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OLYMPIA - GREECE
Olympia, a city of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site
of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the
Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every olympiad (i.e.
every four years), the Olympic Games dating back at least as far as 776 BC.
In 394 CE emperor Theodosius I abolished them.
Olympia is also known for its gigantic ivory and gold statue of Zeus, made
by Phidias, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Very
close to the temple of Zeus which housed this statue, the studio of Phidias
was excavated in the 1950s. Evidence found there such as sculptor's tools,
corroborates this opinion .
Excavation of the Olympia temple district and its surroundings began with
a French expedition in 1829. German archaeologists continued the work in the
latter part of the 19th century. The latter group uncovered, intact, the
Hermes of Praxiteles statue, among other artifacts. In the middle of the
20th Century, the stadium where the running contests took place was
excavated.
The Olympic flame of the modern-day Olympic Games is lit by reflection of
sunlight in a parabolic mirror at the restored Olympia stadium and then
transported by a torch to the place where the games are held.
When the modern Olympics came to Athens in 2004, the men's and women's shot
put competition was held at the restored stadium .
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