Some of the world’s most important ancient works of art are on display here, many dating back thousands of years.
The exhibits present the long and fascinating history of the most famous sanctuary of antiquity, the pan-Hellenic sanctuary of Zeus, father of gods and men as the ancient Greeks believed, where the Olympic Games were born.
The exhibition also contains great masterpieces from the long history of the Olympic Games’ birthplace, and thousands of years of art.
The exhibits are displayed in chronological and thematic order from Prehistoric down to Roman times.
These ideals and values have continued to this day.
Through the priceless artefacts that once decorated the sanctuary, visitors can feel the ideals and be inspired by the same elements that drove athletes and pilgrims in antiquity.
Located in the Ilia (Elis) region in the northwest of the Peloponnese Peninsula, Olympia is considered one of the most important places to trace the roots of the Western world.
A milestone in the development of ancient Greek sculpture, this celebrated statue, is the earliest known monumental Nike in Greek art and a characteristic example of the Rich Style.
Large cut-out embossed bronze sheet. A female griffin is depicted nursing her young, just visible under her belly (B 104). The eye of the mythic being is inlaid ivory, and the decorative details are rendered through delicate engraving and dots. It may have decorated an architectural member, attached to a wooden core. This bronze relief is an exquisite example of Archaic Hellenic art; produced in a Corinthian workshop (630-620 BC).
The god Apollo, invisible to the combatants, is the central figure of the composition presented at the western facade of the Temple of Zeus, above the heads of the pilgrims. According to the myth, the god of Light and Reason determines the outcome of the dramatic engagement between Lapiths and Centaurs, between the Man and Beast.
Once the old municipal market of the city of Pirgos and one of the best-preserved examples of a Neoclassical architecture in the western Peloponnese, the Archaeological Museum of Pirgos invites you to make a journey in time through works of art and explicit exhibits of different kind of materials . It is located in the heart of the city, very close to the main square.
Visit the Archaeological Site and the Museum of Elis, antiquity's largest city in the Northwestern Peloponnese and the capital of the homonymous city-state who had the responsibility of the organization of the great panhellenic festival in honour of Zeus in Olympia.
The Temple of Apollo Epikourios was erected near the ancient city of Figaleia by its citizens between 420-400 B.C. It is the work of the renowned architect Iktinos who previously designed the Parthenon in Athens. The Temple has many unique elements that made the edifice very impressive. Already in antiquity it was considered to be among the finest temples of the Peloponnese. Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1986
Built in 1220-1223 by the Frankish knight and ruler Godefroid I Villeardouin in a strategic location the castle protected the capital Andravida, the harbour of Glarentza and, of course, the palace of the House of the Villehardouin that was situated within its walls. For a long time it served as the strongest fortress of the Frankish principality of Achaia.
