Nonetheless last week was an active one; after wandering around Voidokoilia beach and hiking Biliovo trail, we ended up visiting Ancient Olympia and going hiking deep into the Oak Forest of Foloi. What could be better from combining historical sight seeing and admiring leaves dressed in colours of the fall in the last weekend of autumn?
Hermes carrying infant Dionysos by Praxiteles
Few words about Ancient Olympia
Listed in the UNESCO World Heritage, Ancient Olympia is the birthplace of the Olympic Games as well as of terms like Olympic Ideals and Values, Sacred Truce and Noble Competition. It is located in North Peloponesse, in the confluence of the Alpheios and Kladeos rivers. Olympia used to be a sacred sanctuary of Zeus. Therefore, there is an ample collection of historical findings, temples, monuments etc.; amongst others Hermes by Praxiteles, Nike by Paionios, the temple of Hera, the Prytaneion, the Phillipeion and the Stadium. Many, of course, were destroyed or lost as the time passed by, such as the Olympia Zeus, a gold-and-ivory cult statue, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
Enough with the virtual tour, it is better to see them for yourself; I am not even close to describe the glory of the site itself. Yet,I will share my impressions in only a few lines. I traveled in time and I felt the greatness of the spirit around the place. I kneeled in front of the achievements, both material and mental, by mankind more than a couple of thousand years ago; I felt proud but at the same time so “tiny”. No more words, just get there to have a taste and see the glory with your own eyes.
and some more about Foloi Forest
A drive almost forty minutes long brought us in the vast forest located in the high plateau of Foloi (or Pholoi), on Mt. Erymanthos. According to mythology this is the site of the kingdom of Pholus a Centaur related to Hercules, who visited the area when he was hunting the Erymanthian Bore.
that particular forest is considered to be the oldest European self-planted beech and oak forest and the biggest of the Balkans. It spreads for almost 33.000 square meters at around 700m of altitude. The area is listed in the NATURA 2000 network. It is, also, a popular site for mushroom gathering. The only setback is that the local community doesn’t seem to respect nature since they use the forest for garbage disposal; such a pity!
