A magnificent gymnasium was built during the second century BC adjacent to the palaistra, and both buildings were probably used by the competitor only. The gymnasium was quite long because it housed a double running track 192.28.meters long, the same size as the track in the stadium. In the second century, the Eleans added a majestic, triple-arched gateway to the gymnasium. The aforementioned palaistra was where training in combat and jumping took place, and it also served as a sort of social club. The palaistra at Olympia was built in the third century BC following a standard design for this type of building. The area also had bathing facilities and a water supply (Swaddling 26-29).Woodford, Susan. An Introduction to Greek Art. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1986. Akurgal, Ekrem. The Art of Greece. New York: Crown, 1966. All that we know of the games derives from scenes on pottery, accounts by observers, statues of athletes (including Roman copies of Greek originals), and various literary sources. There were once textbooks containing exercises for physical prowess, but these have been lost. What information there is must be pieced together like a huge puzzle to suggest what the games were like (Swaddling 33). Monumental, free-standing sculpture first appeared around 600 B.C. in the early stages of the Archaic period, and this was probably influenced by foreign sources such as Egypt and Mesopotamia. The Hera (c. 560 B.C.) is an early example. The Archaic period included a number of examples of the kouros and the koure, the male and female figures of which there are numerous examples. Architectural sculpture was used on temples and similar buildings throughout the Archaic period. Schefold, Karl. The Art of Classical Greece. New York: Greystone Press, 1967. |
