Altis
About
Sacred grove of Zeus at the heart of Olympia, enclosed by a wall on three sides and open to the Hill of Kronos on the north. Priests, athletes, and pilgrims packed the 200-yard precinct every four years for the Olympic Games, sacrificing oxen on the great ash altar of Zeus. By 117 CE the Altis held the temples of Zeus and Hera, dozens of treasuries, and centuries of victor statues. Trajan's own coins had circulated among the crowds here in the years before his death.
What happened here
A sanctuary is a precinct, not a building — an enclosed area with a boundary that matters legally. Inside it, rules apply: certain acts are forbidden, debtors and runaways may claim protection, and in some the birth or death of anyone is not permitted. Pilgrims arrive on foot, sometimes over days, and there is accommodation, water, and a market selling exactly what they need to offer. Priesthoods are local and hereditary or annual and political depending on the place. Treasuries hold the accumulated gifts of centuries, catalogued on stone. Festivals draw crowds from a whole region and bring games, contests and trade with them. Between festivals the place is quiet, staffed by a caretaker and visited by a trickle of travellers.
In ancient writing
- Pausanias, Description of Greece 5.13–15
The Altis itself: the great altar built up from the ash of burnt thighbones, the treasuries in their row, and the rule about who may climb to the top.
Sources
Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →