Olympia

Olympia, a valley in Elis, Greece, where the Olympian Games were held every fifth year from the year 776 B.C., or even perhaps earlier. At Olympia were the Olympieion, or temple of Olympian Zeus, containing a colossal statue of Zeus by Pheidias; the Hereon, dedicated to Hera, where a table stood on which the garlands of the victors were laid; the Pelopeion, the Metroon, the temple of Aphrodite, and the treasury, where dedicatory offerings were stored. During the excavations conducted by the German Government between 1875 and 1881 the Hermes of Praxiteles and several other treasures of art were found.