Rome to Athens 9/15-10/1/2023. Episode 4 – Port of Katakolon – Olympia, Greece 9/19/2023

We arrived Tuesday morning at the port of Katakolon (emphasis on the “tak”) where the ship could dock. Some stops do not have a large enough dock and the ship anchors off-shore. Tenders are lowered to the water and make trips back and forth with the passengers.

This is our stop to visit Ancient Olympia. It is the first time visiting Greece for either of us. There are many fascinating tidbits shared by the guide, but due to limited time with internet access, I am going to restrain myself and just post pictures with explanations. I think. We’ll see how this goes. All of this is according to our guide.

The first official Olympic games were in 776 B.C. in what is now known as Ancient Olympia. They lasted for 1169 years, through 393 A.D., uninterrupted, happening once every four years in August. Only Greeks who were free men (and in a few cases women) could participate, no slaves and no criminals.

The first games involved only a footrace, but more and more games were added. Each gathering involved a procession of competitors, rituals and worship of the gods – particularly Zeus (the picture below with 3 columns is from the Temple), and a pledge of allegiance to Zeus.

A huge earthquake struck the area, toppling columns and statues, followed by wars, flooding, tsunamis that buried Olympia for 7 centuries. During that time the religion changed from that of worship of Zeus and the other 11 Greek gods (about whom much of Greek mythology is written) to Christianity, which condemned Athenianism as pagan and declared an end to the Olympics.

There was a period of fighting for Greek independence and in 1875-77 excavations were started by a German archeological society. Rockefeller later supported the efforts, and they continue today.

1500 years later, in 1896, the first modern Olympic games were held in Athens.

I’m about to run out of time and will not have access for several days, so I’ll attach pictures and say more later.

Love to you all!!