OLYMPIA, in Ancient Geography, was surnamed Pisatis, and so called from the territory of Pisa, in Elis. According to Strabo, there was here the temple of Jupiter Olympius, before which stood a grove of wild olive trees, in which was the stadium or foot-course, so called because it was the eighth part of a mile; and by it runs the Alpheus, which comes down from Arcadia. Olympia, however, was famous not merely for the temple of Jupiter, but also for a temple of Juno, sixty-three feet in length, with columns of the Doric order round it; and a metroum, or temple of the mother of the gods, a large Doric edifice, with holy treasuries. These, and the porticos, gymnasium, prytaneum, and many more buildings, chiefly in the enclosure, with the houses of the priests and other inhabitants, rendered Olympia a place of no inconsiderable importance. The stadium was in the grove of wild olive trees, before the great temple; and near it was the hippodrome, or course for the races of horses and chariots. The Alpheus flowed by from Arcadia, in a copious and pleasant stream, which was received on the coast by the Sicilian Sea.

, The temple of Jupiter was of the Doric order, sixty-eight feet in height to the pediment, ninety-five in width, and two hundred and thirty in length; the cell being encompassed with columns. It was erected with the stone of the country; but the roof was of Pentelican marble, the slabs being disposed as tiles, and the access to it was by a winding staircase. The two pediments were enriched with sculpture, one having over the centre a statue of Victory gilded, and underneath a votive buckler of gold. At each corner there was a gilded vase. Above the columns were fixed twenty-one gilded bucklers, offered at the conclusion of the Achaean war by the Roman general Mummius. The gates in the two fronts were of brass, and over them were carved the labours of Hercules. Within the cell were double colonnades, between which was the approach to the image.

The Jupiter of Olympia was accounted alone sufficient to immortalize its sculptor Phidias. It was of ivory and gold, and the head was crowned with olive. In the right hand was a statue of Victory; and in the left a flowered sceptre, composed of various metals, and on which was an eagle. The sandals were of gold, and the vestment was of the same material, being curiously embossed with lilies and animals. The throne was gold inlaid with ebony and ivory, and studded with jewels, intermixed with paintings and exquisite figures in relief. The pillars between the feet contributed to its support. Before it were walls, serving as a fence, and decorated principally with the exploits of Hercules; the portion opposite to the door was of a blue colour. A family descended from Phidias, and called phaedruntae, or the polishers, had the charge of keeping the work bright and clean. The veil or curtain was of cloth rich [7:16:336]with the purple dye of Phoenicia, and worked with Assyrian embroidery; an offering of King Antiochus, and which was let down from above by loosening the strings. The image impressed the spectator with an opinion that it was wider and higher than it actually measured. Its magnitude was such, that, though the temple was very large, the artist seemed to have erred in the proportions. The god, sitting, nearly touched the ceiling with his head, and thus suggested an idea that, if he were to rise up, he would destroy the roof. A part of the pavement before it was of black marble, enclosed in a rim of Parian or white marble, within which they poured oil to preserve the ivory.

The altar of Jupiter Olympius was of great antiquity, and composed of the ashes of the thighs of the victims, which were carried up and consumed on the top of it, along with wood of the white poplar tree. The ashes also of the prytaneum, in which a perpetual fire was kept burning on a hearth, were removed annually on a fixed day, and spread upon it, being first mingled with water from the Alpheus. The cement, it was affirmed, could be made of that fluid only, and therefore this river was much respected, and esteemed the most friendly of any to the god. On each side of the altar there were stone steps, and its height was about twenty-two feet. Women and girls, when allowed to visit Olympia, were suffered to ascend the basement, which was an hundred and twenty-five feet in circumference. The people of Elis sacrificed daily, and private persons as often as they chose. Olympia was situated upon an eminence, between two mountains called Ossa and Olympus.