On to Katakolon

On Wednesday, Oct. 10, we arrived in Katakolon and took a tour of the site of the original Olympic games. We had an excellent Greek guide who was so psyched about Ancient Olympia that she made the tour extra-special. We learned that the athletes (all male) arrived 30 days in advance of the games to train and were judged not only on winning their contests but their sportsmanship. Anyone caught cheating was dismissed and his name, his family's name and his village's name was inscribed in the granite. Too bad we don't do the same today.
There was one time when a woman slipped into the games, disguised as a man. She was caught, but the judges let her stay when they learned she had two sons in the games and both had been deemed Olympic champions.
We also saw where the recent fires closed in on the ruins and burned all the trees and vegetation. Only a massive fire-fighting effort saved the site of the ancient Olympic games from being damaged. As you can see on the left, there were no stands for spectators; they simply stood or lay on the slopes overlooking the flat area of competition
Our guide informed us that the Olympic torch is lit from the Olympic flame at this location every four years. The Olympic torch itself is a relatively recent innovation and was begun in 1936 because Hitler wanted something special for the Games in Berlin. (You may know that a African-American, Jesse Owens, spoiled the Games for Hitler by winning four gold medals and defeating the "superior race.")
In the adjoining archaeological museum, we saw some beautiful sculptures, including this one of Hermes.
We also learned how the Greeks developed what is now known as the S-curve for sculptures. Previously, nude sculptures simply stood ramrod straight.
But the Greek learned that if you had your model stand with most of his weight on one leg and the other leg slightly lifted, as if to take a step, the result produced much more life and movement. So now I pose with the S-curve!