Listed 59 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "ILIA Province WEST GREECE" .
OLYMPIA (Ancient sanctuary) ILIA
In the western Peloponnese,
in a peaceful, idyllic valley, between Kronos Hill and the confluence of the rivers
Alpheios and Kladeos, there
flourished in ancient times one of the most important pan-Hellenic sanctuaries:
the Sanctuary of Olympia. At this Sanctuary, apart from rituals performed for
healing, games called Olympic were also established from a very early period and,
with the passage of time, attracted the attention of all the Greeks. With the
Olympic Games, the ideal of noble rivalry found its complete expression and for
many centuries forged the unity and peace of the Greek world. Hence the Sanctuary
where they took place was recognized as one of the greatest pan Hellenic centers.
History-The legend
It has not yet been established when people first began worshipping
at Olympia. However, archaeological finds show that the area was at least settled
from the 3rd millennium B.C. It is also known that the first Sanctuary was the
Gainon, which was found at the foot of Kronos hill and was dedicated to Gaia (Earth),
the wife of Ouranos (Heaven). That was also, as it is said, the most ancient oracle
of Olympia (Pausanias V, 14, 10).
Later, Kronos - the youngest son of Gaia and Ouranos - having deposed
his father, was worshipped at Olympia with his wife, Rhea. According to Pausanias
(V, 7 ,6) the people of that time, who were also called the people of the Golden
Age, built a shrine to Kronos at Olympia. Besides, on the summit of Kronos Hill,
which took this name from Kronos, there was an altar to the god, where the so-called
"Basilai" every year made sacrifices in his honour (Pausanias VI, 20,
1).
In the course of the centuries came new gods. According to myth, Kronos
swallowed his male children fearing that they might depose him, as he had deposed
Ouranos. He has devoured two children, Poseidon and Hades, when Zeus was born.
Then Rhea, having given Kronos a stone bound in swaddling clothes to swallow,
handed the new-born child to five Cretan brothers, the Daktyloi of Isa or Kouretes,
to conceal him and bring him up in Crete.
When Zeus came of age, he asked Metis for help to overthrow Kronos.
Metis gave Kronos some medicine to drink and so made him vomit the two children
whom he had devoured. Then Zeus, helped by his two brothers and three sisters,
Hera, Hestia and Demeter, deposed Kronos after a terrible conflict lasting ten
years, which is known as the Titanomachia (Battle between the Gods and the Titans).
Since the Olympian gods prevailed, from then on the Sanctuary of Olympia
became the Sanctuary of Zeus. So in a series of local myths, Zeus was associated
with Olympia and the Games. One of these local myths says that the five Cretan
brothers, the Kouretes, to whom Rhea had entrusted his guardianship, came from
Crete to Olympia, where Zeus was weaned on the milk of Amalthea by the nymphs.
At Olympia, the eldest of the five brothers, Hercules - not Hercules the son of
Amphitrion and Alkmene - arranged foot races among his brothers and honored the
winner with a crown of wild olive, which grew abundantly in the valley. Even Hercules
called these games "Olympic" and appointed that they should take place
every fifth year, since he and his brothers numbered five (Pausanias V,7, 6-9).
Other local myths also say that Zeus fought with Kronos at Olympia usurping the
leadership and that he himself established the games because he overcame Kronos.
It is also said that other gods competed at Olympia and that Apollo beat Ares
at Boxing and outran Hermes (Pausanias V, 7, 10).
According to tradition, Aethlios, the first king of Elis was also
an organiser of the games. Aethlios was succeeded by his son Endymion, who in
turn organised races at Olympia among his sons Paeon, Aetolus and Epeios, in order
to leave his kingdom to the winner.
Pelops too, after he beat King Oinomaos of Pisa in a chariot race
and married the King's daughter Hippodameia, once again arranged at Olympia games
in honor of Zeus, which it was said were the most memorable of all those which
had been celebrated up till then. When Aueias reigned over Elis,
Hercules - son of Amhitrion and Alkmene - came to clean his stables. After the
contest, however, Augeias refused to give Hercules the cattle, which he had promised.
Then Hercules marched against Augeias, and after conquering Elis, he arranged
games at Olympia in honour of Zeus. At these games, it is said that he himself
was distinguished in wrestling and in the pankration. Finally, games at Olympia
were also arranged by Oxylos, the King of Elis. After the reign of Oxylos however,
the games were forgotten until the time of Iphitos, the great King of Elis (Pausanisas
V, 8, 1-5).
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ALISSION (Ancient city) ILIA
Alesiaeum (Alesiaion), called Aleisium (Aleision)) by Homer. A town of Pisatis,
situated upon the road leading across the mountains from Elis to Olympia. Its
site is uncertain.
AMFIDOLIA (Ancient city) ILIA
Amphidoli (Amphidoloi), a town in Pisatis in Elis, which gave its
name to the small district of Amphidolis or Amphidolia (Amphidolis, Amphidolia).
The town of Marganeae or Margalae was situated in this district. The site of Amphidoli
is uncertain, but their territory probably lay to the west of Acroreia. (Xen.
Hell. iii. 2. 30; Strab. pp. 341, 349; Leake, Pelponnesiaca, p. 219.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ARPINA (Ancient city) ANCIENT OLYMPIA
Harpinna: Eth. Harpinaios. A town of Pisatis (Elis) situated on the
right bank of the Alpheius, on the road to Heraea, at the distance of 20 stadia
from the hippodrome of Olympia. (Lucian, de Mort. Peregr. 35.) Harpina is said
to have been founded by Oenomaus, who gave it the name of his mother. The ruins
of the town were seen by Pausanias. According to Strabo, Harpina stood upon the
stream Parthenius; according to Pausanias, upon one called Harpinates. The ruins
of the town stand upon a ridge a little northward of the village of Miraka: there
are two small rivulets on either side of the ridge, of which the eastern one appears
to be the Parthenius, and the western the Harpinates. (Strab. viii. pp. 356, 3571
; Paus. vi. 20. § 8; Steph. B. s. v.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited May 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
DYSPONTION (Ancient city) PYRGOS
Duspontion: Eth. Duspontieus. An ancient town, in the territory of Pisa, said
to have been founded by a son of Oenomaus, is described by Strabo as situated
in the plain on the road from Elis to Olympia. It lay north of the Alpheius, not
far from the sea, and probably near the modern Skaphidi. Being destroyed by the
Eleians in their war with the Pisatae, its inhabitants removed to Apollonia and
Epidamnus.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
EFYRA ILIAKI (Ancient city) ILIA
Ephyra, Ephure. A town of Elis, situated upon the river Selleeis, and the
ancient capital of Augeias, whom Hercules. conquered. (Hom. Il. ii. 659, xv. 531)
Strabo describes Ephyra as distant 120 stadia, from Elis, on the road to Lasion,
and says that on its site or near it was built the town of Oenoe or Boeonoa. (Strab.
viii. p. 338, where, for the corrupt keimene te epithalassiona, we ought to read,
with Meineke, keimene te epi Lasiona...) Stephanus also speaks of an Ephyra between
Pylos and Elis, Pylos being the town at the junction of the Ladon and the Peneius.
(Steph. B. s. v. Ephura.) From these two accounts there can be little doubt that
the Ladon, the chief tributary of the Peneius, is the Selleeis, which Strabo describes
as rising in Mount Pholoe. Curtius places Ephyra near the modern village of Klisura
which lies on the Ladon, about 120 stadia from Elis, by way of Pylos. Leake supposes,
with much less probability, that the Selleeis is the Peneius, and that Ephyra
was the more ancient name of Elis.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited May 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
FIAS (Ancient city) ILIA
Phea (hai Pheiai, Hornm. Il. vii. 135, Od. xv. 297; Pheia, Thuc. Strab;
Phea, Steph. B. s. v.: Eth. Pheates, Steph. B.). A city of Elis in the Pisatis,
situated upon the isthmus connecting the promontory Ichthys (C. of Katakolo) with
the mainland. Strabo erroneously speaks of two promontories upon this part of
the coast; one called Pheia, from the name of the neighbouring town, and another
more to the south, of which he has not given the name. (Strab. viii. 343.) Pheia
is mentioned by Homer, who places it near the Iardanus, which is apparently the
mountain torrent north of Ichthys, and which flows into the sea on the northern
side of the lofty mountain Skaphidi. (Hom. l. c.) Upon a very conspicuous peaked
height upon the isthmus of Ichthys are the ruins of a castle of the middle ages,
called Pontikokastro, built upon the remains of the Hellenic walls of Pheia. On
either side of Ichthys are two harbours; the northern one, which is a small creek,
was the port of Pheia; the southern one is the broad bay of Katakolo, which is
now much frequented, but was too open and exposed for ancient navigation. The
position of these harbours explains the narrative of Thucydides, who relates that
in the first year of the Peloponnesian War (B.C. 431), the Athenian fleet, having
sailed from Methone in Messenia, landed at Pheia (that is, in the bay of Katakolo),
and laid waste the country; but a storm having arisen, they sailed round the promontory
Ichthys into the harbour of Pheia. In front of the harbour was a small island,
which Polybius calls Pheias (Strab. l. c.; Polyb. iv. 9). About a mile north of
the small creek at Pontikokastro, there is a harbour called Khortus, which Leake
is disposed to identify with the port mentioned by Thucydides, on the ground that
the historian describes it not as the port of Pheia, but as a harbour in the district
Pheia (ton en te Phgeiai limena but we think it more probable that the historian
intended the creek at the foot of Pontikokastro. In any case Pheia stood on the
isthmus of Ichthys, and neither at Khortus nor at the mouth of the torrent of
Skaphidi, at one or other of which spots Pheia is placed by Boblaye, though at
neither are there any ancient remains.think it more probable that the historian
intended the creek at the foot of Pontikokastro. In any case Pheia stood on the
isthmus of Ichthys, and neither at Khortus nor at the mouth of the torrent of
Skaphidi, at one or other of which spots Pheia is placed by Boblaye, though at
neither are there any ancient remains.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited May 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
HERAKLIA (Ancient city) ILIA
An ancient place of Pisatis in Elis, but a village in the time of Pausanias, was
distant 40 or 50 stadia from Olympia. It contained medicinal waters issuing from
a fountain sacred to the Ionic nymphs, and flowing into the neighbouring stream
called Cytherus or Cytherius, which is the brook near the modern village of Bruma.
ILIS (Ancient city) ILIA
Elis. The position of the city of Elis was the best that could have been
chosen for the capital of the country. Just before the Peneius emerges from the
hills into the plain, the valley of the river is contracted on the south by a
projecting hill of a peaked form, and nearly 500 feet in height. This hill was
the acropolis of Elis, and commanded as well the narrow valley of the Peneius
as the open plain beyond. It is now called Kaloskopi, which the Venetians translated
into Belvedere. The ancient city lay at the foot of the hill, and extended across
the river, as Strabo says that the Peneius flowed through the city (viii. p. 337);
but since no remains are now found on the right or northern bank, it is probable
that all the public buildings were on the left bank of the river, more especially
as Pausanias does not make any allusion to the river in his description of the
city. On the site of the ancient city there are two or three small villages, which
bear the common name of Paleopoli.
Elis is mentioned as a town of the Epeii by Homer (Il. ii. 615); but
in the earliest times the two chief towns in the country appear to have been Ephyra
the residence of Augeias, in the interior, and Buprasium on the coast. Some writers
suppose that Ephyra was the more ancient name of Elis, but it appears to have
been a different place, situated upon the Ladon. Elis first became a place of
importance upon the invasion of Peloponnesus by the Dorians. Oxylus and his Aetolian
followers appear to have settled on the height of Kaloskopi as the spot best adapted
for ruling the country. From this time it was the residence of the kings, and
of the aristocratical families who governed the country after the abolition of
royalty. Elis was the only fortified town in the country; the rest of the inhabitants
dwelt in unwalled villages, paying obedience to the ruling class at Elis.
Soon after the Persian wars the exclusive privileges of the aristocratical
families in Elis were abolished, and a democratical government established. Along
with this revolution a great change took place in the city of Elis. The city appears
to have been originally confined to the acropolis; but the inhabitants of many
separate townships, eight according to Strabo, now removed to the capital, and
built round the acropolis a new city, which they left undefended by walls, relying
upon the sanctity of their country. (Diod. xi. 54; Strab. viii. p. 336; Xen. Hell.
iii. 2. 27) At the same time the Eleians were divided into a certain number of
local tribes; or if the latter existed before, they now acquired for the first
time political rights. The Hellanodicae, or presidents of the Olympic games, who
had formerly been taken from the aristocratical families, were now appointed,
by lot, one from each of the local tribes; and the fluctuating number of the Hellanodicae
shows the increase and decrease from time to time of the Eleian territory. It
is probable that each of the three districts into which Elis was divided, - Hollow
Elis, Pisatis, and Triphylia, - contained four tribes. This is in accordance with
the fourfold ancient division of Hollow Elis, and with the twice four townships
in the Pisatis. Pausanias in his account of the number of the Hellanodicae says
that there were 12 Hellanodicae in Ol. 103, which was immediately after the battle
of Leuctra, when the Eleians recovered for a short time their ancient dominions,
but that being shortly afterwards deprived of Triphylia by the Arcadians, the
number of their tribes was reduced to eight. (Paus. v. 9. § § 5, 6.)
When Pausanias visited Elis, it was one of the most populous and splendid
cities of Greece. At present nothing of it remains except some masses of tile
and mortar, several wrought blocks of stone and fragments of sculpture, and a
square building about 20 feet on the outside, which within is in the form of an
octagon with niches. With such scanty remains it would be impossible to attempt
any reconstruction of the city, and to assign to particular sites the buildings
mentioned by Pausanias (vi. 23 - 26).
Strabo says (viii. p. 337) that the gymnasium stood on the side of
the river Peneius; and it is probable that the gymnasium and agora occupied the
greater part of the space between the river and the citadel. The gymnasium was
a vast inclosure surrounded by a wall. It was by far the largest gymnasium in
Greece, which is accounted for by the fact that all the athletae in the Olympic
games were obliged to undergo a month's previous training in the gymnasium at
Elis. The inclosure bore the general name of Xystus, and within it there were
special places destined for the runners, and separated from one another by plane-trees.
The gymnasium contained three subdivisions, called respectively Plethrium, Tetragonum,
and Malco: the first so called from its dimensions, the second from its shape,
and the third from the softness of the soil. In their Malco was the senate-house
of the Eleians, called Lalichium from the name of its founders: it was also used
for literary exhibitions.
The gymnasium had two principal entrances, one leading by the street
called Siope or Silence to the baths, and the other above the cenotaph of Achilles
to the agora and the Hellanodicaeum. The agora was also called the hippodrome,
because it was used for the exercise of horses. It was built in the ancient style,
and, instead of being surrounded by an. unin terrupted, series of stoae or colonnades,
its stoae were separated, from one another by streets. The southern stoa, which
consisted of a triple row of Doric columns, was the usual resort of the Hellanodicae
during the day. Towards one end of this stoa to the left was the Hellanodicaeon,
a building divided from. the agora by a street, which was the official residence
of the Hellanodicae, who received here instruction in their duties for ten months
preceding the.festival. There was another stoa in the agora called the Corcyraean
stoa, because it had been built out of the tenth of some spoils taken from the
Cor. cyraeans. It consisted of two rows of Doric columns, with a partition wall
running between them: one side was open to the agora, and the other to a temple
of Aphrodite Urania, in which was a statue of the goddess in gold and ivory by
Pheidias. In the open part of the agora Pausanias mentions the temple of Apollo
Acacesius, which was the principal temple in Elis, statues of Helios and Selene
(Sun and Moon), a temple of the Graces, a temple of Silenus, and the tomb of Oxylus.
On the way to the theatre was the temple of Hades, which was opened only once
in the year.
The theatre must have been on the slope of the acropolis: it is described
by Pausanias as lying between the agora and the Menius, which, if the name is
not corrupt, must be the brook flowing down from the heights behind Paleopoli.
Near the theatre was a temple of Dionysus, containing a statue of this god by
Praxiteles.
On the acropolis was a temple of Athena, containing a statue of the
goddess in gold and ivory by Pheidias. On the summit of the acropolis are the
remains of a castle, in the walls of which Curtius noticed some fragments of Doric
columns which probably belonged to the temple of Athena.
In the immediate neighbourhood of Elis was Petra, where the tomb of
the philosopher Pyrrhon was shown. (Paus. vi. 24. § 5.)
This extract is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
KYLLINI (Ancient city) ILIA
Kullene. Eth. Kullenios, Kullenheus. The seaport town of Elis, distant
120 stadia from the latter city. (Paus. vi. 26. § 4; Strab. viii. p. 337.) Cyllene
was an ancient place. It is mentioned by Homer as one of the towns of the Epeians
(Il. xv. 518); and if we are to believe Dionysius Periegetes (347), it was the
port from which the Pelasgians sailed to Italy. Pausanias, moreover, mentions
it as visited at an early period by the merchants of Aegina (viii. 5. § 8), and
as the port from which the exiled Messenians after the conclusion of the second
Messenian war, sailed away to found a colony in Italy or Sicily (iv. 23. § 1,
seq.).
Cyllene was burnt by the Corcyraeans in B.C. 435, because it had supplied
ships to the Corinthians. (Thuc. i. 30.) It is again mentioned in 429, as the
naval station of the Peloponnesian fleet, when Phormion commanded an Athenian
squadron in the Corinthian gulf. (Thuc. ii. 84.) Its name occurs on other occasions,
clearly showing that it was the principal port in this part of Peloponnesus. (Thuc.
vi. 89; Died. xix. 66, 87; Polyb. v. 3; Liv. xxvii. 32.) Strabo describes Cyllene
as an inconsiderable village, having an ivory statue of Asclepius by Colotes,
a contemporary of Pheidias. (Strab. viii.) This statue is not mentioned by Pausanias,
who speaks, however, of temples of Asclepius and Aphrodite (vi. 26. § 5).
Cyllene is usually identified with Glarentza, situated upon one of
the capes of the promontory Chelonatas. This is the position assigned to it by
Leake, whose authority we have followed elsewhere; but there are strong reasons
for doubting the correctness of this opinion. There are no ancient remains at
Glarentza; and although this is at present the only port on this part of the coast,
the outline of the latter has been so changed in the course of centuries, that
little reliance can be placed upon this argument. Moreover, Cyllene is clearly
distinguished from the promontory Chelonatas by the ancient writers. Strabo (viii.)
says that the Peneius flows into the sea between the promontories Chelonatas and
Cyllene; and that this is not an error in the text, as Leake supposes, appears
from the order of the names in Ptolemy (iii. 15. § § 5, 6), where we find the
promontory Araxus, Cyllene, the mouths of the Peneius, the promontory Chelonitis.
The river Peneius at present flows into the sea to the south of Chelonatas, but
its ancient course was probably north of this promontory. Accordingly we may perhaps
place Cyllene about half way between Araxus and Chelonatas. This position not
only agrees with the distance of 120 stadia from Elis mentioned by Strabo and
Pausanias, but also with the distances in the Tab. Peuting., which reckons xiv.
M. P. from Dyme to Cyllene, and also xiv. M. P. from Cyllene to Elis. Pliny (iv.
5. s. 6.), likewise separates the promontory Chelonatas from Cyllene. According
to the present text of Pliny, the distance between them is v. M. P. (not ii. as
in some editions); but instead of v. we ought probably to read xv. It appears
from Pliny that the sea between the promontories of Araxus and Chelonatas was
called the bay of Cyllene.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
LASSION (Ancient city) ILIA
The chief town of the mountainous district of Acroreia in Elis proper,
was situated upon the frontiers of Arcadia near Psophis. Curtius places it with
great probability in the upper valley of the Ladon, at the Paleokastro of Kumani,
on the road from the Eleian Pylos and Ephyra to Psophis. Lasion was a frequent
object of dispute between the Arcadians and Eleians, both of whom laid claim to
it. In the war which the Spartans carried on against Elis at the close of the
Peloponnesian War, Pausanias, king of Sparta, took Lasion (Diod. xiv. 17). The
invasion of Pausanias is not mentioned by Xenophon in his account of this war;
but the latter author relates that, by the treaty of peace concluded between Elis
and Sparta in B.C. 400, the Eleians were obliged to give up Lasion, in consequence
of its being claimed by the Arcadians. (Xen. Hell. iii. 2. 30) In B.C. 366 the
Eleians attempted to recover Lasion from the Arcadians; they took the town by
surprise, but were shortly afterwards driven out of it again by the Arcadians.
(Xen. Hell. vii. 4. 13, seq.; Diod. xv. 77.) In B.C. 219 Lasion was again a fortress
of Elis, but upon the capture of Psophis by Philip, the Eleian garrison at Lasion
straightway deserted the place. (Polyb. iv. 72, 73.) Polybius mentions (v. 102)
along with Lasion a fortress called Pyrgos, which he places in a district named
Perippia.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
LETRINI (Ancient city) PYRGOS
Letrinoi, Letrina. A town of Pisatis in Elis, situated near the sea,
upon the Sacred Way leading from Elis to Olympia, at the distance of 180 stadia
from Elis, and 120 from Olympia. It was said to have been founded by Letreus,
a son of Pelops. (Paus. vi. 22. § 8.) Together with several of the other dependent
townships of Elis, it joined Agis, when he invaded the territories of Elis; and
the Eleians were obliged to surrender their supremacy over Letrini by the peace
which they concluded with the Spartans in B.C. 400. (Xen. Hell. iii. 2. 25, 30.)
Xenophon speaks of Letrini, Amphidoli, and Marganeis as Triphylian places,
although they were on the right bank of the Alpheius; and if there is no corruption
in the text, which Mr. Grote thinks there is , the word Triphylian must be used
in a loose sense to signify the dependent townships of Elis. The Letrinaiai guai
are mentioned by Lycophron (158). In the time of Pausanias nothing remained of
Letrini except a few houses and a temple of Artemis Alpheiaea. Letrini may be
placed at the village and monastery of St. John, between Pyrgo and the port of
Katakolo, where, according to Leake, among many fragments of antiquity, a part
of a large statue was found some years ago. g remained of Letrini except a few
houses and a temple of Artemis Alpheiaea. Letrini may be placed at the village
and monastery of St. John, between Pyrgo and the port of Katakolo, where, according
to Leake, among many fragments of antiquity, a part of a large statue was found
some years ago.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
MYRSINI (Ancient city) ILIA
Murtountion, called Myrsinus (Mursinos) by Homer, who mentions it
among the towns of the Epeii. It was a town of Elis, and is described by Strabo
as situated on the road from the city of Elis to Dyme in Achaia, at the distance
of 70 stadia from the former place and near the sea. Leake remarks that the last
part of the description must be incorrect, since no part of the road from Elis
to Dyme could have passed by the sea; but Curtius observes that Myrtuntium would
at one time have been near the sea-coast, supposing that the lagoon of Kotiki
was originally a gulf of the sea. The ruin near Kalotikos probably represents
this place.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
OLYMPIA (Ancient sanctuary) ILIA
(he Olumpia). The temple and sacred grove of Zeus Olympius, situated
at a small distance west of Pisa in Peloponnesus. It originally belonged to Pisa,
and the plain, in which it stood, was called in more ancient times the plain of
Pisa; but after the destruction of this city by the Eleians in B.C. 572, the name
of Olympia was extended to the whole district. Besides the temple of Zeus Olympius,
there were several other sacred edifices and public buildings in the sacred grove
and its immediate neighbourhood; but there was no distinct town of Olympia.
The plain of Olympia is open towards the sea on the west, but is surrounded
on every other side by hills of no great height, yet in many places abrupt and
precipitous. Their surface presents a series of sandy cliffs of light yellow colour,
covered with the pine, ilex, and other evergreens. On entering the valley from
the west, the most conspicuous object is a bold and nearly insulated eminence
rising on the north from the level plain in the form of an irregular cone. (Mure,
vol. ii. p. 281.) This is Mount Cronius, or the hill of Cronus, which is frequently
noticed by Pindar and other ancient writers. (par eudeielon Kronion, Pind. Ol.
i. 111; pagos Kronou, Ol. xi. 49; hupseloio petra alibatos Kroniou, Ol. vi. 64;
Kronou par aipun ochthon, Lycophr. 42; ho Kroneios, Xen. Hell. vii. 4. 14; to
oros to Kronion, Paus. v. 21. § 2, vi. 19. § 1, vi. 20. § 1; Ptol. iii. 16. §
14.) The range of hills to which it belongs is called by most modern writers the
Olympian, on the authority of a passage of Xenophon. (Hell. vii. 4. § 14). Leake,
however, supposes that the Olympian hill alluded to in this passage was no other
than Cronius itself; but it would appear, that the common opinion is correct,
since Strabo (viii. p. 356) describes Pisa as lying between the two mountains
Olympus and Ossa. The hills, which bound the plain on the south, are higher than
the Cronian ridge, and, like the latter, are covered with evergreens, with the
exception of one bare summit, distant about half a mile from the Alpheius. This
was the ancient Tyraeus (Tupaion), from which women, who frequented the Olympic
games, or crossed the river on forbidden days, were condemned to be hurled headlong.
(Paus. v. 6. § 7.) Another range of hills closes the vale of Olympia to the east,
at the foot of which runs the rivulet of Miraka. On the west the vale was bounded
by the Cladeus (Kladeos), which flowed from north to south along the side of the
sacred grove, and fell into the Alpheius. (Paus. v. 7. § 1; Kladaos, Xen. Hell.
vii. 4. 29) This river rises at Lala in Mount Pholoe. The Alpheius, which flows
along the southern edge of the plain, constantly changes its course, and has buried
beneath the new alluvial plain, or carried into the river, all the remains of
buildings and monuments which stood in the southern part of the Sacred Grove.
In winter the Alpheius is full, rapid. and turbid; in summer it is scanty, and
divided into several torrents flowing between islands or sandbanks over a wide
gravelly bed. The vale of Olympia is now called Andilalo (i. e. opposite to Lala),
and is uninhabited. The soil is naturally rich, but swampy in part, owing to the
inundations of the river. Of the numerous buildings and countless statues, which
once covered this sacred spot, the only remains are those of the temple of Zeus
Olympius. Pausanias has devoted nearly two books, and one fifth of his whole work,
to the description of Olympia; but he does not enumerate the buildings in their
exact topographical order: owing to this circumstance, to the absence of ancient
remains, and to the changes in the surface of the soil by the fluctuations in
the course of the Alpheius, the topography of the plain must be to a great extent
conjectural. The latest and most able attempt to elucidate this subject, is that
of Colonel Leake in his Peloponnesiaca, whose description is here chiefly followed.
Olympia lay partly within and partly outside of the Sacred Grove.
This Sacred Grove bore from the most ancient times the name of Altis (he Altis),
which is the Peloponnesian Aeolic form of alsos. (Paus. v. 10. § 1.) It was adorned
with trees, and in its centre there was a grove of planes. (Paus. v. 27. § 11.)
Pindar likewise describes it as well wooded (Pisas eudendron ep Alpheo alsos,
Ol. viii. 12). The space of the Altis was measured out by Hercules, and was surrounded
by this hero with a wall. (Pind. Ol. xi. 44.) On the west it ran along the Cladeus;
on the south its direction may be traced by a terrace raised above the Alpheius;
on the east it was bounded by the stadium. There were several gates in the wall,
but the principal one, through which all the processions passed, was situated
in the middle of the western side, and was called the Pompic Entrance (he Pompike
eisodos, Paus. v. 15. § 2). From this gate, a road, called the Pompic Way, ran
across the Altis, and entered the stadium by a gateway on the eastern side.
1. The Olympieium, Olympium, or temple of Zeus Olympius. An oracle of the
Olympian god existed on this spot from the most ancient times (Strab. viii. p.
353), and here a temple was doubtless built, even before the Olympic games became
a Pan-Hellenic festival. But after the conquest of Pisa and the surrounding cities
by the Eleians in B.C. 572, the latter determined to devote the spoils of the
conquered cities to the erection of a new and splendid temple of the Olympian
god. (Paus. v. 10. §§ 2, 3.) The. architect was Libon of Elis. The temple was
not, however, finished till nearly a century afterwards, at the period when the
Attic school of art was supreme in Greece, and the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis
had thrown into the shade all previous works of art. Shortly after the dedication
of the Parthenon, the Eleians invited Pheidias and his school of artists to remove
to Elis, and adorn the Olympian temple in a manner worthy of the king of the gods.
Pheidias probably remained at Olympia for four or five years from about B.C. 437
to 434 or 433. The colossal statue of Zeus in the cella, and the figures in the
pediments of the temple were executed by Pheidias and his associates. The pictorial
embellishments were the work of his relative Panaenus. (Strab. viii. p. 354) Pausanias
has given a minute description of the temple (v. 10); and its site, plan, and
dimensions have been well ascertained by the excavations of the French Commission
of the Morea. The foundations are now exposed to view; and several fine fragments
of the sculptures, representing the labours of Hercules, are now in the museum
of the Louvre. The temple stood in the south-western portion of the Altis, to
the right hand of the Pompic entrance. It was built of the native limestone, which
Pausanias called poros, and which was covered in the more finished parts by a
surface of stucco, which gave it the appearance of marble. It was of the Doric
order, and a peripteral hexastyle building. Accordingly it had six columns in
the front and thirteen on the sides. The columns were fluted, and 7ft. 4in. in
diameter, a size greater than that of any other existing columns of a Grecian
temple. The length of the temple was 230 Greek feet, the breadth 95, the height
to the summit of the pediment 68. The roof was covered with slabs of Pentelic
marble in the form of tiles. At each end of the pediment stood a gilded vase,
and on the apex a gilded statue of Nike or Victory; below which was a golden shield
with the head of Medusa in the middle, dedicated by the Lacedaemonians on account
of their victory over the Athenians at Tanagra in B.C. 457. The two pediments
were filled with figures. The eastern pediment had a statue of Zeus in the centre,
with Oenomaus on his right and Pelops on his left, prepared to contend in the
chariot-race; the figures on either side consisted of their attendants, and in
the angles were the two rivers, Cladeus to the right of Zeus, and Alpheius to
his left. In the western pediment was the contest of the Centaurs and the Lapithae,
Peirithous occupying the central place. On the metopes over the doors at the eastern
and western ends the labours of Hercules were represented. In its interior construction
the temple resembled the Parthenon. The cella consisted of two chambers, of which
the eastern contained the statue, and the western was called the Opisthodomus.
The colossal statue of Zeus, the master-work of Pheidias, was made of ivory and
gold. It stood at the end of the front chamber of the cella, directly facing the
entrance, so that it at once showed itself in all its grandeur to a spectator
entering the temple. The approach to it was between a double row of columns, supporting
the roof. The god was seated on a magnificent throne adorned with sculptures,
a full description of which, as well as of the statue, has been given in another
place. Behind the Opisthodomus of the temple was the Callistephanus or wild olive
tree, which furnished the garlands of the Olympic victors. (Paus. v. 15. § 3.)
2. The Pelopium stood opposite the temple of Zeus, on the other side of
the Pompic way. Its position is defined by Pausanias, who says that it stood to
the right of the entrance into the temple of Zeus and to the north of that building.
It was an enclosure, containing trees and statues, having an opening to the west.
(Paus. v. 13. § 1.)
3. The Heraeum was the most important temple in the Altis after that of
Zeus It was also a Doric peripteral building. Its dimensions are unknown. Pausanias
says (v. 16. § 1) that it was 63 feet in length; but this is clearly a mistake,
since no peripteral building was so small; and the numerous statues in the cella,
described by Pausanias, clearly show that it must have been of considerable dimensions.
The two most remarkable monuments in the Heraeum were the table, on which were
placed the garlands prepared for the victors in the Olympic contests, and the
celebrated chest of Cypselus, covered with figures in relief, of which Pausanias
has given an elaborate description (v. 17-19). We learn from a passage of Dion
Chrysostom (Orat. xi. p. 163), cited by Leake, that this chest stood in the opisthodomus
of the Heraeum; whence we may infer that the cella of the temple consisted of
two apartments.
4. The Great Altar of Zeus is described by Pausanias as equidistant from
the Pelopium and the Heraeum, and as being in front of them both. (Paus. v. 13.
§ 8.) Leake places the Heraeum near the Pompic entrance of the Stadium, and supposes
that it faced eastward; accordingly he conjectures that the altar was opposite
to the backfronts of the Pelopium and the Heraeum. The total height of the altar
was 22 feet. It had two platforms, of which the upper was made of the cinders
of the thighs sacrificed on this and other altars.
5. The Column of Oenomaus stood between the great altar and the temple
of Zeus. It was said to have belonged to the house of Oenomaus, and to have been
the only part of the building which escaped when it was burnt by lightning. (Paus.
v. 20. § 6.)
6. The Metroum, or temple of the Mother of the Gods, was a large Doric
building, situated within the Altis (Paus. v. 20. § 9.) It is placed by Leake
to the left of the Pompic Way nearly opposite the Heraeum.
7. The Prytaneium is placed by Pausanias within the Altis, near the Gymnasium,
which was outside the sacred enclosure (v. 15. § 8.)
8. The Bouleuterion, or Council-House, seems to have been near the Prytaneium.
(Paus. v. 23. § 1, 24. § 1.) 9. The Philippeium, a circular building, erected
by Philip after the battle of Chaeroneia, was to the left in proceeding from the
entrance of the Altis to the Prytaneium. (Pans. v. 17. § 4, v. 20. § 10.)
10. The Theecoleon, a building belonging to the theekoloi or superintendents
of the sacrifices (Paus. v. 15. § 8). Its position is uncertain. 11. The Hippodamium,
named from Hippodameia, who was buried here, was within the Altis near the Pompic
Way. (Paus. vi. 20. § 7.)
12. The temple of the Olympian Eileithyia (Lucina) appears to have stood
on the neck of Mount Cronius. (Paus. vi. 20. § 2.)
13. The Temple of the Olympian Aphrodite was near that of Eileithyia. (Paus.
vi. 20. § 6.)
14. The Thesauri or Treasuries, ten in number, were, like those at Delphi,
built by different cities, for the reception of their dedicatory offerings. They
are described by Pausanias as standing to the north of the Heraeum at the foot
of Mount Cronius, upon a platform made of the stone poros (Paus. vi. 19. § 1).
15. Zanes, statues of Zeus, erected from the produce of fines levied upon
athletae, who had violated the regulations of the games. They stood upon a stone
platform at the foot of Mount Cronius, to the left of a person going from the
Metroum to the Stadium. (Paus. v. 21. § 2.) 16. The Studio of Pheidias,
which was outside the Altis, and near the Pompic entrance. (Paus. v. 15. § 1.)
17. The Leonidaeum, built by Leonidas, a native, was near the Studio of
Pheidias. Here the Roman magistrates were lodged in the time of Pausanias (v.
15. §§ 1, 2).
18. The Gymnasium, also outside the Altis, and near the northern entrance
into it. (Paus. vi. 21. § 2.) Near the Gymnasium was (19) the Palaestra.
20 and 21. The Stadium and the Hippodrome were two of the most important
sites at Olympia, as together they formed the place of exhibition for all the
Olympic contests. Their position cannot be determined with certainty; but as they
appear to have formed a continued area from the circular end of the Stadium to
the further extremity of the Hippodrome, the position assigned to them by Leake
is the most probable. He places the circular end of the Stadium at the foot of
the heights to the NE. of the summit of Mount Cronius, and the further end of
the Hippodrome on the bank of the Alpheius.
The Stadium is described by Pausanias as a mound of earth, upon which
there was a seat for the Hellanodicae, and over against it an altar of marble,
on which sat the priestess of Demeter Chamyne to behold the games. There were
two entrances into the Stadium, the Pompic and the Secret. The latter, through
which the Hellanodicae and the agonistae entered, was near the Zanes; the former
probably entered the area in front of the rectilinear extremity of the Stadium.
(Paus. vi. 20. § 8, seq.) In proceeding towards the Hippodrome from that part
of the Stadium where the Hellanodicae sat was the Hippaphesis or starting place
of the horses (he aphesis ton hippon). In form it resembled the prow of a ship,
the embolus or beak being turned towards the racecourse. Its widest part adjoined
the stoa of Agnaptus. At the end of the embolus was a brazen dolphin standing
upon a pillar. Either side of the Hippaphesis was more than 400 feet in length,
and contained apartments, which those who were going to contend in the horse-races
obtained by lot. Before the horses a cord was extended as a barrier. An altar
was erected in the middle of the prow, on which was an eagle with outstretched
wings. The superintendent of the race elevated this eagle by means of machinery,
so as to be seen by all the spectators, and at the same time the dolphin fell
to the ground. Thereupon the first barriers on either side, near the stoa of Agnaptus,
were removed, and then the other barriers were withdrawn in like manner in succession,
until all the horses were in line at the embolus.
One side of the Hippodrome was longer than the other, and was formed
by a mound of earth. There was a passage through this side leading out of the
Hippodrome; and near the passage was a kind of circular altar, called Taraxippus
(Taraxippos), or the terrifier of horses, because the horses were frequently seized
with terror in passing it, so that, chariots were broken. There was a similar
object for frightening horses both at the Corinthian Isthmus and at Nemea, in
consequence of which the difficulty of the race was increased. Beyond the Taraxippus
were the terminal pillars, called nussai, round which the chariots turned. On
one of them stood a brazen statue of Hippodameia about to bind the taenia on Pelops
after his victory. The other side of the Hippodrome was a natural height of no
great elevation. On its extremity stood the temple of Demeter Chamyne. (Paus.
vi. 20. § 15-v. 21. § 1.) The course of the Hippodrome appears to have been two
diauli, or four stadia. (Dromou de eisi tou hippiou mekos men diauloi duo, Paus.
vi. 16. § 4.) Mure, indeed (vol. ii. p. 327), understands mekos in this passage
to refer to the length of the area; but Leake (Peloponnesiaca, p. 94) maintains,
with more probability, that it signifies the length of the circuit.
22. The Theatre is mentioned by Xenophon (Hell. vii. 4. § 31), but it does
not occur in the description of Pausanias. A theatre existed also at the Isthmus
and Delphi, and would have been equally useful at Olympia for musical contests.
Xenophon could hardly have been mistaken as to the existence of a theatre at Olympia,
as he resided more than 20 years at Scillus, which was only three miles from the
former spot. It would therefore appear that between the time of Xenophon and Pausanias
the theatre had disappeared, probably in consequence of the musical contests having
been discontinued.
Besides the buildings already mentioned, there was a very large number
of statues in every part of the Sacred Grove, many of which were made by the greatest
masters of Grecian art, and of which Pausanias has given a minute description.
According to the vague computation of Pliny (xxxiv. 7. s. 17) there were more
than 3000 statues at Olympia. Most of these works were of brass, which accounts
for their disappearance, as they were converted into objects of common utility
upon the extinction of Paganism. The temples and other monuments at Olympia were,
like many others in different parts of Greece, used as materials for modern buildings,
more especially as quarries of stone are rare in the district of Elis. The chiefs
of the powerful Albanian colony at Lala had in particular long employed the ruins
of Olympia for this purpose.
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PISSA (Ancient city) ANCIENT OLYMPIA
Eth. Pisates, Pisaieus. A town in Peloponnesus, was in the most ancient
times the capital of an independent district, called Pisatis (he Pisatis), which
subsequently formed part of the territory of Elis. It was celebrated in mythology
as the residence of Oenomaus and Pelops, and was the head of a confederacy of
eight states, of which, besides Pisa, the following names are recorded:--Salmone,
Heracleia, Harpinna, Cycesium, and Dyspontium. (Strab. viii. p. 356, seq.) Pisa
had originally the presidency of the Olympic festival, but was deprived of this
privilege by the Eleians. The Pisatans, however, made many attempts to recover
it; and the history of their wars with the Eleians, which were at last terminated
by the destruction of Pisa in B.C. 572, is narrated elsewhere. Although Pisa ceased
to exist as a city from this time, the Pisatans, in conjunction with the Arcadians,
celebrated the 104th Olympic festival, B.C. . 364. Pisa was said to have been
founded by an eponymous hero, Pisus, the son of Perieres, and grandson of Aeolus
(Paus. vi. 22. § 2); but others derived its name from a fountain Pisa. (Strab.
viii. p. 356; Eustath. ad Dionys. Per. 409.) Modern writers connect its name with
Pisos, a low marshy ground, or with Pissa, the name of the black fir or pinetree.
So completely was Pisa destroyed by the Eleians, that the fact of its having existed
was a disputed point in the time of Strabo; and Pausanias found its site converted
into a vineyard (vi. 22. § 1). Its situation, however, was perfectly well known
to Pindar and Herodotus. Pindar frequently identifies it with Olympia (e. g. Ol.
ii. 3); and Herodotus refers to Pisa and Olympia as the same point in computing
the distance from the altar of the twelve gods at Athens (ii. 7). Pisa appears
from Pausanias to have occupied a position between Harpinna and Olympia, which
were only 20 stadia asunder (Lucian, de Mort. Peregr. 35); and the Scholiast on
Pindar (Ol. xi. 51) says that Pisa was only 6 stadia from Olympia. It must therefore
be placed a little east of Olympia, and its acropolis probably occupied a height
on the western side of the rivulet of Miraka, near its junction with the Alpheius.
Strabo says that it lay between the mountains Olympus and Ossa, which can only
have been heights on different sides of the river.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
PYLOS ILIAS (Ancient city) ILIA
Pylus (Pulos: Eth. Pulios). A town in hollow Elis, described by Pausanias
as situated upon the mountain road leading from Elis to Olympia, and at the place
where the Ladon flows into the Peneius (vi. 22. § 5). Strabo, in a corrupt passage,
assigns to it the same situation, and places it in the neighbourhood of Scollium
or Mt. Scollis (metaxu tou PeWeiou kai tou Selleentos ekboles /un>[read kai tes
tou Selleentos emboles] Pulos oikeito, Strab. viii. p. 338). Pausanias says that
it was 80 stadia from Elis. Diodorus (xiv. 17) gives 70 stadia as the distance,
and Pliny (iv. 5. s. 6) 12 Roman miles. According to the previous description,
Pylus should probably be identified with the ruins at Agrapidho-khori, situated
on a commanding position in the angle formed by the junction of the Peneius and
Ladon. This site is distant 7 geographical miles from Elis, which sufficiently
agrees with the 80 stadia of Pausanias. Leake, however, places Pylus further S.,
at the ruins at Kulogli, mainly on the ground that they are not so tar removed
from the road between Elis and Olympia. But the fact of the ruins at Agrapidho-khori
being at the junction of the Peneius and Ladon seems decisive in favour of that
position ; and we may suppose that a road ran up the valley of the Peneius to
the junction of the two rivers, and then took a bend to the right into the valley
of the Ladon. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. ii. p. 228, Peloponnesiaca, p. 219;
Boblaye, Recherches, &c. p. 122; Curtius, Peloponnesos, vol. ii. p. 39.) The Eleian
Pylus is said to have been built by the Pylon, son of Cleson of Megara, who founded
the Messenian Pylus, and who, upon being expelled from the latter place by Peleus,
settled at the Eleian Pylos. (Paus. iv. 36. § 1, vi. 22. § 5.) Pylus was said
to have been destroyed by Hercules, and to have been afterwards restored by the
Eleians ; but the story of its destruction by Hercules more properly belongs to
the Messenian Pylus. Its inhabitants asserted that it was the town which Homer
had in view when he asserted that the Alpheius flowed through their territory
(Alpheiou, host' euru rheei Pulion dia gaies, Il. v. 545). On the position of
the Homeric Pylus we shall speak presently; and we only observe here, that this
claim was admitted by Pausanias (vi. 22. § 6), though its absurdity had been previously
pointed out by Strabo (viii. p. 350, seq.). Like the other Eleian towns, Pylus
is rarely mentioned in history. In B.C. 402 it was taken by the Spartans, in their
invasion of the territory of Elis (Diod. xiv. 17); and in B.C. 366 it is mentioned
as the place where the democratical exiles from Elis planted themselves in order
to carry on war against the latter city. (Xen. Hell. vii. 4. 16) Pausanias saw
only the ruins of Pylus (vi. 22. § 5), and it would appear to have been deserted
long previously.
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SKOLLIS (Mountain) ACHAIA
Scollis (Skollis), a mountain between Elis and Achaia, now called Sandameriotiko,
3333 feet high, from which the river Larisus rises, that forms the boundary between
Achaia and Elis. Strabo describes it as adjacent to Mount Lampeia, which was connected
with the range of Erymanthus. (Strab. viii. p. 341.) Strabo also identifies it
with the Olenian Rock of Homer. (Il. ii. 617; Strab. viii. p. 387; Leake, Morea,
vol. ii. pp. 184, 230; Peloponnesiaca, p. 203.)
YRMINI (Ancient city) ILIA
Hurmine. A town of Elis, upon the coast, mentioned by Homer as one
of the towns of the Epeii. It appears to have been regarded as one of the most
ancient of the Epeian towns, since it is said to have been founded by Actor, the
son of Hyrmine, who was a daughter of Epeius. In the time of Strabo the town had
disappeared, but its site was marked by a rocky promontory near Cyllene, called
Hormina or Hyrmina. Leake supposes that the town occupied the position of Kastro
Tornese, on the peninsula of Klemutzi; but both Boblaye and Curtius, with more
probability, place it further north, at the modern harbour of Kunupeli, where,
on a projecting point of land, are some ancient ruins.
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ARPINA (Ancient city) ANCIENT OLYMPIA
or Harpinna. A town in Pisatis (Elis) near Olympia, named after a daughter of Asopus.
FOLOE (Mountain) ILIA
A mountain forming the boundary between Arcadia and Elis; mentioned as one of the abodes of the Centaurs.
HERAKLIA (Ancient city) ILIA
A city of Elis, near the centre of the province, to the southeast of Pisa, near the confluence of the Cytherus and Alpheus.
INOI (Ancient city) ILIA
A town of Elis.
MYRSINI (Ancient city) ILIA
Myrtuntium (Murtountion), called Myrsinus in Homer. A town of the Epeans in Elis, on the road from Elis to Dyme.
PISSA (Ancient city) ANCIENT OLYMPIA
The capital of Pisatis, the middle portion of the province of
Elis, in the Peloponnesus. Pisa itself was situated north of the Alphaeus, at
a very short distance east of Olympia, and, in consequence of its proximity to
the latter place, was frequently identified by the poets with it. The history
of the Pisatae consists of their struggle with the Eleans, with whom they contended
for the presidency of the Olympic Games. The Pisatae obtained this honour in the
eighth Olympiad (B.C. 748), with the assistance of Phidon, tyrant of Argos, and
also a second time in the thirty-fourth Olympiad (B.C. 644), by means of their
own king Pantaleon. In the fifty-second Olympiad (B.C. 572) the struggle between
the two peoples was brought to a close by the conquest and destruction of Pisa
by the Eleans.
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PYLOS ILIAS (Ancient city) ILIA
The name of three towns on the western coast of the Peloponnesus.
(1) In Elis, at the foot of Mount Scollis, and about seventy or eighty stadia
from the city of Elis on the road to Olympia, near the confluence of the Ladon
and the Peneus.
EFYRA ILIAKI (Ancient city) ILIA
Ephure. Probably an Aeolic form of Ephora (ephorao, ephoroi), and equivalent to
Epope, 'a watchtower.' This descriptive name was naturally applicable to many
places; and we find no less than eleven of the name enumerated (Pape, Dict.s.v.).
But of these there are but three, or at most four, that come into the Homeric
poems.
(1) The city afterwards called Corinth, Il.2. 570; 6. 152, which of course is
not intended in the present passage:
(2) A town in Thessaly, known in later times as Crannon, cp. Il.13. 301, with
the interpretation of Strabo (9. 442). But for the Ephyra in the Odyssey the question
lies only between
(3) a town in Thesprotia, called later Kichuros ( Il.2. 659), and
(4) an old Pelasgic town in Elis on the river Selleis (Strabo 7. 328; 8. 338).
Nitzsch declares in favour of (3), because in this passage Athena,
in the character of Mentes king of the Taphians, represents Odysseus as having
touched at Taphos on his return (anionta) from Ephyra to Ithaca; and in a direct
line Taphos lies between Thesprotia and Ithaca; but a ship sailing round the Leucadian
promontory to Ithaca would avoid Taphos altogether, and Leucas had not yet been
made into an island by the channel dug across the neck, for Homer calls it akte
epeiroio Od.24. 378.But if, following the Schol. on Ap. Rhod.1. 747, we place
the Taphian isles among the Echinades and so much further S. , we shall get an
equally good argument in favour of the Eleian Ephyra, as Taphos would then lie
between Ephyra and Ithaca. Another argument in favour of the Eleian town is the
mention ( Il.11. 741) of Agamede, daughter of Augeias king of Elis, as a sorceress,
he tosa pharmaka eide hosa trephei eureia chthon, which suits well with the description
here of the androphonon pharmakon and thumophthora pharmaka in Od.2. 329.In the
latter passage, Ephyra is named along with Pylos and Sparta, as if all three places
were in the Peloponnese.
Again, in Il.3. 627, Meges son of Phyleus is said to have been the
leader of the contingent from Dulichium and the Echinades, hai naiousi peren halos
Elidos anta, and in Il.15. 530, Phyleus is described as having bought a corslet,
ex Ephures potamou apo Selleentos. The statement of the Scholiast that Ilus son
of Mermerus was great grandson of Jason and Medea, and was king of Thesprotia,
is given on the authority of Apollodorus. Eustath. also mentions a story which
makes Medea to have lived for a while in Elis; either story doubtless being invented
or acknowledged by those who maintained the claims of the Thesprotian or Eleian
Ephyra respectively. See Buchholz, Hom. Real. 1. 1. p. 90.
PISSA (Ancient city) ANCIENT OLYMPIA
City of Elis,
in northwestern Peloponnese.
The city of Pisa was said to owe its name either to the legendary
hero Pisus, a son of Perieres, king of Messenia,
himself a son of Aeolus, son of Hellen, son of Deucalion, or to Pisa, a daughter
of Endymion, king of Elis
and son (or grandson) of Zeus.
But the most famous legendary king of Pisa was Oenomaus, whose story
is linked to that of Pelops. Oenomaus was the son of Ares and Harpinna, a daughter
of the river-god Asopus. He had a daughter named Hippodamia, who was very beautifull
and, as a result, courted by many young men seeking to marry her. But Oenomaus
was reluctant to let anybody marry his daughter, either because he was himself
in love with her or because of an oracle who would have told him that he would
be killed by his son-in-law. So, he had devised a trial to which he subjected
all suitors of his daughter: they had to beat him in a chariot race to the altar
of Poseidon in Corinth. He
would sacrifice a ram to Zeus before starting the race and let his opponent go
while so doing. But the fact is, his chariot was drawn by godly horses given him
by his father Ares so that they could not be beaten by earthly horses. Besides,
the suitor had to take Hippodamia with him on his chariot, which made it heavier
and could distract him. Anyway, Oenomaus would always catch up on his opponent
and kill him, behead him and nail his head on the door of his palace to deter
future suitors.
It is after twelve suitors had been so defeated and killed that Pelops
came to try his luck. When seeing him, Hippodamia fell in love with him and managed
to obtain from Myrtilus, her father's chariot driver who was also in love with
her, that he sabotage Oenomaus' chariot, which he did by replacing the pins that
were fastening the wheels of the chariot to the axle by fake ones made of wax.
As a result, the chariot broke during the race and Oenomaus, caught in the reins,
was dragged by his horses to his death (unless he was killed by Pelops himself).
Pelops married Hippodamia who became the mother of Atreus, Thyestes
and several other children, and, through Atreus, the grandmother of Agamemnon
and Menelaus, and, through one of her daughters, Astydamia, the grandmother of
Amphitryon, the “earthly” father of Heracles.
Pisa was located near the site of Olympia
where the Olympic games, insituted by Pelops, were held and, as a result, challenged
Elis for the presidence of
the games until it was destroyed by the later around 572 B. C.
Bernard Suzanne (page last updated 1999), ed.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Plato and his dialogues URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks.
ANCIENT OLYMPIA (Municipality) ILIA
VARTHOLOMIO (Municipality) ILIA
VOUPRASSIA (Municipality) ILIA
AMALIADA (Town) ILIA
Amaliada (ancient: Amalias) is a city in the western Peloponnese,
in Greece. It has 32,090 citizens (of which about 10,000 live in the city and
the rest live within Amalias). It is near the archealogical site of ancient Elis,
which was the city that held the ancient Olympic Games. It is situated on the
valley of Ilia Prefecture
and almost directly south of the Peneus
river, 80 km from Patras,
7 km form Savalia, 5 km from
Kourouta, 28 km from Pyrgos,
291 km from Athens and 5 km
from the Ionian sea. It is
ranked the second largest city in Ilia. It is the westernmost city in the Peloponnese.
It features a city square with beautiful pine trees and a fountain.
Local streets are mainly in grid order, almost running north to south and east
to west. A lake is situated in Amaliada's east side, along with a public stadium
where mainly soccer is played. Amaliada has a hospital in its southeast part and
a monastery named Agia
Frangavilla to its southeast. Amaliada has one train station (located west
of the city square) and two in the municipality.
A street in Amaliada's west side named Hiroshima is mainly dedicated
to the memory of the victims of the Hiroshima bombing before the end of World
War II. Further west are Amaliada's closest beaches of Kourouta and Palouki.
This text is cited December 2004 from the West Greece Region General Secretariat URL below, which contains image.
ANDRAVIDA (Small town) ILIA
It is an agricultural large village, 3 km to the northwest of Pyrgos,
with a population of 3,579 inhabitants. It is situated in a fertile plain. During
the Frankish domination, it was the capital of Moria princedom the brightest and
richest village. It was the episcopal see of the bishop of Olenis.
It was the place where aristocrats from Europe would come to exercise in riding.
The sights are:
The neoclassical house of the Koutsouri family.
The remnants of the Frankish church of Santa Sophia (the sanctum and
two chapels), which was built in 1230 A.D. The coronation of the successors of
the princedom took place in this church.
The Franc church of Santa Sofia.
This is cited December 2004 from the West Greece Region General Secretariat URL below, which contains image.
KATAKOLO (Village) ILIA
A coastal large village, in the area of ancient Fias, whose citadel
was the base of the today's castle. It is Pyrgos’ haven, 13,5 km W. The inhabitants
are 612.
Sights
In the northwest of Katakolo, on St
Andrew’s bay, there is a devastated castle, Ponticokastro. It used to be a
powerful fort of Vilardouini. The castle is built at the site of the citadel of
ancient Fias. Fias was
Ilida 's haven whose remnants are found deep in the sea after the powerful
earthquake of the 6th century.
The Castle was constructed in the Byzantine period and was modified
by the Francs (13th century), who called it Bo Vouar or Bel Vedere. It was repeatedly
destroyed, mainly during the Turkish domination.
This text is cited December 2004 from the West Greece Region General Secretariat URL below, which contains image.
KYLLINI (Village) ILIA
A coastal village with 1,079 inhabitants. It is 43,5 km to the northwest
of Pyrgos. The area has been
populated since the prehistoric times. In the ancient times, it was the haven
of Ileians. It flourished during the Francish domination when it was called Glarenia,
becoming not only an important port, but also a commercial and economic center.
It was named Kyllini after the name of a nearby ancient town. It was surrounded
by powerful walls with battlements and towers.
Today important port for access to the Ionian Islands of Kefallonia
and Zakynthos (Zante)
Loutra Killinis
A famous spa that is touristically developed. There are seven hot
water springs recommended for skin complaints, diseases of the respiratory system
and gout. The permanent residents are not many. It is 41 km to the northwest of
Pyrgos.
This text is cited December 2004 from the West Greece Region General Secretariat URL below, which contains image.
LAMBIA (Village) ILIA
At 800 meters, the settlement of Lambia (Divri) stands out, drenched
in greenery. It consists of seven neighborhoods, each with its own name, church
and fountain.
This text is cited December 2004 from the West Greece Region General Secretariat URL below, which contains image.
PYRGOS (Town) ILIA
Pirgos is the capital of the prefecture of Ilia. The town owes its
name to the presence of a tall tower (pyrgos) erected by loannis Tsernotas (1512-20).
It was known by this name as early as 1687.
Its chief landmarks are the two exquisite neoclassical buildings designed
by Schiller, the Municipal
Market and the Apollo Municipal Theater.
In the evenings the residents of this little town congregate in the
flagstone paved main square lined by cafes and pastry shops. In the narrow alleyways,
small tavernas and grills serve up local delicacies, savory tidbits from Ilia's
fertile soil.
In 1995 the "Olympia Film Festival" started for children
and young people and it takes place every year with great success.
History
The history of the town is the "history of the raisins: itself.
"The raisin issue" was an important one for the area in the first three
decades of the country.
The port in Katakolo
has played an important role in the economic development of the town. Other factors
that contributed to that development were the construction of the railway that
connected Pyrgos with Katakolo, the extensive cultivation of vineyards and the
workers that moved to Pyrgos from Gortinia,
Zakynthos and Cephalonia.
The economic development had a positive effect in the town itself.
The town hall, the neoclassical market by Chiller, the Apollo theatre and some
neoclassical houses were built around that time.
What also contributed to the cultural development of the town were
the newspapers "Patris" (the oldest one in Greece!) and "Avgi",
the magazine "Odysseus" that presented in its pages the famous poets
Elytis, Seferis and Kavafis under the supervision of the poet Takis Sinopoulos,
the broadcasting station and the Public Library.
In the last decades the charity organizations "Agia Filothei"
and "Vasiliada" were set up, the "Latsio Dimotiko Megaro"
was built and the "Apollo" theatre was restored.
This text is cited December 2004 from the West Greece Region General Secretariat URL below, which contains image.
DYSPONTION (Ancient city) PYRGOS
PISSA (Ancient city) ANCIENT OLYMPIA
PYLOS ILIAS (Ancient city) ILIA
PISSA (Ancient city) ANCIENT OLYMPIA
Archdiocese in Tuscany,
central Italy. The city is
situated on the Arno, six miles from the sea, on a fertile plain, while the neighbouring
mountains yield marble, alabaster, copper, and other mineral products; mineral
waters abound in the province. The famous duomo or cathedral is a basilica in
the shape of a Latin cross, with five naves, the columns of which are of oriental
granite.
Pisa is the ancient Pisae,
in antiquity held to be a colony of Pisae
in Elis. Later, it probably
belonged to the Etruscans. The people devoted themselves to commerce and to piracy.
From 225 B.C., they were in amicable relations with the Romans, who used the port
of Pisae in the Punic War, and against the Ligurians, in 193. By the Julian law,
if not earlier, the town obtained Roman citizenship. In 1005, the town was sacked
by the Saracens, who, in turn, was vanquished by the Pisans and Genoese, in Sardinia.
Meanwhile, the Pisans, who for centuries had had stations in Calabria
and in Sicily, had extended
their commerce to Africa and to Spain,
and also to the Levant. The Pisans obtained great concessions in Palestine
and in the principality of Antioch
by lending their ships for the transportation of crusaders in 1099, and thereafter
people of all nations were to be found in their city. In 1063 they had made an
attempt against Palermo,
and in 1114 led by the consul, Azzo Marignani, conquered the Balearic
Islands. Pisa supported the emperors at an early date.
Leghorn, Pescia, Pontremoli, and Volterra
are the suffragans of Pisa.
U. Benigni, ed.
Transcribed by: Gerald Rossi
This extract is cited June 2003 from The Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent online edition URL below.
ILIS (Ancient city) ILIA
The city lies in the NW part of the region, in the middle of the E
Peneios plain, where the river emerges from the mountainous interior into the
plain, between the modern villages of Paliopolis and Kalyvia. In the NE section
of the city rises the hill Kaloskopi (mediaeval Belvedere) or Paliopyrgos (400
m), where the ancient acropolis was. The site was inhabited from at least as early
as the Early Helladic period and from then on through to the end of the Byzantine
period. According to some ancient philological sources, Elis in the Mycenaean
period was one of the four or five most notable towns in the realm of the Epeioi
(Il. 2.615f, 11.671f; Od. 4.635) and controlled only the area around the city.
Excavation of the site was undertaken in 1910-14, and has continued since 1960.
In the Early Helladic to Geometric period, judging by the extent of
the finds and the numerous tombs of this period, the settlement was located on
the peak of the acropolis and on its NW slope toward the Peneios, where the theater
was later placed. In the archaic period the city was extended to the SW. At that
time the Temple of Athena was probably erected on the acropolis (Paus. 6.26.2).
Numerous painted terracotta simas and stone architectural fragments indicate the
existence at that time of many monumental structures.
In the Classical and Hellenistic period the city area was extended
to surround the acropolis over an area bounded by Paliopolis to the S, the village
of Kalyvia to the W, and as far as the outskirts of the village of Bouchioti and
the banks of the Peneios. Part of the city extended to the right bank opposite.
The principal necropolis of this period was discovered SW of Kalyvia. Another
was found at the NW foot of the acropolis. The city, or at least the acropolis,
was fortified at the end of the 5th c. B.C. (Paus. 3.8.5). In 313 B.C. Telesphoros,
the general of Antigonos, refortified the acropolis (Diod. 19.74.2, 87). At its
N foot a substantial section of this wall was uncovered, and other remains of
the ancient wall have been found on the W slope. In this period were constructed
numerous civic buildings, as well as temples and shrines in the agora and the
area around, where they stood quite close together (Paus. 6.23. lf). Some of these
have been uncovered and identified by the excavations to date: the agora, including
a part of the stoa of the Hellanodikai which is Doric, with a triple colonnade,
the Hellanodikaion which is a small rectangular building to the N of the stoa,
two gymnasia and the palaestra in the W section, and in the S section of the agora
the Korkyraion or South Stoa, which is a double stoa in the Doric style. The whole
theater has been uncovered to the N of the agora. Its first phase dates to the
4th c. B.C., with alterations in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Other buildings
which Pausanias saw, but which have not yet been located, are: the Temple of Aphrodite
with a chryselephantine statue of the goddess by Phidias, the Temenos of Aphrodite
Pandemos with a statue of her with a goat by Skopas, the Temple of Hades, the
Sanctuary of Artemis Philomeirax, the Cenotaph of Achilles, the Temple of Tyche
and Sosipolis, the Temple of Silenos, etc.
In the Roman period the city extended to the E, S, and W. In the S
and W parts of the agora several new villas and baths were constructed, many on
the foundations of older, Classical buildings. These buildings are close to each
other, with rather narrow roads between and a complete water and drainage system.
In the Late Roman and Early Christian periods only a part of the city was inhabited,
while other sections, such as the agora and the area around it, were transformed
into a large cemetery, apparently after a major destruction of the city, possibly
by the Herulians (A.D. 267).
In the Byzantine period some settlement remained as indicated by an
Early Christian basilica with noteworthy mosaics which was built over the South
Stoa, and by numerous Christian graves in various parts of the ancient city. In
the Frankish period the kastro (castle) was built on the acropolis with material
from ancient buildings.
Elis: the state
The first organization of Elis into a city-state probably came about
after the Dorian invasion, according to ancient tradition under Oxylos, who at
the head of the Aitolo-Dorian tribes created the first synoecism in Elis (Ephor.
frg. 29; Strab. 463f; Paus. 5.4.1-4). After Oxylos, the name of the settlers remained
Eleians. In the 11-10th c. B.C. the state of Elis spread into the plain of the
Peneios, so-called Koile-Elis (Hollow Elis). Shortly afterwards Elis annexed neighboring
Akroreia and part of Pisa with the sanctuary of Olympia, and thereafter took over
direction of the Olympic Games. From the 26th Olympiad (676 B.C.) and throughout
the 7th c. it appears the Pisans with the help of powerful allies (Pheidon of
Argos and the Dymaians) recovered their independence and with it the management
of the Olympian sanctuary. But after the second Messenian war Elis, with Sparta
as an ally, recovered Pisa and the sanctuary (580 B.C.). After that Elis must
have annexed a part of Triphylia (Paus. 5.6.4, 6.22.4). From then to the late
Hellenistic period the boundaries of Elis appear at times as the river Neda to
the S (the boundary of Messenia), the foothills of Erymanthos and the river of
the same name to the E (the boundary of Arkadia) and the Larisos river to the
N (the boundary of Achaia). To the N and NE the boundary was the Ionian Sea. In
570 B.C. the state was reorganized and the oligarchic ruling body which had now
become more moderate, took on more members (the kingship had been abolished early,
possibly at the beginning of the 8th c.). The city of Elis was the main political
and religious center, but nevertheless the demes appear to have retained considerable
self-govemment. The peaceful existence which Elis led thereafter, its neutrality
in the quarrels of the other Greek states, the truce and the designation of the
country as sacred ground, were the cause of her prosperity and good laws (Paus.
4.28.4, 5.6.2; Polyb. 4.73.6f; Ephor. frg. 15, in Strab. 8.358, see also 8.333).
Elis took no active part in the Persian wars and participated only in the fortification
of the Isthmus in 480 B.C. (Hdt. 8.72, 9.77). In 471 B.C. a new synoecism was
achieved in Elis (Diod. 11.54; Strab. 8.336; Paus. 5.9.5), which thereafter continued
as one of the largest cities of the Peloponnesos. Under pressure of the period's
democratic tendencies the oligarchs made considerable concessions, and by degrees
lost their absolute authority to a popular government. The life of the country
was now directed entirely from Elis, with its council (boule) and assembly (demos)
and the higher officers who were elected from among all the free citizens. In
the Peloponnesian War Elis abandoned her former neutrality and the Sacred Life
she had led up to that time (Polyb. 4.73.9f) and allied herself first with Sparta,
then Athens, and later with other cities. The subsequent involvement of Elis in
the collisions of the Greek world cost her dear by invasions and plundering of
her territory and repeated fluctuations of her boundaries. In 191 B.C. the incorporation
of Elis in the Achaian League put an end to her independent political life. In
146 B.C., after the surrender of Greece to Rome, Elis was included in the Provincia
Romana.
The territory of Elis was one of the most thickly settled areas in
Greece. Finds of the last decade throughout the Eleian land (Hollow Elis, Akroreia,
Pisatis, Triphylia) have brought 120 settlements to light, and surface finds have
allowed the location of 160 more sites. Nevertheless, most of these settlements
and sites, which date from the Paleolithic to the Byzantine period with no break,
must have belonged to small villages, hamlets, or isolated farms since Strabo
tells us (8.336) that the land was settled in a pattern of small villages. But
even the small settlements of the Eleia (ancient sources tell us of 49 together
with the sanctuaries) were wealthy communities although the only urban center
was the capital, Elis. This was due to the self-sufficiency of a country rich
in rivers and springs (annual rainfall 90-110 cm) and blessed with a mild climate
(temperature extremes 10°-11° C.), which pushed the Eleians into a life of agriculture
and herding rather than one of craftsmanship and trade (Polyb. 4.73.7f).
N. Yalouris, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 4 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
OLYMPIA (Ancient sanctuary) ILIA
A sanctuary in the W Peloponnese, 18 km inland from the Ionian
Sea, at the point where the Alpheios and Kladeos rivers meet (42 m), just S of
the foot of the hill of Kronos (122.7 m). Throughout practically all of antiquity
Olympia was under the control of Elis (q.v.). The settlement in the area of the
shrine was continuously inhabited from the Early to the Late Helladic period (2800-1100
B.C.), as evidenced by the apsidal, rectangular, and elliptical structures of
the Early and Middle Helladic periods which have been uncovered, as well as by
numerous sherds, stone implements, and figurines of the EH, MH and LH periods.
Similar buildings and small finds as well as an extensive cemetery with chamber
tombs have been found in the area to the N (NW of the hill of Kronos), where stands
the new Museum. The first signs of the cult of Pelops and Hippodameia at Olympia
appeared as early as the LH period, as well as the first athletic contests. Of
the tumuli of the two heroes remains were found only of the circular peribolos
of Pelops, near the Pelopion of historical times. Recent objections to this identification
have not been persuasive. The site of the Hippodameion remains unknown; it may
have been in the S part of the Altis (Paus. 6.20.7; 5.15.7).
The cults of Kronos, Gaia, Eileithuia, Themis, et al., evidently
date back to the same periods or even earlier. Their shrines center around the
S foot of the hill of Kronos, whence come the majority of the prehistoric finds.
With the predominance of the Aitolo-Dorian tribes of NW Greece in Elis after the
Dorian invasion and the extension of their control over Olympia, which until then
had been controlled by Pisa, the worship of Zeus was introduced to the Sanctuary.
From that time to the beginning of the 8th c. the Sanctuary gradually developed,
but its activities were limited to the area of Elis and perhaps the neighboring
territories. From this period come numerous offerings: bronze and terracotta statuettes
of men and animals, chiefly bulls and horses, as well as chariots and drivers,
all of primitive workmanship. After 776 B.C. when the Games were reorganized and
established as Panhellenic (this marks the beginning of the historical period),
Olympia developed rapidly, and the number of terracotta and bronze offerings multiplies.
The greatest number of these are statuettes of horses and horsemen, symbols of
the equestrian aristocracy which had evidently replaced the monarchy. There are
also bronze cauldrons and tripods, and weapons of excellent workmanship. During
this period the sacred grove of Olympia, the Altis, which was planted with plane
trees, wild olives, poplars, oaks, and pines (Paus. 5.7.7, 13.1-3, 27.11; Strab.
8.353) and enclosed by a low peribolos or fence, acquired a very few, simple structures:
altars of the Gods, and the heroa of Pelops and Hippodameia. The single column
that was left of Oinomaos megaron after Zeus, according to tradition, destroyed
it with a lightning bolt, must also have been visible there; it was preserved
into the time of Pausanias (5.20f). There was also the remnant of an ancient form
of tree worship in a sacred wild olive tree which still flourished, and which
Idaian Herakles, according to the myth, had brought from the lands of the Hyperboreians
and planted there.
To the Geometric period belong the foundations of a rhomboid altar
(?) built of unworked stones which was found within the site of the ancient Prytaneion
and which may have been the precursor of the altar of Hestia. To the end of the
Geometric period belongs one of the apsidal buildings, no. 4, which until recently
was considered to be prehistoric. The site of the stadium of this period is not
known; it may have been on the same site as was the archaic one. In the Archaic
period (7th and 6th c.) the activities of the Sanctuary involved not only the
world of mainland Greece, but the colonies around the Mediterranean. The increased
importance of Olympia brought about its decoration with the first monumental structures.
At the foot of the hill of Kronos was built the Temple of Hera. According to the
usual modern view this was begun ca. 650 B.C. as a small Doric building with only
a pronaos (10 x 39.5 m) and not until ca. 600 B.C. was it enlarged by the addition
of an opisthodomos and peristyle colonnade (18.76 x 50 m; 6 x 16 columns). Recent
researches have shown, however, that the whole building was completed at one time,
ca. 600.
The Heraion, narrow and of heavy proportions, is the oldest example
of a monumental temple in Greece. The lower part and the huge orthostat blocks
of the cella are preserved and are of a local shell limestone, while the upper
parts of the walls were of mud brick and the superstructure of wood with terracotta
tiles on the roof. At the peak of each gable was a round terracotta acroterion.
One of these has been restored (diam. 2.42 m) but of the other only a few fragments
remain. The original wooden columns were gradually replaced, at long intervals,
by stone ones. The last wooden one, made of oak, was preserved to the time of
Pausanias, in the opisthodomos of the temple (Paus. 5.16.1). Each of the replacement
columns was in the style of its own period, so that the columns as a whole provide
an example of the development of the Doric column, particularly in respect to
the capitals, from the archaic to the Roman period. At the back of the cella is
preserved the bench on which rested the stone statues of Hera and Zeus (Paus.
5.17.1). Only the head of Hera has been found.
Along a natural terrace on the S slope of the hill of Kronos, a little
above the Heraion, the treasuries were built in the 6th c. These are naiskoi of
megaron form, dedicated by the Greek cities, particularly by colonies. The oldest
of these, the Sikyonian treasury in its first phase, was about contemporary with
the Heraion, while the newer ones belong to the first half of the 5th c. (the
Treasuries of Sikyon and Gela in their second phase). Arranged one beside the
other, they border the N edge of the Altis. Pausanias (6.19.1f) gives their names.
The remains of 15 are preserved, but two of them only as traces--the two under
the Exedra of Atticus. Five only are certainly identified: the Treasuries of Sikyon,
Selinos, Metapontis, Megara, and Gela. Numerous architectural fragments of the
first and last have been preserved. Of the pedimental sculptures of the Treasuries
only a few pieces remain, with the exception of the Treasury of the Megarians
of which the pedimental sculptures, although badly mutilated, are preserved. They
are carved in high relief. The treasuries, which may at first have had a sacred
purpose, were later used to safeguard valuable offerings (Paus. 6.19.lf). The
stepped supporting wall in front of the treasuries was built later, in 330 B.C.
The Pelopion (Paus. 5.13.1) was renewed in the 6th c. Its peribolos
at that time had five sides and a propylon, which was replaced in the 5th c. by
a more monumental one. Recent theory dating the Pelopion to the 4th c. does not
seem well founded. To the late 6th c. belongs the older Prytaneion with the seats
of the Prytanei at the N corner of the Altis. The sacred hearth with its everlasting
fire was in a special area of the same building (Paus. 5.19.9). In the following
centuries the Prytaneion was enlarged and continually altered.
No trace of the Great Altar of Zeus SE of the Temple of Hera is preserved
(Paus. 5.13.8). Since it was a mound slowly built up from the ashes of sacrifices
and from the altar of the Prytaneion (Paus. 5.13; 15.9), it melted away in the
rains after worship at the sanctuary ceased. The area in front of the Altar and
particularly the slope of the terrace where the treasuries stood was perhaps the
Theater mentioned by Xenophon (Hell. 7.4. 31), so called from its view of the
sacrifices at the Altar and of other rites.
The archaic stadium, which was plain and had banks not of the usual
form, stretched along the slope in front of the treasuries. Its W end, where the
starting line was, opened out towards the Great Altar of Zeus. The stadium of
the 5th c. was on the same spot or a little to the E, but this one had a track
at a lower level and the banks, now more nearly normal, along the long sides;
it formed part of the sacred area, since the games had a clearly religious character.
But in the mid-4th c. a new stadium was built, which is still visible 82 m to
the E and 7 m N of its predecessor. It was outside the sanctuary, since the games
had begun to be more secular in character. The track of the new stadium was 215.54
m long and ca. 28.5 m wide, while the stone starting-points were 192.28 m apart
as opposed to the 186 m of the Classical stadium. The banks enclosed the track
on four sides and could hold 45,000 spectators. There were only a few stone seats
for important persons; others sat directly on the ground. The exedra for the Hellanodikai
(judges) was of stone, and was opposite the altar of Demeter Chamyne (Paus. 6.20.9).
In the Roman period the exedra was given a more resplendent form and the stadium
was remodeled twice. In the Hellenistic period the NW corner of the stadium communicated
with the sanctuary through a narrow, roofed corridor, the Krypte (Paus. 5.20.8),
which had Corinthian columns at its W end. To the NE of the archaic stadium was
a bronze-smelting establishment, and a large number of wells to provide water
for the thousands of spectators during the period of the games. Thousands of earlier
dedications were thrown into them in the Classical period when the stadium was
moved to the E and covered this spot.
The hippodrome, which had a length of four stadia (ca. 780 m) has
not been excavated and has probably, at least in part, been washed away by the
Alpheios river. It was S of the stadium and parallel to it. When it took its final
form in the Classical period, Kleoitas worked out a new arrangement of the starting
gates (Paus. 6.20. lOf). The S end of the sanctuary was closed off in the mid-6th
c. by the S building of the Bouleuterion (14 x 30.5 m). This was a rectangular
building with an apse at one of its short ends, a continuation of the type of
prehistoric and Geometric building found in the Altis. In the 5th c. a second
apsidal room was added parallel to the first, and between them a rectangular room
where stood the Altar of Zeus Horkios. Here the athletes made their prescribed
vows (orkoi) before the Games. These three buildings were enlarged in the 4th
c. by an Ionic portico across the E face. The chronology and purpose of the two
structures W of the Bouleuterion are uncertain.
In the 5th c. the sanctuary reached its peak of greatness and wealth.
The Truce, which had been in operation from the archaic period on, and the recognition
of Elis as "sacred and unassailable" (Polyb. 4.73) secured the unhampered
development and prosperity of the area and of the sanctuary. At this time the
most important building, the gigantic Temple of Zeus, was erected in the middle
of the Altis. It was begun ca. 470 B.C., immediately after the reorganization
of the state, at the same time as Elis synoecism, and it was finished in 456.
The temple, Doric peripteral (27.68 x 64.12 m; 6 x 13 columns), was the work of
the Elian architect Libo. It is the largest temple in the Peloponnese and was
considered the finest expression and the standard of Doric temple architecture.
It was constructed of local shell limestone, covered with white stucco. Only the
roof and sima and lion-head water spouts were made of Parian marble, although
later the frequent local earthquakes made replacements of Pentelic marble necessary.
Each of the continual repairs was in the style of its own period. The marble pedimental
groups on the E end represented the chariot race of Oinomaos and Pelops with Zeus
in the center, and on the W end the battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs at the
marriage of Peirithoos and Deidameia, with Apollo in the center. The twelve metopes,
six each above the entrances of the pronaos and opisthodomos, represent the twelve
labors of Herakles. These sculptures, now more or less restored, are the most
representative examples of the severe style of Greek art from the period after
the Persian wars. The central acroterion at each pediment was a gilded Nike, the
work of Paionios, and the corner acroteria were gilded cauldrons. The chryselephantine
statue of Zeus seated on a throne, the work of Phidias, was placed at the back
of the cella in 430 B.C. Of this masterpiece, described in detail by Pausanias
(5.10. if) nothing remains but some representations, chiefly on coins of Elis.
The gigantic figure (12.37 m) held in his right hand a chryselephantine Nike and
in his left a scepter. The throne and base were decorated with mythical scenes,
and with gods, demigods, and heroes made of gold, ebony, and precious stones.
For the making of this piece a workshop (ergasterion) was put up W of the temple
(Paus. 5.15.1) which survived, with various changes, until the late Roman period.
It measured 14.57 x 32.18 m, and in and around it were found numerous tools, glass
ornaments, clay molds and other artists' materials which definitely belong to
the period of the chryselephantine Zeus.
Two other buildings were erected at about the same time N of the
workshop. One of them, rectangular with a peristyle court, is probably identified
with the Theokoleon, the meeting place of the Theokoloi, the priests of Olympia
(Paus. 5.15.8). This was altered and enlarged to the E and S in the Hellenistic
period. The other building, W of the Theokoleon, consists of a circle inside a
square and is called the Heroon in a later Hellenistic inscription found on the
spot. A recent theory that this was originally a bath and was later dedicated
to its anonymous Hero is not based on any sound evidence. To the W again, towards
the Kladeos river, were the baths (Loutra, 5.75 x 21.56 m) and a swimming pool
(kolymbeterion, 16 x 24 m). The baths were enlarged in 300 B.C. and again in 100
B.C., when a hypocaust was put in underneath; the building was abandoned in the
Roman period when baths were built in many parts of the sanctuary.
The later Classical period was for Elis one of internal problems
and clashes with her neighbors, especially when the Arkadians took Olympia in
364 B.C. and with the Pisans directed the games of that Olympiad (104th 0l.).
They withdrew in 362 B.C. and Elis again took over supervision of the sanctuary.
These disturbances, however, did not prevent new building activity, which gave
the sanctuary its final form and architectural organization. For the first time
the delicate Ionic order and its relative, the Corinthian, were brought into the
sanctuary, which had been dominated by the Doric. In the newer buildings white
marble was used to the almost complete exclusion of the shell limestone previously
employed. These were signs of a general change in the character of the sanctuary.
When the stadium was shifted E to its present position, the isolation of the Altis
was completed with the erection of the Stoa of the Echo (or the Seven Echo stoa)
12.50 x 98 m along its E side. The name came from the fact that an echo in it
was proliferated seven times. It was also called The Painted Stoa (Poikile) from
the wall paintings in it (Paus. 5.21.17; Plin. NH 36.100). It was built shortly
after 350 B.C. and had two colonnades: the inner one was Doric and the outer may
have been Corinthian; there were also rooms along the back.
At this period the main sanctuary (ca. 200 x 175 m) was separated
from the supporting complex and the secular buildings by a monumental peribolos
with five gates, three on the W side and two at the S. At the beginning of the
4th c. the Metroon, the Temple of Kybele, mother of the gods, was built in front
of the terrace on which the treasuries stood. Of this temple, which was Doric
peripteral (10.62 x 20.67 m; 6 x 11 columns), only the stylobate and portions
of the stone epistyle are preserved, and of the pedimental sculptures only a marble
statue of Dionysos reclining. From the time of Augustus on the metroon was used
for the worship of the Roman emperors; sculptured portraits of many of them stood
in the temple. Along the treasury terrace, between the metroon and the stadium,
are preserved the bases of 16 bronze statues of Zeus, the Zanes. These were set
up between 378 B.C. and A.D. 125 with the money paid as a fine by athletes who
had committed fouls in winning the Games (Paus. 5.21.2f). The S boundary of the
sanctuary in its larger sense was defined by the south stoa (80.56 m long), which
had two colonnades, the outer Doric and the inner Corinthian, with a wall at the
back. The stoa was in the form of a T with a colonnaded extension in its center
towards the Alpheios river; it was built at the same time as the Stoa of the Echo,
and its euthynteria and steps were similarly of marble. The recently suggested
identification of this stoa with the proedria (Paus. 5.15.4) is not based on any
evidence.
At the beginning of the 4th or end of the 5th c. B.C. the SE building
was erected, which according to one opinion is the Sanctuary of Hestia (Xen. Hell.
7.4.31). The W part is preserved, a row of four rooms with Doric colonnades on
their four sides (14.66 x 36.42 m). The building was altered and expanded to the
E in the Hellenistic period. At the SE corner of the Hellenistic addition, an
early 5th c. altar of Artemis was recently found. The SE building was destroyed
in the 1st c. A.D. for the foundations of a peristyle villa, probably built for
Nero.
The elegant circular peripteral building S of the Prytaneion, the
Philippeion (diam. 15.24 m) was begun by Philip II after the battle of Chaironeia
(338 B.C.) but finished by his son, Alexander the Great. It stood on a marble
stepped krepidoma, mostly preserved, and was surrounded by an Ionic colonnade.
Corinthian half-columns were placed at intervals around the interior of the circular
cella, at the back of which, opposite the entrance, were five portrait statues
standing on a semicircular base, representing Alexander the Great between his
parents and his grandfathers. These statues were the work of Leochares and were
of gold and ivory (Paus. 5.20.9). This type of circular building, used earlier
for divine worship, was now for the first time utilized for worship of the hero
cult of the Macedonian dynasty.
In the W part of the sanctuary, S of the Workshop of Phidias, stood
the hostelry called the Leonidaion, built in 330 B.C., named for its donor and
architect, Leonidas of Naxos. It is 74.82 by 81.08 m and on all four sides its
rooms open inward on a peristyle court with Doric columns. On the outside the
building was surrounded by an Ionic colonnade. Originally intended for distinguished
visitors and illustrious spectators, the building was later used as a residence
for Roman officials (Paus. 5.15.lf).
In the Hellenistic period (3d-1st c. B.C.) there was no new building
in the middle of the main sanctuary. There was only restoration and repair, with
very few enlargements, at fairly frequent intervals, because severe earthquakes
were common. Vigorous building activity however, went on outside the area of the
Altis, to provide comfortable accommodation for athletes and spectators.
To the W of the Altis, near the Kladeos, the Palaestra, was built
in the 4th c., a training ground for practice in wrestling, boxing, and jumping.
It was a nearly square (66.35 x 66.75 m) building with a peristyle court, around
which were covered areas for dressing, applying oil, sand, etc. The columns of
the peristyle were Doric, but those of the entrances to the rooms were Ionic.
To the N of the Palaestra and connected with it was the gymnasium, an enclosed,
rectangular building (120 x 220 m) with a wide court in the center and colonnades
on the four sides. The columns were Doric on the long sides and Ionic on the short.
Here the athletes trained for contests demanding space, such as javelin throwing,
discus throwing, and running. This was built in the early 2d c. B.C., while the
monumental entrance between the gymnasium and the Palaestra, in the form of an
amphiprostyle Corinthian propylon, belongs rather to the late 2d c. B.C.
The sanctuary was crowded with thousands of altars and statues of
gods, demigods, and heroes, of Olympic victors and kings and generals, the work
of the most notable sculptors of antiquity (Paus. 5.14.4f; 21.lf; 6.1.lf). Very
few statues remain, but a large number of bases have been found. Similar statues
were put up in Roman times, but these were mostly of Roman notables and emperors,
and were erected not by their own choice but by cities and private persons who
wished to secure their good will. By that time the best of the older works had
been moved into the Heraion, which took on the appearance of a museum (Paus. 5.17.lf).
In 146 B.C., the consul Mummius dedicated 21 gilded shields after
his victory over the Greeks at the Isthmus. He fixed them on the metopes of the
Temple of Zeus. On the other hand, in 85 B.C. Sulla robbed the treasuries of the
sanctuary (as well as those of Epidaurus and Delphi) to meet the demands made
by the war against Mithridates. Sulla decided to shift the Olympic games to Rome
and organized the 175th Olympiad (80 B.C.) there, but Olympia recovered from this
period of decline in the time of Augustus, after 31 B.C. Roman emperors and magistrates
showed their interest in the sanctuary and the Games in different ways which harmonized
with their political programs in Greece. Under Nero the Altis was enlarged and
surrounded by a new peribolos, 3 m wider on the W side than the old one, and 20
m on the S. The simple gates of the sanctuary were replaced by monumental propylaea.
At about the same time baths were erected W of the Greek baths and N of the Prytaneion.
Later other baths were built NE of Nero's villa, and W of the Bouleuterion. Another
hotel (xenodocheion) rose W of Phidias' Workshop, and during this period the older
buildings were maintained or altered. Finally, in A.D. 160 Herodes Atticus built
a magnificent fountain, the Nymphaion or Exedra (width 33 m, ht. ca. 13 m). It
took the form of a semicircle with a circular naiskos at each of the two ends.
The walls were of brick faced with polychrome marble. Above the semicircular wall
and in the apsidal recesses that made up the central facade were 20 statues of
Antoninus Pius and his family as well as the family of Herodes Atticus. The space
between the two naiskoi was occupied by two basins, one in front of the semicircular
wall and the other on a lower platform. The water, brought from an abundant spring
4 km W of Olympia, ran first into the upper, semicircular basin, next into the
lower rectangular one, and then, via a network of conduits, throughout the whole
sanctuary.
The first serious destruction to the monuments of the sanctuary came
with the threat of the Herulian invasion. In the end the invasion did not reach
as far as Olympia, but a strong wall was built to protect the richer treasuries
and particularly the chryselephantine statue of Zeus. This wall, which used to
be thought Byzantine, surrounded the Temple of Zeus and the S part of the sanctuary
up to the south stoa. It was built with material from other buildings, both within
and without the sanctuary, which were demolished for the purpose, except for the
Temple of Hera.
Even in this crippled state and although it continued to decline,
the sanctuary lasted for another century. There were some restorations in this
period, particularly in the time of Diocletian (A.D. 285-305). The end came in
A.D. 393-394 with the decree of Theodosius I, which prohibited worship in pagan
sanctuaries. In A.D. 426 an edict of Theodosius II caused the ruin of the monuments
of the Altis, and it was completed by two violent earthquakes in 522 and 551.
In the 5th and 6th c. there was a small settlement of Christians at Olympia, and
the Workshop of Phidias, the only building left whole, was changed into a Christian
basilica. The floods of the Alpheios and Kladeos and the earth washing down from
the sandy hill of Kronos covered almost the whole of the sanctuary to a depth
of 7 m. The Kladeos also changed its course and, washing through the sanctuary,
swept away many of the buildings in the W part. The first discoveries of the monuments
of Olympia were made in 1829; systematic excavation began in 1875 and has continued
to the present day.
N. Yalouris, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Sep 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 92 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
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