De druk van te hoge verwachtingen

Abstract

The pleasant, quiet archaeological site of Olympia appears a far cry from the fame of the ancient Olympic Games, or from the spectacle of the modern variety. In this article, I discuss the end of ancient Olympia and the gradual re-emergence of the archaeological site. After Olympia was abandoned in early Byzantine times, its location was no longer remembered. However, its fame remained, partly through translations of ancient texts, notably Pausanias, partly through the revival of the Olympic Games in the 19th century. Early modern travelers and the French scholars who worked at the site as part of the Expedition de la Morée hoped that the site could fulfill their high expectations, in particular with regards to ancient sculpture. As the excavations continued, since 1875 as part of the research program of the German Archaeological Institute, the buried remains have revealed a different material reality. As a result of the combination of continuous research and restoration up until the present day the site of Olympia now provides an independent view on the past.