Olympia [antikvár]

OLYMPIA AND THE MUSEUM CULT AND GAMES: The ancient cult and myths of Olympia Places, like men, have their destinies. On the remote slopes of Mount Parnassos, Apollo brought together the Hellenes under the Delphic Amphiktyony, and deli vered oracles to both Greeks and "barbarians". There was, however, another remote corner of Greece, in the western Peloponnesos, which became the first home of athletics and whose name, as a resuit, spread throughout the world: Olympia. The green landscape of Olympia, peaceful and serene, unfolds between two rivers, the Alpheios and the Kladeos (fig. 2). In ancient times, it was full of plane-trees and wild olives; in the dialect of the local inhabitants, the beautiful grove was known as thtAltis. Whereas the god Apollo had found it necessary to lead men himself to the awe-inspiring rock of Delphi, the rieh piain of Olympia was easily accessible and hospitable, as if asking to be chosen for habitation. It was only natural that men should decide to build their houses there at the beginning of the 2nd millennium B.C., or perhaps a little earlier. The apsidal dwellings discovered in the deeper layers of soil on the site of the sanctuary belong to the Middle Helladic period (1900-1600 B.C.). The first settlers knew nothing of Zeus and the Olympian gods. Tradition has it that the earliest cuit was that of Kronos. This ancient god, father of Zeus, was worshipped on the imposing hill that dominâtes and bounds the northern side of the sanctuary. The hill was dedicated to him, as its name — Kronion — implies. At the foot of the hill stood other sanctuaries dedicated to female deities: Aphrodite Ourania, Eileithyia (and the dragon-shaped daemon Sosipolis), the Nymphs; finally there was the "Gaion", one of the earliest sanctuaries and oracles, belonging to the very first diviner, the goddess Gaia (Earth), and to her daughter Themis. We have no way of knowing when and how the cult of Pelops — the mysterious hero who gave his name to the Peloponnesos — reached Olympia, or why he became associated with the sacred Altis as the local "daemon", holy and venerable, worshipped next to Zeus. It is quite probable that his cuit is older than that of Zeus, and that his temenos — the Pelopion — within the sanctuary, is the oldest known monument of the cult, dating back to the same period as the Hippodameion — Hippodameia's sanctuary — whose position is unknown to us. The ancient Greeks knew that this region, named Pisatis, from its capital, Pisa, was ruled by king Oinomaos, who had a daughter called Hippodameia. Before giving away his daughter in marriage, Oinomaos demanded that her suitor should defeat him in a chariot-race. If, however, the suitor lost the race, Oinomaos would kill him. The king had ki lied