Olympia is a town and UNESCO World Heritage
Site in Peloponnese, Greece. This was the
site of the original Olympic Games from 776
BC. The Olympic Games were held every four
years throughout Classical Antiquity, from
the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD.
The first Olympic Games were in honor of Zeus.
The flame for each modern Olympic Games is
still lit in the town, by a reflection of
sunlight in a parabolic mirror, and carried
by torch to the place where
the games are to be held.
The sanctuary, known as the Altis, consists
of an unordered arrangement of various buildings.
Enclosed within the temenos (sacred enclosure)
are the Temple of Hera and Temple of Zeus,
the Pelopion and the area of the altar, where
the sacrifices were made. The hippodrome and
later stadium were also to the east. To the
north of the sanctuary can be found the Prytaneion
and the Philippeion, as well as the array
of treasuries representing the various city states.
The Metroon lies to the south of these
treasuries, with the Echo Stoa to the East.
Olympia is also known for the gigantic ivory
and gold statue of Zeus that used to stand
there, sculpted by Pheidias, which was named
one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Very close to the Temple of Zeus which housed
this statue, the studio of Pheidias was excavated
in the 1950s. Evidence found there, such as
sculptor's tools, corroborates this opinion.
The ancient ruins sit north of the Alfeios
River and Mount Kronos. The Kladeos, a tributary
of the Alfeios, flows around the area. Its
located in the part of Greece which is called
Peloponesse. In Ancient Greece, 
Olympia was sacred ground to the Greeks.
