Olympia

(2 photos)
Olympia, a city of ancient Greece, was the site of the original Olympic Games. The games were held every Olympiad (i.e. every four years), and the Games date back at least as far as 776 BC. Before 1900, Greece, and only Greece, held the Olympics, in the town of Olympia in the Peloponessos. The Olympic torch of the modern Olympic Games is lit at this original Olympia stadium, then is transported by a torch to the place where the games are to be held.

The style, or design of the columns used in Greek buildings, years ago, varied from place to place. In Athens, at the Acropolis, columns are made of five to six foot sections. In old Kórinthos, they were one piece of stone, covered and shaped with cement or stucco flutes. In Olympia, the fallen columns, were made of small sections, almost like 2 to 4 feet diameter wheels laid on their sides, and stacked many high. The fluting was carved so that when assembled into a high column, as they were in Olympia, the carvings fit properly, so it looked like one tall column. The diameter of the “wheels” vary, so the columns gradually become smaller, nearer the top.

Over the years we have visited 15 (Amsterdam, Antwerp, Athens, Atlanta, Barcelona, Berlin, Helsinki, London, Los Angeles, Montreal, Munich, Paris, Rome, St. Louis, Stockholm) of the 21 different cities where the 25 modern Olympic Games have been held, since 1896. If we count Athens, London, Los Angeles, and Paris, each of which have held the Olympics twice, we have visited 19 of the locations of 25 modern Olympics. In 1989 we visited Olympia, a city of ancient Greece, that was the site of the original Olympic Games, 3,000 years ago.

Over the years we have visited 12 (Albertville, Calgary, Chamonix, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck, Oslo, Salt Lake City, Sarajevo, Squaw Valley, St. Moritz, Turin) of the 19 different cities where the 20 modern Winter Olympics have been held. If we include St. Moritz, and Innsbruck, that have held the Olympics twice, and Vancouver, that is scheduled to hold the 2010 Olympics, we have visited the locations of 15 of the first 21 winter Olympics. We didn’t visit because of the Olympics, we looked at all the places we have visited, then counted.

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Another View, Columns made of 3 to 4 fooot sections.