Ancient Olympia & The Greek Countryside

Beautiful beaches, captivating castles, breathtaking views. This barely skims the surface of our time on the Greek Islands. It was a week and a half in a small piece of heaven. In addition to us loving our time on the islands, I LOVED driving through the country.

Like I mentioned in my last post, Trip Advisor advised us against driving, however once I made my point that I WANTED to drive, and see parts of Greece that most people don't see, they were awesome and gave us a few routes to follow and towns to stop in. We were well rewarded.



I want to say that the small towns in the Peloponnese were my favorite, but then I remember Ancient Olympia and the majesty of the ruins and that becomes my favorite, but I look at another photo of the beautiful mountains and my favorite changes again. I guess you'll just have to decide for yourself.

After arriving in the Killini port we began the 4 hour drive to Athens. Our first stop-Ancient Olympia.The first Olympic games were held in 776 BC and reached their height of popularity in 576 BC. The festival was open to only Greek born men but later Romans were allowed to compete most likely because they were running the Greek world by then. Slaves and women were not even allowed to be spectators and women caught sneaking in were thrown off a cliff. The events included foot races, wrestling, discus, javelin, long-jump, horse and chariot racing, and a type of boxing called pancratium. There were not only atheletic events but also writing, poetry and history readings, plus business transactions and treaties were made between leaders of city-states. The games were banned in 426 by the emperor Theodosius II because they were pagan, and the temples were destroyed. The Olympics were officially revived in 1896 in Athens but actually the games had been started with less fanfare even earlier.


Temple of Zeus


In the distance, the Temple of Zeus ruins.




Ancient Olympic Stadium

Entrance to the Stadium




The Philippeon


Palaestra (The Wresting School Building)

I'm fresh out of adjectives. Describing these little hidden towns in the Peloponnese mountains seems impossible. Maybe this is what they mean by "A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words".


Stavrodomi

A church just outside Stavrodomi. I would live here.




Lefkochori






Stemnitsa


We made a stop in Vitina for a short coffee break. The towns were very empty due to the low season. We sat in a quiet coffee bar that had only us and 3 Greek old men as patrons. I bought some honey from the local shops and we were on our way.


Vitina Square

I hope that described itself for you. My heart skips a beat just looking at the photos again!