Olympia

After leaving Pompeii, we drove to Brindisi, hopped on an overnight ferry and headed for Greece. I was way excited for this part of the trip. I'd visited Greece before, but only seen Athens and Delphi. I was way excited to see other parts of the country. When we arrived we headed straight for Olympia. Olympia is the sight where the Ancient Olympic Games took place from 776 BC to 394 AD. It was also the place where the Statue of Zeus was housed. The Statue of Zeus is considered one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World (we ended up visiting the places where 3 of the 7 were located). Olympia is also important to the modern day Olympics. Every 2 years, the modern day Olympic Torch is lit in front of the remains of the Temple of Hera and then transported to the host city.

When we arrived in Olympia, it was pouring rain. Because of this, we didn't spend as much time as we probably would have if the weather had been nicer. I had really wanted to run in the Olympic Stadium, but it was so muddy. I kept sliding all over the place just trying to walk in the mud so there was no way I was going to try to run. I could just picture myself having to drive to our next destination, soaking wet and covered in mud. Anyways, here are a few pictures:

Temple of Hera (circa 590 BC)
This is where they light the Modern Olympic Torch.

The Philippeion

The Palaestra (circa 3rd century BC)
This is where they had the boxing and wrestling matches.

Me standing on some ruins in Olympia.
I'm not sure what building these ruins belong to.

Me pretending to run in The Stadium.
If you look closely, you can see my sliding marks in the mud.