The Historical Topography of Olympia:

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The Historical Topography of Olympia

• Buildings and Development

Class 04b
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What You Need to know

• principal buildings at the sanctuary site
• themes in its development to the 2nd c. AD

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Types of Buildings at Olympia

• Religious temples, altars, funeral mound
• small dedications (statues, altars etc.) by
  athletes thanking Zeus for help winning
• Monumental buildings why so many?
• Athletic buildings stadium, hippodrome,
  gymnasium, palaestra

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Buildings Sites to know

• Altis (sacred grove of Zeus, wild olive)
• Tomb of Pelops (Pelopeion)
• Altar of Zeus (long predates his temple)
• Temple of Hera
• Philipeion (honors Philip of Macedon)
• Workshop of Pheidias, architect/sculptor

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More buildings to know

• Palaistra, wrestling hall for training
• Gymnasium, practice for all other events
• Stadium, where most events took place
• Hippodrome, for horse races

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(Still) More buildings to know

• Leonidaion, small luxury hotel for VIPs
• Philipeion, built by King Philip
• Exedra of Herodes Atticus, generosity of Herodes,
  richest citizen and advisor of the emperor
  Hadrian (AD 117-137)

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Official buildingsto know

• Prytaneion, magistrates hall, eternal flame on
  hearth used to light other altars
• Bouleuterion (Council House) where athletes and
  judges took Olympic oath before scary statue of
  Zeus Horkios (Zeus who enforces oaths)

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Development of Olympia
Most of the buildings are Roman or Hellenistic
watch them disappear as we go back in time
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