As I've written before I love visiting historical sites much more than museums. And with our upcoming trip to Greece, which fortunately includes a private guided tour at Olympia, I really wanted to know as much about this site as possible.
This book certainly fulfilled that need. Barringer provides a detailed analysis of the site, with extensive overviews on the Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods.
Naturally, the site evolved significantly in its usage and its emphasis, from religious, to political, to judicial to sport.
But it's importance never waned until Olympia's demise in the mid first millennium AD. Olympia, like Delphi (although differently in its aspect), was of the utmost importance throughout the Hellenic world.
And not just for sports and the Olympic games. Olympia served as a major religious shrine, an oracular site, a place where legal disputes between city-states were settled, and one of the Greek world's greatest destinations for display. Everyone, it seems, wanted to build a shrine or statue in Olympia.
Anyhow, I can't wait to visit, a feeling that has only grown from my enjoyment of this book.
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