The original home of the Olympic Games first held in 776 B.C. I ran the 193.4 meter dash at the Olympia Stadium. My precision time was more than 2 minutes. Opa! Julie from London told me the world record was 19 seconds!
The Temple of Zeus - once housed one of the 7 wonders of the Ancient World.
The Temple of Zeus 470-457 B.C.
Architect: Libon the Elean
Doric, peripheral temple with 6 columns at the narrow and 13 columns at the long sides. In the cells was positioned the colossal gold and ivory made cult statue of Zeus (h. 12 m) - one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world - by Athenian sculptor Pheidias. It was destroyed by earthquakes of 522 and 551 A.D.
East pediment: The contest between Pelops and Oinomaos
West pediment: The fight between Lapiths and Centaurs
The labors of Hercules were depicted on the 12 interior slabs (melopae)
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| Olympia Gymnasium |
I'm looking at a souvenir T-shirt with a map of ancient Greece, studying it real carefully. Ancient Greeks called their land Hellas and themselves Hellenes. Historians regard the Greeks as the founder of Western civilization for they were the first to develop the democratic way of life.
Greek civilization developed on a rocky and porous mountainous peninsula that juts into the Mediterranean Sea from southeastern Europe. Ancient Greeks believed that their gods were superhuman beings but did not live in terror of them. Either the late 70's or early 80's, I quite remember there was an excellent ? (or was it ABC?) made-for-TV movie on the gods and Titans of Mount Olympus. There was also a TV movie /series on Hercules with : I forgot the name of the actor.
The Greeks built a religious city of temples, treasure housed and other buildings to honor the gods. The 12 gods worshipped by ancient Greeks are:
1. Zeus - The principal god of the Greek pantheon, ruler of the heavens and father of the other gods and mortal heroes.
2. Apollo - The god of the sun, prophecy, music, medicine and poetry.
3. Dionysus - The god of wine and celebrator of the power and fertility of nature.
4. Pluto - The god of the underworld.
5. Hephaestus - The god of fire.
6. Hermes - The god of commerce, invention and theft, and messenger for the other gods.
7. Poseidon - The god of the waters, earthquakes and horses.
8. Hera - The goddess of marriage and birth, the sister and wife of Zeus.
9. Aprodite - The goddess of love and beauty.
10. Artemis - The goddess of hunting.
11. Athena - The goddess of wisdom and the arts.
12. Demeter - The goddess of Agriculture, fertility and marriage.
Olympia Archeological Museum.
Internet Publication:
6/1/10 lib's labyrinth
10/2005 ALT MSN Group
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