8 h. tour (Private tour)

(transportation + guidance throughout + guided tour of Lindos + walking guided tour of the Old town of Rhodes + guided tour of the Archaeological museum of Rhodes + guided tour of the Palace of the Grand Masters + free time)

For those of you that have a full day at their disposal, this is the ideal tour to see all the highlights of the island. You will be be offered private transportation to the archaeological site of Lindos, enjoy a guided tour of Lindos, and then return back to Rhodes for a complete walking guided tour through the Old town of Rhodes.

Lindos was founded by the Dorians, led by the king Tlepolemus of Rhodes, who arrived in about the 10th century BC. It was one of six Dorian cities in the area known as the Dorian Hexapolis. The eastern location of Rhodes made it a natural meeting place between the Greeks and the Phoenicians, and by the 8th century Lindos was a major trading centre. Its importance declined after the foundation of the city of Rhodes in the late 5th century BC.

In classical times the acropolis of Lindos was dominated by the massive temple of Athena Lindia, which attained its final form in around 300 BC. In Hellenistic and Roman times the temple precinct grew as more buildings were added. In early medieval times these buildings fell into disuse, and in the 14th century they were partly overlaid by a massive fortress built on the acropolis by the Knights of St. John to defend the island against the Ottomans.

Above the modern town rises the acropolis of Lindos, a natural citadel which was fortified successively by the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Knights of St John and the Ottomans. This makes the site difficult to excavate and interpret archaeologically. The acropolis offers spectacular views of the surrounding harbors and coastline.

On the acropolis of Lindos today parts of the following buildings may still be seen:

• The Doric Temple of Athena Lindia, dating from about 300 BC, built on the site of an earlier temple. Inside the temple is the table of offerings and the base of the cult statue of Athena.
• The Propylaea of the Sanctuary, also dating from the 4th century BC. A monumental staircase leads to a D-shaped stoa and a wall with five door openings.
• The Hellenistic stoa with lateral projecting wings, dating from about 200 BC. The stoa is 87 meters long and consisted of 42 columns.
• The well-known relief of a Rhodian trireme (warship) cut into the rock at the foot of the steps leading to the acropolis.
• On the bow stood a statue of General Hagesander, the work of the sculptor Pythokritos. The relief dates from about 180 BC.
• The Hellenistic staircase (2nd century BC) leading to the main archaeological area of the acropolis.
• Remains of a Roman temple, possibly dedicated to the Emperor Diocletian and dating from about 300 AD.
• The Acropolis is surrounded by a Hellenistic wall contemporary with the Propylaea and the stairway leading to the entrance to the site. A Roman inscription says that the wall and square towers were repaired at the expense of P Aelius Hagetor, the priest of Athena in the 2nd century AD.
• The Castle of the Knights of St John, built some time before 1317 on the foundations of older Byzantine fortifications. The walls and towers follow the natural conformation of the cliff. A pentagonal tower on the south side commanded the harbor, the settlement and the road from the south of the island. There was a large round tower on the east facing the sea and two more, one round and the other on a corner, on the northeast side of the enceinte. Today one of the towers at the southwest corner and one to the west survive.
• The Greek Orthodox Church of St John, dating from the 13th or 14th century and built on the ruins of a previous church, which may have been built as early as the 6th century.

After the end of the guided tour of Lindos, you will board your private vehicle and return back to Rhodes and start your complete walking tour of the Old town.

Entering the gateways you will walk parallel to the big fortified wall, with your guide stopping you in some points of interest for further explanations as well as for panoramic views. On the way you will walk through the area of the Agora and the Collachium, where the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem lived and worked, building a stronghold of Christendom in the Eastern Mediterranean. The building of the hospital of the knights of St. John is one of the most impressive and old buildings remaining in the Old town, and houses today the archaeological museum of Rhodes, which is worth for a short visit. Among other things you will see ancient Greek statues, including the Aphrodite of Rhodes, made of parian marble, urns and pots, funerary plaques etc.

Remaining remarkably intact, the Old Town is home to the churches, marble coats of arms of the Knights, cannonballs and the inns of the Knights. Entering the famous Knight Street you will start ascending to the level where the very impressive restored Palace of the Grand Masters lies and you will enter it for your guided tour and detailed explanation of the different historic periods of the island and the palace. There among other things you will see very impressive mosaic floors, several rooms that served the everyday needs of the palace, as well as one of the most famous and well done copies remaining of the complex of the statues of Laotoon, a famous ancient statue which is today kept in the Vatican museum.

At the end of the tour you will be free to use the remaining time you have on the island, walking around, taking pictures and further exploring its magnificent areas on your own.

5 h. tour (Private tour)

(transportation + guidance throughout + guided tour of Lindos + short walking guided tour of the Old town of Rhodes)

For those of you that don't have a full day at their disposal, but still want to see as much as possible of the island of Rhodes, this is the ideal tour. You will be be offered private transportation to the archaeological site of Lindos, enjoy a guided tour of Lindos, and then return back to Rhodes for a short walk and guided tour through the main parts of the Old town of Rhodes.

Lindos was founded by the Dorians, led by the king Tlepolemus of Rhodes, who arrived in about the 10th century BC. It was one of six Dorian cities in the area known as the Dorian Hexapolis. The eastern location of Rhodes made it a natural meeting place between the Greeks and the Phoenicians, and by the 8th century Lindos was a major trading centre. Its importance declined after the foundation of the city of Rhodes in the late 5th century BC.

In classical times the acropolis of Lindos was dominated by the massive temple of Athena Lindia, which attained its final form in around 300 BC. In Hellenistic and Roman times the temple precinct grew as more buildings were added. In early medieval times these buildings fell into disuse, and in the 14th century they were partly overlaid by a massive fortress built on the acropolis by the Knights of St. John to defend the island against the Ottomans.

Above the modern town rises the acropolis of Lindos, a natural citadel which was fortified successively by the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Knights of St John and the Ottomans. This makes the site difficult to excavate and interpret archaeologically. The acropolis offers spectacular views of the surrounding harbors and coastline.

On the acropolis of Lindos today parts of the following buildings may still be seen:

• The Doric Temple of Athena Lindia, dating from about 300 BC, built on the site of an earlier temple. Inside the temple is the table of offerings and the base of the cult statue of Athena.
• The Propylaea of the Sanctuary, also dating from the 4th century BC. A monumental staircase leads to a D-shaped stoa and a wall with five door openings.
• The Hellenistic stoa with lateral projecting wings, dating from about 200 BC. The stoa is 87 meters long and consisted of 42 columns.
• The well-known relief of a Rhodian trireme (warship) cut into the rock at the foot of the steps leading to the acropolis.
• On the bow stood a statue of General Hagesander, the work of the sculptor Pythokritos. The relief dates from about 180 BC.
• The Hellenistic staircase (2nd century BC) leading to the main archaeological area of the acropolis.
• Remains of a Roman temple, possibly dedicated to the Emperor Diocletian and dating from about 300 AD.
• The Acropolis is surrounded by a Hellenistic wall contemporary with the Propylaea and the stairway leading to the entrance to the site. A Roman inscription says that the wall and square towers were repaired at the expense of P Aelius Hagetor, the priest of Athena in the 2nd century AD.
• The Castle of the Knights of St John, built some time before 1317 on the foundations of older Byzantine fortifications. The walls and towers follow the natural conformation of the cliff. A pentagonal tower on the south side commanded the harbor, the settlement and the road from the south of the island. There was a large round tower on the east facing the sea and two more, one round and the other on a corner, on the northeast side of the enceinte. Today one of the towers at the southwest corner and one to the west survive.
• The Greek Orthodox Church of St John, dating from the 13th or 14th century and built on the ruins of a previous church, which may have been built as early as the 6th century.

After the end of the guided tour of Lindos, you will board your private vehicle and return back to Rhodes and start your short walking tour of the Old town.

Entering the gateways you will walk parallel to the big fortified wall, with your guide stopping you in some points of interest for further explanations as well as for panoramic views. On the way you will walk through the area of the Agora and the Collachium, where the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem lived and worked, building a stronghold of Christendom in the Eastern Mediterranean. The building of the hospital of the knights of St. John is one of the most impressive and old buildings remaining in the Old town, and houses today the archaeological museum of Rhodes. This is where your tour will end and if you have time available before returning to your cruise ship, you can either enter and explore the museum on your own or the town further.

8 h. tour (Private tour)

(guided walking tour of the Old town + guided tour of the Archaeological Museum + guided tour of the Palace of the Grand Masters + private transportation to a beach and back + free time at the beach)

For those of you that have more time at your disposal, you can enjoy a walking tour of the medieval town of Rhodes, a unique world heritage monument protected by UNESCO, combined with a visit to one of the famous beaches of Rhodes to relax and enjoy a swim before returning to your cruise ship. Your tour guide will meet you at the port where you will disembark and your tour will start right away. Walking to the Old town you'll pass through one of the gateways and will continue parallel to the big fortified wall, with your guide stopping you in some points of interest for further explanations as well as for panoramic views. On the way you will walk through the area of the Agora and the Collachium, where the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem lived and worked, building a stronghold of Christendom in the Eastern Mediterranean. The building of the hospital of the knights of St. John is one of the most impressive and old buildings remaining in the Old town, and houses today the archaeological museum of Rhodes, which is worth for a short visit. Among other things you will see ancient Greek statues, including the Aphrodite of Rhodes, made of parian marble, urns and pots, funerary plaques etc.

Remaining remarkably intact, the Old Town is home to the churches, marble coats of arms of the Knights, cannonballs and the inns of the Knights. Entering the famous Knight Street you will start ascending to the level where the very impressive restored Palace of the Grand Masters lies and you will enter it for your guided tour and detailed explanation of the different historic periods of the island and the palace. There among other things you will see very impressive mosaic floors, several rooms that served the everyday needs of the palace, as well as one of the most famous and well done copies remaining of the complex of the statues of Laocoön, a famous ancient statue which is today kept in the Vatican museum.

At the end of the guided tour your tour guide will be in touch with your private driver and will take you to a designated area, where you will be picked up by your private vehicle and will be driven to one of the famous beaches of Rhodes, such as Faliraki (15 min. drive each way), or Tsabika (40 min. drive each way), or the beach near the aquarium which is near the port. All beaches have umbrellas and sun beds, as well as canteens, where you can buy a snack or drinks.

Your driver will be waiting there for you and as soon as you are ready, after having enjoyed your swim, will take you back to the ship.

4 h. tour (Private tour)

(guidance throughout + guided tour of the Palace of the Grand Masters + guided tour of the Archaeological Museum + free time)

This is a walking tour of the medieval town of Rhodes, a unique world heritage monument protected by UNESCO. Your tour guide will meet you at the port where you will disembark and your tour will start right away. Walking to the Old town you'll pass through one of the gateways and will continue parallel to the big fortified wall, with your guide stopping you in some points of interest for further explanations as well as for panoramic views. On the way you will walk through the area of the Agora and the Collachium, where the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem lived and worked, building a stronghold of Christendom in the Eastern Mediterranean. The building of the hospital of the knights of St. John is one of the most impressive and old buildings remaining in the Old town, and houses today the archaeological museum of Rhodes, which is worth for a short visit. Among other things you will see ancient Greek statues, including the Aphrodite of Rhodes, made of parian marble, urns and pots, funerary plaques etc.

Remaining remarkably intact, the Old Town is home to the churches, marble coats of arms of the Knights, cannonballs and the inns of the Knights. Entering the famous Knight Street you will start ascending to the level where the very impressive restored Palace of the Grand Masters lies and you will enter it for your guided tour and detailed explanation of the different historic periods of the island and the palace. There among other things you will see very impressive mosaic floors, several rooms that served the everyday needs of the palace, as well as one of the most famous and well done copies remaining of the complex of the statues of Laocoön, a famous ancient statue which is today kept in the Vatican museum.

At the end of the tour you will be free to use the remaining time you have on the island, walking around, taking pictures and further exploring its magnificent areas on your own.

The magnificent temple of Apollo Epicurios built on the high ground at the height of 1130 m is one of the most significant and majestic monuments of the classical antiquity which is still in particularly good condition of preservation. Lit by the abundant sunlight of the rocky Arcadian landscape it makes the visitors tremble with joy at the sight of it. It was built in 420-400 BC by the Phigaleio citizens in the place of the anterior archaic temple.

One of the opinions is that the God was named "Epicurios" because he had helped the citizens of Phigaleio in their fight against Lacedaemonians in 659 BC. However, according to Pausanias, the God's name is attributed to the salvation of the citizens of Phigaleio in the epidemic that occurred in the area during the Peloponnese war (431 - 404 B.C).

The temple is a Doric pavilion made of the local asbestos stone, except for the capitals of the columns, the ceiling, the roofing tiles and the carved ornament that were made of marble. The north-southern orientation, which was not typical of ancient temples, was supposedly made so for religious reasons. It consists of a pronaos, enclosure and opisthodomos, and the notably elongated form (38.24 m in height and 14.48 m in width) is emphasized by the proportional enclosure columns, which are 6 on the narrow side and 15 on the long side instead of the usual number 6x13. The combination of archaic elements with innovating architectural ideas applied for the first time in the temple show an inspired and avant-garde architect who according to Pausanias was none other than Iktinos.

Especially interested is the inside of the temple for its originality, particularly the enclosure, where on the long sides there were thin walls with Ionic semi-columns and original capitals and semi-circular high bases. The two last inclined semi-­columns in the south of the enclosure, arising from the walls where the shrine used to be. Between them there was a free column with the oldest known Corinthian capital in the history of Greek architecture. In the eastern wall of the shrine enclosure there was a door, evidently, for sunlight admission so as to light the worshipped statue of the god placed there. The semi-columns of the shrine were supporting a low Ionic frieze which was made up of an epistyle sustaining the famous marble carved metope running round the four sides of the enclosure. The metope (with total length 31 m and height 0.63 m) consisting of 23 marble carved slabs, including eleven slabs depicting the fight with the Centaurs and twelve slabs representing the fight with the Amazons. Each slab represents a complete scene or a separate episode. The exceptional sculptures full of vivacity and vigor belong to anonymous artist. Many elements, however, are characteristic of Paeonios who sculptured the famous statue of Nice in Olympia.

The carved slabs were brought to light in 1812 as a result of systematic excavations carried out by the group of foreign scientists -enthusiasts fond of antiquities such as J. Foster, C.R. Cockerel and K.H. von Hallerstein. In 1914 the priceless metope was transferred to Zacynthos after dirt-cheap payment to the Turkish governor of the Peloponnese Veli Pasha, and in the end it was sent to the British Museum where it is now exhibited. The temple destruction began in the Roman period as a result of human interference, environmental factors and earthquakes that occurred in the area. The first serious attempt to restore the temple began in 1982-1908 by the Archeological Company, which has done a great work. Since the establishment of the Council for the maintenance of the Apollo Epicurios Temple by the Ministry of Culture, the members of the Council being various scientists, the study of the temple has been systematic and many complex problems have been solved. In order to preserve the temple, they realized as top priority measure the erection of a shelter protecting the temple from the environmental effects and from harmful weather conditions, anti-seismic scaffolding and lightning conductors.

As a result of the above-mentioned measures the monument is now separated from its natural environment, and the visitors can no more have the delightful aesthetic feeling they used to have before. However, the protection of the monument was so urgent and effective that it was worth making the sacrifice.

Lately, a long-term restoration program has been in progress. The objective is to solve fundamentally and definitely all the monument's problems so as to maintain it for the centuries to come.

Since 1986, the temple has been under the UNESCO protection as a monument which makes part of the World Cultural Heritage.

Project of the architect Anastasios Birris, the museum of Ancient Elis was built during the period 2002-2004 in SE edge of the ancient city on the slopes of the hill.

The museum combines a stylish and fully harmonized with the environment exterior architecture with a functional and spacious interior.

It has a control room with screens that allow continuous monitoring of the most important points of the museum, a large reception hall and exhibition space, which includes four rooms and corridor. There is also an internal part of a peristyle courtyard, which hosts some of the other sculptures, like the mosaic floor with the labors of Hercules and the symbols of the Muses.

In the basement there are six large warehouses that can accommodate all of the objects found during the systematic excavations, and the meditations in the ancient city but within a radius of several kilometers around it. In specific areas of the basement are housed the facilities of air conditioning and the power generator.

In the ancient times Ilis was the capital of Elia. It was not only the biggest city in Elia but also one of the most densely inhabited cities in Peloponnese. Although the ancient state of Ilis was a long way away from the big urban centers of Greece, it remained in the foreground for a long period of time as it had the curatorship of the pan-Hellenic sanctuary in Olympia and organized the Olympic games.

The ancient city emerged in the valley stretched out from the Pineios river in the south to the foot of the Agianni hill where the ancient Acropolis was located. It occupied the area between the present-day villages Palaiopolis or Ilis in SE, Augeio in SW and Kalivia in the west.

The city used to be the center of the Ilis valley, that was a fertile low land spread out to the seashore and was one of four peripheries of the state of Ilis being at the hight of its glory (6th - 4th century BC). The other three peripheries were Akroreia, Pisatida and Triphylia.

There were two roads leading from Ilis to Olympia: one road went through the mountains and the other through the valley on the side of letrinai. One more road led from Ilis to Kyllini where there was a haven on the shore of the Ionian Sea.

It is evident from the excavation data available today that the area had been inhabited as a small agricultural settlement from the first Hellenic period (about 2800 BC). In the Mycenaean period (1600-1100 B.C.) it was one of four towns in the area and the inhabitants were called Epeians as they were mentioned in the Homer epos

Oxylos is mentioned as the founder of Ilis, who came from Aitolia together with the Dorians (12 century BC) and is said to be the founder of the Olympic games, which later were revived by his descendant king lphitos

From 776 BC the year of the first Olympic games the Eleians had the curatorship of the Olympia Sanctuary, which, after numerous conflicts with the residents of Pisates, they held continually till the 4th century B.C, when the city was at the hight of its glory, with many citizens who lived peacefully in the fertile and privileged location. In the historical period the Eleians considered their capital as sacred and for that reason the city was not fortified. The Sacred Armistice institution contributed considerably to that as it was authoritative and inviolable for more than a millennium era of the Olympic games.

As we know, Ilis was the city-organizer of the Olympic games and according to the regulations, the athletes were obliged to have their training there a month before the beginning of the Olympic games.

The preparation and the perfect realization of the games was the main duty of the city, while the inhabitants there were engaged chiefly in agriculture and livestock breeding. The finds that were brought to light as result of excavations and particularly the pottery and brazen articles show that there had been local workshops in Ilis, which developed a peculiar kind of art, and there had been a mint in the city from the 6th century BC

Women in ancient Ilis played an important role in the administration and public affairs of the city. It was the council of 16 wise women from Ilis which made peace between Pisa and Ilis and set up the Hereon institution pan Hellenic race for girls in honor of Hera, held every four years like the Olympic games for men but at a different time.

Out of the great number of buildings and sanctuaries mentioned by the ancient traveler Pausanias (2nd century AD), after the excavations held in the area, we can recognize today the Gymnasium which has not been excavated yet, the baths, the temple of Achilles, the "Mesimvria Colonnade", "Kerkyra Colonnade", Hellanodikaion and the fencing of some sanctuaries. At the northern end of the Agora, there is the ancient theatre built in the 4th century BC, and modified in the Hellenistic and Roman ages. The scene made of stone, the proscene and the parascene are the oldest in ancient Greece. The theatre was divided by six stone staircases into seven parts without seats where the spectators were seated on the inclined ground.

The Austrian Archeological Institute carried out the first systematic excavations in Ilis in the period 1911-1914. From 1960 till 1990, the Athens Archeological Company continued the excavations with intervals. For two years, the Group subordinate to the Ministry of Culture has carried on cleaning and excavations actively.

Part of the ancient city was brought to light in the course of excavations held by the Z Inspection of the Antiquities in Olympia from 1965 till 1970, when they made an entrenchment 2 km in length and 40-80 m in width, where Pineios dam conduit was laid forthevalley irrigation.

The numerous finds revealed by the excavations are indicative of continual habitation of the area from the prehistoric ages till the Roman epoch (1 century BC -3 century AD) when the villas and baths were built and the city stretched out even more in all directions and reached great prosperity. In the late Roman period and in the early Christian years (3rd - 5th century AD) Ilis was obviously in a state of decadence. Only a small part of the city was still inhabited, and a big burial place was founded here and there, probably after the devastation due to severe famine and invasion of Geruls (AD 267) . After the catastrophic earthquake in AD 522, which hit Olympia as well, the city decreased in its northeastern bounds and had been abandoned by the 7th century AD when Ilis was in a state of complete decadence and finally disappeared bringing about the end of the Eleian state.

Renowned and without doubt unrivalled to this day, is the contribution of the ancient Greeks to the field of Philosophy and the Fine Arts. Likewise familiar is their contribution to the field of Science. However, the technology of the ancient Greeks is relatively unknown, just as is their incredible performance in this field. The present exhibition of ancient Greek technology includes approximately 300 operating models of ancient Greek inventions. The ancient Greek technological marvel (from the robot - servant of Philon to the cinema of Heron and from the automatic clock of Ktesibios to the analog computer of Antikythera) covers the period from 2000 BC until the end of the ancient Greek world. All were constructed by Kostas Kotsanas, through 22 years of extensive research and study. It is the most credible (since it is based solely on the thorough study of the ancient Greek, Latin and Arabic literature, vase painting information and minimal relevant archeological finds) and the most comprehensive exhibition of its kind worldwide. All the exhibits and their supporting material have been created by the creator of the museums without any subsidy from any public or private institution and are permanently housed at the homonymous Museum of Ancient Greek Technology and the Museum of Ancient Greek Musical Instruments and Toys & Games operating in Katakolo under the auspices of the Municipality of Pyrgos, Greece.

The aim of the museum is to highlight this relatively unknown aspect of ancient Greek civilisation and to prove that the technology of the ancient Greeks, just before the end of the ancient Greek world, was shockingly similar to the beginning of our modern technology. The bolts and nuts, gears and rules, pulleys and belts, sprockets and chains, block and tackles and winches, hydraulic controllers and valves are just some of the inventions of the ancient Greeks which were the foundations of their complex technology.

These legacies, identical and irreplaceable, continue today to constitute the building blocks of our modern technology, the development of which would be doubtful without its effortless and undemanding adoption. It simply took over a millennium of maturation for humanity to recover this remarkable forgotten technology. The exploration of this age, when ownership for peak technology was not claimed, demonstrates how much more (than we think) the modern Western Technological Civilisation owes to the Greeks.

The exhibits are accompanied by rich audio-visual material (in Greek and English), such as explanatory labels and giant posters with a lot of information, detailed diagrams, photos and complete bibliographical references, while many of the exhibits are interactive. There are projecting stations with video and animation as well as documentaries in which the exhibitor explains the function and the use of the mechanisms.

The exhibition (categorised in units) follows the modern educational perception in Pedagogic and Museum Education so that it acts multileveled, as far as the greatness of ancient Greek technological thought and technique is concerned, in all levels of the educational community and the wider public. Many of the exhibits and studies, upon which the constructions were based, have been presented at international conferences and exhibitions, while several temporary exhibitions of the museum have been held in both Greece and abroad (from neighbouring Cyprus to distant Australia).

Through the exhibition visitors are given the opportunity to experience the incredible technological achievements of ancient Greeks and discover that the ancient Greeks a) had invented a “cinema” capable of presenting automatically the story of a myth with moving picture and sound, b) had devised (unfortunately, for entertainment purposes only) automotive vehicles (automobiles) with auto drive, a gearbox, hydraulic programmable valves and other complex components, c) used functional robots in order to serve them, d) had discovered the beginning of the steam engine, e) used sophisticated astronomical and precision measuring instruments (such as an analog computer, a GPS, a theodolite - dumpy level, etc.) that allowed them to calculate, with precision, astronomical and geodetic data, f) had devised ingenious vending machines, g) used sophisticated lifting mechanisms capable of constructing extremely tall structures with only minimal manpower, h) had clocks (and alarm clocks) which operated automatically and continuously without human intervention, etc.

All this demonstrates the high level technology of the ancient Greeks who had almost nothing to envy from early modern technology and that would have led (had the political, economical and social circumstances of the time allowed) to the Industrial Revolution since the Hellenistic era, with unforeseeable consequences for humanity.

The nonprofit transportation of the exhibition (upon invitation) to other locations (in Greece and abroad) will give both Greeks and foreigners the opportunity to admire the completely unfamiliar aspect of the ancient Greek culture; their incredible technology.

The Museum of the History of the Ancient Olympic Games hosts 463 ancient works, from the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, and other museums in the Greek territory. The exhibits cover a wide chronological range, from the second millennium BC until the 5th century AD. Ancient exposed in thematic units and through them yperchilietis shows the history of the Olympic games, the longest ancient institution.

Apart from ancient art, the visitor has the possibility of detailed information through the rich visual material.

The building complex consists of the museum's exhibition spaces on the ground floor and basement, where this is expected to operate in the future for better multimedia presentation of the Games, as well as educational programs.

The exhibition area consists of a large central hall, the lobby and eleven small rooms.

The most important of the exhibits housed in the museum are the gold-ring seals the first images of sports, representative samples of the Minoan and Mycenaean art, bronze and terracotta figurines geometric warriors and chariots from Olympia and are the first performances of historical years mentioning chariot, various objects used by athletes such as discs, dumbbells, Mr. aryballoi et al. as well as exhibits that make up the unity of the Olympic events. Among those particularly important are inscribed bases of statues that decorated athletes in antiquity the Altis, the stone and bronze inscriptions, which are inexhaustible source of information, the bronze statuettes of athletes, and many vessels with representations of athletes.

The purpose of the exhibition is not simply to provide information about the Games in antiquity and the initiation of the visitor to the institution of the Olympic Games.

The Archaeological Museum of Olympia, one of the most important museums in Greece, presents the long history of the most celebrated sanctuary of antiquity, the sanctuary of Zeus, father of both gods and men, where the Olympic games were born.

The museum's permanent exhibition contains finds from the excavations in the sacred precinct of the Altis dating from prehistoric times to the Early Christian period.

Among the many precious exhibits the sculpture collection, for which the museum is most famous, the bronze collection, the richest collection of its type in the world, and the large terracottas collection, are especially noteworthy.

The museum building comprises exhibition rooms, auxiliary spaces and storerooms. The vestibule and twelve exhibition rooms contain objects excavated in the Altis. The auxiliary spaces (cafe, lavatories) are located in the museum's east wing; a separate building between the museum and the archaeological site houses a book and souvenir shop. Finally, part of the east wing and the basement are dedicated to storage and conservation of terracottas, bronze, stone, mosaics and minor objects.

The Archaeological Museum of Olympia, supervised by the Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities of Ilia, was reorganized in 2004 to meet modern museological standards.