May 29th

Today we went with Niki to the ruins in Olympia. She gave us the history of the various temples and monuments we saw, which made the experience more meaningful. Olympia was the place where athletes came to train and compete in the ancient Olympic Games. My favorite part was seeing the stadium of where the athletes competed. Amazingly, the starting blocks for the running races are still there! We decided to have our own little class race across the field. Thankfully no one cheated, because as we learned, people who cheated in the ancient Olympics had to pay to have a statue of Zeus constructed in Olympia.

We then went to the archeological museum and Olympic museum. Niki did a great job of explaining the artifacts we were looking at and their historical background. 

Throughout this trip we have learned about how athletes were considered sacred in ancient Greece and how highly people viewed them. So much so that athletes would put oil and dirt on their bodies, compete and then scrape it off with a Strigil. This oil and dirt would then be sold for a high price. Athletes who won an ancient Olympic event would also be awarded the finest olive oil in a large vase. This expensive oil would set them up financially for life.

(Strigil)