This morning after enjoying another great breakfast on the Sea Cloud we watched the crew climb up the masts to put up the sails. We sailed through the Ionian Sea and along the western coast of the Peloponnese. After lunch we docked in the port of Katakolo, which was the harbor of Ancient Olympia and the birthplace of the Olympic games. Our expedition leader, Tom O’ Brien, planned our visit of Olympia to take place at midday after all the 3,000 passengers of large cruise ships had left the area. When we arrived at this unique site we had it all to ourselves to enjoy!
The first ancient Olympic Games took place here in 776 B.C. organized in honor of Zeus, the father of the Olympian gods. We strolled around the gymnasium and palestra building that had been used by the athletes for the training in running, javelin, long jumping, discus, wrestling, and boxing. We saw the workshop of Pheidias where he made the gold and ivory statue of Zeus; it was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. We then walked all around the impressive temple of Zeus that had been destroyed by earthquakes. Its tall columns had fallen all around it in isolated sections!
The stadium was really impressive with a 20 meter vaulted entryway. It could once seat 50,000 people and Greeks from all around the Mediterranean would travel here every fifth year in order to take part in the games. Colonies had been established by them in Sicily, Italy, France, Spain, the coast of Asia Minor, Ionia, the Black Sea. They stood like frogs around a lake, said Plato! With this very important religious and athletic event the Greeks united and honored their city-states. The prize for the games was nothing else but an olive wreath, it was the glory that mattered and not the gold!
At the stadium some of us volunteered to have a race….we were told though to keep our clothes on….the ancient games were in the nude! It was exciting and fulfilling to run in the ancient Olympic stadium, the birthplace of such an important institution that started here in 776 B.C.!
We visited the museum of Olympia where we saw all the statues that once decorated the temples. The most beautiful of them all was the statue of Hermes, made by the sculptor Praxiteles; it was a classic Greek statue standing in all glory! We also saw the helmet of Miltiades, the leader of the Athenians at the battle of Marathon of 490 B.C.
After our visit to Olympia we got back on our buses and headed towards the winery of the Merkouri estate. The winery was situated in a superb location and is now run by the fourth generation of the same family! We walked through the old museum that was full of old tools, bottles, and machinery—just a wonderful place for photography. We then walked through the wine cellars, where the temperature was so much cooler than outside! Finally we sat under old pine trees and tasted wine, local olive oil, cheese, and olives, it was perfect and relaxing!
We returned to the empty harbor and reminisced about what a great day we had had! A wonderful dinner was prepared and served today at the lido bar under the sky that had once again turned gold from the setting sun! Life on the Sea Cloud cannot get any better!
