Olympia — Olympia
Olympia Patrick, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY SA 3.0

Site · Greece

Olympia

Ancient Greece, 800 BCE–400 CE

Olympia is the sanctuary of Zeus in the western Peloponnese where the Olympic Games were held every four years from 776 BCE until their suppression in 393 CE, with the Temple of Zeus, the Heraion, the stadium and the Altis grove. The modern Olympic flame is lit at the Temple of Hera.

CountryGreece
State / provinceElis
Dates800 BCE–400 CE
StatusArchaeological site and UNESCO World Heritage Site
Managed byHellenic Ministry of Culture, Ephorate of Antiquities of Elis
AccessOpen to the public with two museums
Coordinates37.638, 21.63 (public site)

What was found

The German excavations recovered the Hermes of Praxiteles, the pediments and metopes of the Temple of Zeus, the Nike of Paionios, thousands of bronze votives including helmets, tripods and figurines, and the workshop of Pheidias. Both museums are beside the site.

Rules

Nothing may be collected, dug, moved or removed at Olympia; it is a protected archaeological site managed by Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Ephorate of Antiquities of Elis, and taking artifacts, stones or samples is an offence. Greek law vests all antiquities in the state, and removal or export is a crime. This article is for study and context only and is not a collecting locality.

Elsewhere

Cite this article

Stratum Study. "Olympia" (Site). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/study/sites/olympia. Accessed 2026-09-21.

@misc{stratum-olympia,
  title        = {Olympia},
  author       = {{Stratum Study}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/sites/olympia}},
  year         = {2026},
  note         = {Site article, Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, commons. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
}

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Sources for this article: Stratum editorial (Stratum editorial);Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-4.0). As of 2026-09-21; Study pack 2026.09. Data reproduced under the licences shown; text in Stratum's own words unless a section names its source.

Found an error? Write to drew@tyr.ac with the article id site:olympia.

Stratum is the inventory, provenance and certificate system for fossil, mineral and shell collections. Study is its open reference: every fact cites its source, and the credits page lists each one with its licence.