Archaic Olympia: World walking in Hercules' footstep

OLYMPIA — I walked in Hercules' footstep.

As myth has it, it was the benevolent and massive Hercules who put his foot down here a long time ago while transplanting a wild olive tree, and the imprint he left became the length of a footrace organized by humans to honor the gods.

That footrace became so popular that soon the sloping hillsides on either side of the giant footprint — it measured 600 feet long by 90 feet wide — were filled with as many as 45,000 spectators. A sporting spectacle was born.

Christianity, earthquakes, the Dark Ages and two modern world wars have on occasion interrupted that spectacle, but so strong was the original impression that even now, when mankind no longer believes in the gods of Greek mythology, it still believes in what has become known as the Olympic Games. The 321st edition (there were 293 in the ancient era, 28 now in the modern one) starts tonight, in Athens, 175 miles as Nike the winged god of victory flies from Olympia.

The evidence is everywhere in what is called on local maps "Archaic Olympia." The ancients didn't trifle with their Olympics, either.

Archaeologists have uncovered the Olympia "sanctuary" and it is no small place. From the first 600-foot footrace held at least as far back as 776 B.C., the Games at Olympia grew like they were on, well, steroids. Soon they were running two lengths of the distance, then chariot racing was added, and wrestling, boxing, discus and javelin throwing and more. And those were just the sporting events. Temples kept a similar pace. First came the temple of Hera, wife of Zeus, where the flame of Olympia was lit and branches of wild olive trees were woven into wreaths for the winners. Later came the Temple of Zeus, featuring a 40-foot statue of its namesake made of gold and ivory.

In Zeus' left hand he held a scepter, in his right the winged goddess of victory, Nike.

Besides Nike, many familiar sports terms began in Olympia. Stadium comes from stadion, the name given to the original footrace because of all the people standing on the hillside. Gymnasium, the place where Olympia's athletes trained, comes from gymnos, which means "nude." Feeling that nudity pleased the gods, the ancient Greeks banned clothes from the Olympics, as well as women.

Cheating, and fines, were also introduced at Olympia. Anyone caught bribing paid a stiff fine, out of which more statues of Zeus were erected.

Over time, these statues stretched from the Temple of Zeus in the center of the sanctuary to the stadium located at the far end.