Olympia Ancient Olympic Games Museum

Location: Ancient Olympia
Don't miss: Museums guide (free admission dates and other useful info)

The Museum of the History of the Olympic Games in Olympia: The first archeological museum of Olympia was established in 1886 on top of a small hill, western of Alteos area. After a series of damages caused by an earthquake in 1954, the archeological museum was rebuilt and in 2004 it was officially turned into the Museum of the History of the Olympic Games.

The museum presents the long history of the Olympic Games and hosts findings related to the period when the ancient games took place. The 463 ancient findings hosted in the museum date back from the 2nd millennium BC to the 5th century A.C. and they are carefully lined up in thematic sections. The exhibition includes 14 thematic sections starting from the birth of the sports festivals in Greece with ceramic findings and objects from the Mycenae period.

The permanent exhibition of the museum displays ancient findings from several excavations, dating from the prehistoric times to the Early Christian period, whereas copper and stone inscriptions witness the way that the games were organized. Apart from the ancient artworks, visitors have the chance to browse through a detailed visual material.

The building complex of the museum has exhibition rooms, auxiliary spaces, and storerooms both at the basement and the ground floor. Among the many precious exhibitions is the collection of terracotta from prehistoric, Archaic and Classical period, a collection of bronzes, a collection of sculptures from the Archaic up to the Roman period. The exhibition aims to present all aspects of ancient sports and to reveal important insight into the history of the Olympic Games.