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Black Sea Cruise 2009
Maps of the Cruise
Katakolon: Seaport to ancient Olympia
Olympia
Museum at Olympia
The Museum at Olympia
Even though Olympia was plundered several times in antiquity, archaeologists have unearthed a wealth of objects during excavations that started in 1875 and continue to our day. The Museum at Olympia shelters and exhibits the most striking of these finds
Hermes of Praxiteles
Temple of Zeus Pediments
The Temple of Zeus' East pediment. depicts the chariot race between Oinomaos and Pelops. They appear in the moments before the race, in a calm and ordered composition. In the center of the group, Zeus is the ultimate observer is flanked by the two heroes and their wives. Next to them are their horses and chariots (now lost) and several auxiliary figures. The reclining figures at the two ends of the pediment represent the two rivers of Olympia, Alpheios and Kladeos.
The Temple of Zeus' West pediment.
This arrangement of sculptures contrasts the serenity of the East pediment with a much more dynamic composition that illustrates the fight between Centaurs and Lapiths who are engaged in a battle over the abduction of the Lapith women. Apollo presides over all in the center flanked by the heroes Theseus and Peirithoos. The figures a the ends were destroyed in 460 BCE and they were replaced at a later date with the ones found in excavations.
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