum, we purchased a few souvenirs and it was time to head for our Greek cooking class and lunch at a nearby restaurant.  


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