The Ancient Stadium of Olympia is the running track where the Olympic Games were held every four years for more than a thousand years, the beating heart of the greatest festival of the ancient world. Reached through a stone-vaulted tunnel from the sacred precinct, its clay track still stretches its original 192 metres between the marble start and finish lines, framed by grass banks that once held up to 45,000 spectators. No stone seats were ever built here, only the sloping earth, so the stadium keeps the raw simplicity of the contests it staged, and visitors today walk the same tunnel and run the same track as the champions of antiquity.
This guide covers the Ancient Stadium of Olympia in full: its dimensions, the vaulted entrance, the original start and finish lines, the events held there, the seating banks and the judges, and how to walk and run the track today. Read it beside the full Ancient Olympia guide and the guide to the Temple of Zeus at Olympia.
What is the Ancient Stadium of Olympia?
The Ancient Stadium of Olympia is the running track of the sanctuary of Olympia, where the foot races and most events of the Olympic Games took place. It lies just east of the sacred Altis, reached through a vaulted tunnel, and its clay track and earth banks survive almost intact, the oldest and most famous athletic arena in the world.
It hosted the Games. The stadium was the main venue of the Olympic Games, so the foot races, the pentathlon and the combat events that crowned Olympic champions were run and fought on this track.
It sits by the sanctuary. The stadium lies just outside the walled Altis, linked to it by a tunnel, so the athletic arena stood a step from the temples and altars at the sacred heart of Olympia.
It survives almost intact. The track, the start and finish lines, the judges’ stand and the grass banks all remain, so the stadium is one of the best-preserved monuments at Olympia, an arena visitors still walk into today.
How big is the Ancient Stadium of Olympia?
The running track of the Ancient Stadium of Olympia is about 192 metres long and 28 metres wide, measured between two marble sills that mark the start and finish. The full stadium, including the sloping earth banks on all four sides, is larger, and the track surface is level clay once covered with a thin layer of fine sand.
The track is 192 metres. Marble start and finish sills set 192 metres apart define the length of the stade race, so the track keeps the exact distance run by ancient athletes.
It is 28 metres wide. The level clay track spans about 28 metres, so up to twenty runners lined up side by side across it for the sprint, a broad arena for a mass start.
The banks enclose it. Sloping earth embankments rise on all four sides of the track, so the stadium forms a long, shallow bowl of grass around the clay, without a single row of built seats.
How do you enter the Ancient Stadium of Olympia?
You enter the Ancient Stadium of Olympia through the Krypte, a stone-vaulted tunnel about thirty metres long that runs from the sacred Altis into the arena. Athletes and judges alone passed through this crypt to make their entrance onto the track, so walking it today is the most evocative moment of a visit to Olympia.
The tunnel is the Krypte. A vaulted stone passage, the Krypte, links the sanctuary to the stadium, so the arched entrance still frames the track exactly as it did for the ancient Games.
Athletes made their entrance. Only competitors and judges walked through the tunnel into the arena, so the crypt was the ceremonial threshold between the sacred precinct and the field of contest.
Visitors walk it today. The tunnel stands open, so every visitor steps through the same vaulted passage onto the track, entering the stadium as the athletes of antiquity did.
What events were held in the Stadium of Olympia?
The Stadium of Olympia hosted the running races of the Olympic Games: the one-length stade sprint, the two-length diaulos, and the long-distance dolichos of many laps. It also staged the running and combat parts of the pentathlon, along with the foot race in armour, while wrestling, boxing and the pankration were fought on the track.
The stade was the classic race. The single-length sprint of 192 metres, the stade, was the oldest and most prestigious event, so its winner gave his name to the whole four-year Olympiad.
Longer races followed. The two-length diaulos and the many-lap dolichos tested speed and stamina, so the stadium staged a full range of foot races beyond the sprint.
Combat events shared the track. Wrestling, boxing, the fierce pankration and the race in armour were contested in the stadium, so the arena saw both the swiftest and the strongest athletes of the Greek world.
How many spectators did the Stadium of Olympia hold?
The Stadium of Olympia held up to 45,000 spectators, seated on the grass banks around the track. There were no stone benches, so the crowd sat on the sloping earth, apart from a stone platform for the judges and a small stone altar for the priestess of Demeter, the only woman allowed to watch the Games.
The banks seated tens of thousands. The four earth embankments held a crowd estimated at up to 45,000, so vast numbers watched the Games seated on the open grass.
The judges had a stand. A stone platform on the south bank held the Hellanodikai, the judges of the Games, so the officials who awarded the olive crown watched from their own place beside the track.
One woman watched. The priestess of Demeter Chamyne had a stone altar-seat on the north bank, so she alone among women was allowed to view the contests in the stadium.
Can you run in the Ancient Stadium of Olympia today?
Yes, visitors are free to walk and run on the track of the Ancient Stadium of Olympia. The arena is open, and families and visitors line up at the original marble start line to race the 192-metre track, one of the most memorable experiences at Olympia and a favourite with children retracing the first Olympic sprint.
The track is open. The stadium floor is accessible to all visitors, so anyone steps onto the clay and stands at the ancient start line where athletes once crouched.
Visitors race the stade. Families and groups sprint the 192 metres between the marble sills, so a visit turns into a personal Olympic race on the very track of the Games.
It delights children. Running the ancient track is a highlight for young visitors, so the stadium makes the history of Olympia active and memorable, as the Ancient Olympia guide describes.
When was the Stadium of Olympia built?
The stadium seen today is the third on the site, laid out in the fifth century BC. Earlier tracks lay closer to the Altis and the great Altar of Zeus, and over the centuries the stadium was moved eastward and enlarged, so beneath the present arena lie the remains of the older stadiums going back to the earliest Games.
Earlier stadiums came first. The first running tracks lay within the sacred precinct beside the altar of Zeus, so the earliest Games were run at the very heart of the sanctuary.
The track moved east. As the Games grew, the stadium was shifted eastward and separated from the Altis by the tunnel, so the arena reached its final position and size in the classical period.
The present arena is classical. The stadium visitors see dates from the fifth century BC, so its track and banks belong to the height of the ancient Olympic Games.
How do you visit the Ancient Stadium of Olympia?
You visit the Ancient Stadium of Olympia inside the archaeological site of Olympia, on the same ticket that covers the whole sanctuary and the museum. The stadium lies at the eastern end of the site, a short walk past the Temple of Zeus and the Temple of Hera, reached through the vaulted tunnel, and forms the climax of a walk through Olympia.
It sits at the site’s east end. The stadium is the furthest major monument from the entrance, so the walk through the temples leads naturally to the tunnel and the arena beyond.
One ticket covers it. The combined ticket for the archaeological site and museum includes the stadium, so there is no separate charge to walk the track.
A guide adds the story. A guide or audio guide explains the races, the judges and the tunnel, so the empty arena fills with the drama of the Games, as the full Ancient Olympia guide sets out for reaching the site from Athens, Nafplio or the Katakolo cruise port.
What did the winners in the Stadium of Olympia receive?
Winners in the Stadium of Olympia received a wreath of wild olive, cut from a sacred tree beside the Temple of Zeus. There was no prize of money at the Games, only the olive crown and eternal glory, so an Olympic victor won the highest honour in the Greek world and returned home to lasting fame and rich rewards from his city.
The prize was an olive wreath. The kotinos, a crown of wild olive from the sacred tree at Olympia, was the sole prize, so the honour rather than the reward defined an Olympic victory.
Glory outlasted the Games. Victors were celebrated in poetry and statues and gained fame across Greece, so the olive crown carried a prestige far beyond its simple leaves.
Cities rewarded their champions. An Olympic winner often received honours, meals and money from his home city, so the modest crown at Olympia opened the door to real rewards at home.
Who were the judges of the Games at Olympia?
The judges of the Games at Olympia were the Hellanodikai, elected officials from Elis who organised and refereed the Olympic Games. Dressed in purple robes, they trained the athletes beforehand, enforced the rules, disqualified cheats and awarded the olive crown, watching the contests from a stone stand on the south bank of the stadium.
They came from Elis. The Hellanodikai were chosen from the people of Elis, who controlled the sanctuary, so local officials held authority over the whole Greek festival.
They enforced the rules. The judges oversaw training, checked eligibility and punished cheating with fines and beatings, so the Games kept their strict discipline under their watch.
They crowned the victors. From their stand beside the track the Hellanodikai awarded the olive wreath, so the judges were the final authority on every Olympic victory.
How did the races start in the Stadium of Olympia?
Races in the Stadium of Olympia started from stone sills set into the track, with two parallel grooves cut for the runners’ toes. A wooden starting gate called the hysplex, a set of cords and posts, held the runners and dropped to release them together, so a false start was punished and every race began fairly.
Runners braced in the grooves. The marble start sill has two cut grooves for the toes, so athletes gripped the stone as they crouched for the sprint.
A gate released them. The hysplex, a barrier of cords on posts, fell at the signal to start every runner at once, so the mechanism prevented false starts across the wide track.
False starts were punished. Judges fined or beat any runner who broke early, so the starting system and its officials kept the races strict and fair.
How was the Stadium of Olympia rediscovered?
The Stadium of Olympia lay buried under river silt for centuries until excavation uncovered it. German archaeologists dug out the sanctuary, and a major campaign in the twentieth century fully cleared the stadium, restoring its earth banks and the vaulted tunnel so that the arena is once again entered and walked as it was in antiquity.
Silt had buried it. Floods from the Alpheios and Kladeos rivers covered the stadium in deep silt, so the arena lay hidden along with the rest of Olympia for centuries.
Archaeologists cleared it. A long German excavation uncovered the track, the start lines and the tunnel, so the plan of the stadium was recovered in full.
The banks were restored. The earth embankments and the vaulted entrance were rebuilt during the excavation, so the stadium regained the form visitors walk into today.
What was the hippodrome beside the stadium?
The hippodrome beside the stadium was the racecourse for the chariot and horse races of the Olympic Games, a long open field south of the stadium. Larger and grander than the running track, it staged the four-horse chariot race, the most prestigious event of all, but the river Alpheios washed it away, so nothing of the hippodrome survives today.
It held the chariot races. The hippodrome was the course for the four-horse and two-horse chariot races and the horse races, so the wealthiest and most spectacular contests of the Games ran there.
It was the grandest venue. Chariot racing was the sport of the rich and the crowning event of the festival, so the hippodrome drew the largest crowds and the greatest prestige.
It has vanished. The river Alpheios shifted its course and washed the hippodrome away, so its exact site is known only from ancient descriptions, unlike the well-preserved stadium.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Ancient Stadium of Olympia
How long is the track in the Stadium of Olympia?
The track is about 192 metres long, the length of the ancient stade race, measured between two marble start and finish sills. This distance gave the stade its name, the unit from which the modern word stadium comes, so the track sets the original measure of Olympic running.
The 192-metre length is fixed by the surviving marble sills, so visitors run the exact distance of the first Olympic foot race. By tradition the length was set at six hundred times the foot of Herakles, the hero who, in legend, founded the Games at Olympia.
Why are there no seats in the Stadium of Olympia?
There are no built seats in the Stadium of Olympia because spectators always sat on the sloping earth banks around the track. Only the judges’ platform and the altar of the priestess of Demeter were built in stone, so the crowd of up to 45,000 watched the Games seated directly on the grass.
The simple earth banks kept the stadium close to nature and to its athletic purpose, so the arena never gained the stone tiers of later Roman stadiums.
Is the Stadium of Olympia the origin of the modern Olympic Games?
Yes, the Stadium of Olympia is the birthplace of the Olympic Games. The Games were held here every four years from 776 BC in honour of Zeus, and the modern Olympic movement revived that ancient festival, so the track at Olympia is the direct ancestor of every Olympic Games held today.
The Olympic flame is still lit at nearby Olympia before each modern Games, so the sanctuary and its stadium remain the symbolic home of the Olympic ideal.
How do you get from the archaeological site to the stadium?
You reach the stadium by walking east through the archaeological site, past the Temple of Zeus and the Temple of Hera, to the stone-vaulted tunnel that opens onto the track. The walk takes only a few minutes on level ground, so the stadium is an easy and rewarding end to a tour of the ruins.
The path is flat and clearly marked, so visitors of all ages walk from the temples through the tunnel and onto the ancient track without difficulty.
Who competed in the Stadium of Olympia?
Free-born Greek men competed in the Stadium of Olympia, gathered from every city of the Greek world. Athletes trained for months and swore an oath of fair play before the Games, while married women were barred from watching, so the stadium was the arena of the finest male athletes of ancient Greece.
Champions came from across Greece and its colonies, so victory at Olympia carried fame throughout the entire Greek world, from Sicily and southern Italy in the west to the cities of Asia Minor in the east.