Olympia
Olympia(see map: Greece and the Aegean world), Panhellenic sanctuary of Zeus located in hill country beside the river Alpheus in Elis (western Peloponnese).
1. Before 500 bc
There is evidence of extensive prehistoric settlement in the vicinity including a large EH tumulus in the Altis which remained visible into the early iron age, MH houses, and Mycenaean tombs (see Mycenaean civilization) in the vicinity of the archaeological museum.Votives (tripods and figurines) in an ash layer in the Altis indicate cult activity at least from the late 10th cent. (perhaps with an early ash altar). The first Olympiad was traditionally dated 776 BC (see time-reckoning). According to Pindar, Heracles founded the Olympian games; an alternative tradition attributed the...
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