We had booked the basic Olympia tour that also took us to the new Olympia village afterwards. We had to meet at 8.05am for an 8.15am departure so rang each other and met in the upstairs Lido dining room for breakfast.

As usual we had general information on the drive, learning about the use of hydro, solar and wind power . We saw corn, cotton, olive and grapes in the fields. We were also told that churches by the sea are often dedicated to St Nicholas. Greece has over 3000 islands, 178 of which are inhabited.

There were games at the site before 776 BC but these were local games for people on the peninsula. According to legend they started to celebrate the marriage of a King's daughter. Her father said she must marry someone who won a horse race of 240 km and the gods gave 4 golden horses to a suitor. Hence they were to commemorate sporting skills but also to honour the Gods.

Olympia and Delphi were noted sanctuaries at the time and many people visited although only priests could live in the city. Greek people by 776 BC had spread around the world and also there was often conflict between various Greek city states. The games were opened to Greeks from all around the world and there was always a truce 3 months before and after the games. They were held in summer so competitors could sail here . Later Romans were also allowed to enter.

The games were a pagan celebration, with temples to Zeus and to Hera on the site. The buildings were usually limestone and were destroyed by nature as well as by the Christians. By the 4th century AD Christianity was spreading and Theodosios was keen to eliminate pagan celebrations from his realm. The games therefore ran every 4 years from 776 BC until 393 AD, and were dedicated to Zeus.

The entrance was near the site of the baths and the gymnasium. By the gymnasium was also the area where wrestling was practiced. The priests’ house was also in this area.

We saw the area where the apartments for the athletes would have been. Originally they would be here for a week competing but later they would stay for a month, training but also studying Philosophy and Mathematics in the gymnasium. The competitors would do all the events which were a footrace, wrestling, a no holds barred martial art, the pentathlon, chariot racing and horse racing. The winner was crowned with olive branches, cut from a sacred olive tree.

The Temple of Zeus was counted as one of the Wonders of the Ancient World. The statue of Zeus was built on the site, in a studio near the priest’s house, and placed in the temple. It had a timber frame and was covered in gold and ivory and is believed to have been looted and hence destroyed . The Temple of Hera was nearby and her statue had been found and preserved in a museum.

The only woman allowed in the area during the games was the one who kept the flame burning. It was lit from the sun and kept alight with olive oil. We were shown the place where it is lit and also the place that people often think is the site which was in fact an aquaduct.

Greeks only had seats in theatres and stadiums, and they were placed so people could sit on the ground. The stadium had room for 45 000 spectators who were all men as the competitors were naked. Women who tried to sneak in were thrown to their death off cliffs. Cheats were publicly humiliated with their name, members of their family and their village being written on stone for all to see. Winners would go home to fame and glory and cheats were usually too ashamed to even go home.

There were a lot of people in the stadium posing at the starting line. It was marble but still the fact it was over 2800 years old is amazing. There were 2 distances, a single length and a double length and not a circuit. It was pointed out that the judges and the priest sat half way along the track and the crowds did not always agree with the judge. The others were told that the race was 'fixed’ in that the judges had often predetermined the winner. This is because they wanted their sporting heroes to be good role models with all round skills . They had had a month to assess them as well.

The guide was careful to distinguish between fact and theory. The first winners were crowned in the stadium but later the crowning was in the temple of Zeus. One theory is that this was so their mothers could watch the ceremony.

The last games were in 393AD and this started a decline. The earthquake in the 6th century was the reason for the town being abandoned. The excavation of the site began in the mid 19th century and is still in progress.

We stopped at the gate for people to buy souvenirs then went for half an hour to the new village. We used the time to have an iced cocoa coffee before having a quick walk around the shops. The headquarteres of the IOC are in this town.

Later when we returned to Katakolon we did a bit more shopping where there were some different items. One store had a lot of glass but the only things that really appealed were too expensive or an awkward shape for carrying. However they had some nice bling for Irene and Raewyn. We bumped into both Philip and Anna and later Rex and Trish who were back from there Zorba tour at about the same time as us having had a snack and dong some Greek dancing as well as visiting Olympia.

We had a three o'clock departure and enjoyed the spa before tea and bed.