The ancient Olympic Games history museum displays 463 findings from the temple of Zeus in Olympia and from other Greek museums. The exhibits span a long period of time, from the second millennium BC until the fifth century AD. They are grouped in thematic sections reflecting the over-one-thousand-year history of the Olympic Games, the longest-lived institution of ancient times. Their history is, actually, lost in the mists of time. Visitors have the opportunity to see ancient works of art and gain detailed information about the exhibits, thanks to the rich audiovisual content that is available.

The building complex of the museum consists of two levels, the ground floor and the basement. Educational programmes for children are offered. Moreover, visitors have the opportunity to watch a detailed multimedia presentation of the history of the Olympic Games.

Some of the most important exhibits of the museum are the following: golden seal rings on which early athletic events are engraved, representative works of Minoan and Mycenaean art and various sports objects, such as discuses, dumb-bells and aryballoi, i.e. narrow-necked, spherical or globular Greek vases commonly used as a scent or oil bottle at the baths. Visitors can also admire bronze and earthen Geometric figurines of warriors and chariots from Olympia all of which offer valuable information about the earliest historical chariot races. The thematic section of Olympic events comprises many remarkable exhibits, including statue bases which adorned the sacred grove of Olympia (Altis) in ancient times, stone and bronze inscriptions – an inexhaustible source of information – bronze figurines of athletes and many vases depicting sports competitors.

The article was written by the archaeologist Olympia Vikatou.

The information and the photo were drawn from the web page of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture.