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Olympia -
the cradle of the olympics
Olympia is a beautiful place at the Peloponnesian
peninsula and still plays an important role in the
Olympic history. The lighting of the Olympic flame
at the archaeological site of Olympia is the start
of the opening of the Olympics. Finally, to honour
the origins of this grand event, before the opening
of the games a flame lighted torch is taken from
Olympia by hand to the assigned city holding the
games.
The archaeological museum is one of the best in
Greece. The temple of Zeus at Olympia was burned
down by the decree of Theodocious II and its destruction
was completed by earthquakes in 522 and 551 AD but
still considerable remains exists of some temples
and the first Olympic stadium from 776 BC.
Olympia is 320km ( 200 miles) west of Athens and
20km (13 miles) east of Pirgos
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