This book is an impressive study of the archaeological remains of Olympia. Given the sheer abundance of findings at this site, it is understandable that B. decided to restrict its scope. Firstly, its time frame is limited; it spans mainly from c. 600 bce, when the first monumental architectural work (the temple that is now called ‘Temple of Hera’) was built until ‘the late Roman period, when pagan cult practices were officially abolished by the Christian emperor Theodosius in 393 a.d.’ (p. 5) – although it is left open as to how this decree affected Olympia (cf. pp. 206, 237). Other periods are touched on too. In revealing the time frame of the study, B. disagrees with the common view, still widely held, that the sanctuary and its games experienced their peak during the sixth and fifth centuries, followed by a time of decline. Throughout the book her assertion is backed up with plenty of proof.
Regarding the content, the book concentrates mainly on architectonic work and sculpture ‘particularly (but not exclusively)’ (p. 5) within the Altis, i.e. the most sacred inner part of the sanctuary. Yet, objects outside the Altis are also discussed to some extent, such as the Leonidaion, or briefly presented.
It is the overall goal of the study ‘to obtain a coherent understanding of the site as it developed, not just in terms of its architecture but also in terms of its meaning, to understand why objects were placed where they were (when we know) and what the intended effect was’ (p. 5). In this respect readers certainly gain many useful insights.
The book is structured as follows. It starts with a prologue discussing not only the relationship between the city of Elis and Olympia and the earliest traces of cult in the area of the sanctuary, but also other topics such as the Heraia, the festival for females in Olympia, and the huge number of dedications of armour and weapons that vastly outnumbers the findings of other ancient sanctuaries.
Chapter 1, ‘The Shape of the Altis and Practical Matters’, rather thought-provokingly suggests rethinking the dimensions of the Altis. It is questionable, though, whether this approach of shifting the borders of the Altis further northwards to include the Kronos hill and eastwards up to the sanctuary of Demeter, will find a broad consensus. In the second half of the chapter, where the ‘practical matters’ are discussed, B. deals with topics such as the water supply, how and where people were fed and housed or how the sacrifice of a hundred bulls, taking place in the middle of the festival, could be imagined.
The following chapters follow a chronological order. Chapters 2–5 – ‘The Archaic Period, c. 600–480 b.c.’, ‘The Fifth Century b.c.’, ‘The Fourth Century b.c. and the Hellenistic Period’ and ‘Roman Olympia’ – form the centrepiece of the book. Each of these chapters provides helpful summaries at the beginning and the end, and a map showing what the sanctuary looked like in the time period being examined. Buildings, monuments and statues are discussed in depth according to the goal of the study, outlined above, thereby showing how impressively familiar B. is with the abundant relevant archaeological scholarly literature.
The title of the final chapter, ‘The Last Olympiad’, should be understood in a metaphorical sense. In fact, its first part rather deals in brief with the sanctuary's transformation into a Christian settlement. The second part is a four-page summary of the book, unfortunately being somewhat hidden in this chapter rather than being singled out as a standalone section. In this final summary it is stated that the book ‘has endeavoured to illuminate the site, its monuments and activities from a variety of angles – religious, military, athletic, political, mythological, social’ (p. 241). At this point, it could be argued that, although the book does ‘illuminate … monuments’ from all those various angles, less attention is given to the ‘activities’. In principle, this is perfectly justified as the book has its particular scope and goals – that are clearly outlined in the introduction. However, the title and subtitle of the book might be a bit misleading in that respect, and the book is not a ‘comprehensive … history of one of the most important sites in the ancient Greek and Roman world’, as stated on the inside of the dust jacket. One wonders whether the subtitle was an idea of the publishers, as within the study itself, there is no reference of it being a cultural history of Olympia.
The cult festival for Zeus, the contests, the political activities and the mythological stories around Olympia, though mentioned on many occasions, are not focused on. The book deals with the archaeological evidence. To give an example: the chest of Kypselos – that is, incidentally, only known about from literary sources – is discussed at length (pp. 98–102), whereas the ekecheiria – the famous Olympic truce – is not addressed. Nor is there any discussion of the various priests or officials such as the hellanodikai or of the Olympic boule. A comprehensive cultural history of Olympia would also have needed to refer more extensively to the wealth of information provided by ancient authors. A tiny error seems to be symptomatic of the fact that less attention is devoted to the ancient texts: the contest between Kleitomachos and Aristonikos reported by Polybius (27.9) is a boxing match and not a pankration (p. 182). Furthermore, the focus of the study lies clearly on the Altis. That means that there would be more to say about buildings or venues such as the stadium, the hippodrome, the gymnasium or the various baths.
But not to get sidetracked – this book provides a profound discussion of the architectural works and statues of the Altis and also of some other pieces and topics and is very informative on the issues it focuses on; for example, the interpretation of dedications such as the Achaian Monument or the observations on the change of the image of Zeus from a bellicose Zeus to a Zeus who ‘adjudicates and awards victory’ (p. 140). Of course, some statements might remain controversial, but that is inspiring rather than anything else.
It is another merit of the study to have put together and processed the vast amount of publications dealing with the discussed topics. The extensive bibliography, spanning pp. 245–67, reveals the extent of scholarly literature that was considered. The book is richly illustrated. It contains plenty of helpful drawings, maps, plans and photographs. The quality of the latter appearing within the text is sometimes sub-optimal (e.g. p. 149), but the colour plates are excellent.
B.'s book can be recommended to scholars and students especially of archaeology but also of ancient history and to any readers interested in these fields. It stands together with other renowned works giving an overview of the site between the rivers Alpheios and Kladeos such as E.N. Gardiner, Olympia: its History and Remains (1925); A. Mallwitz, Olympia und seine Bauten (1972); H.-V. Herrmann, Olympia: Heiligtum und Wettkampfstätte (1972); U. Sinn, Das antike Olympia (2004); H. Kyrieleis, Olympia. Archäologie eines Heiligtums (2011); as well as the extensive catalogue for the Berlin exhibition on ancient Olympia in 2012: H.-J. Gehrke, W.-D. Heilmeyer et al. (edd.), Mythos Olympia (2012), and can be considered a new standard up-to-date archaeological monograph on Olympia.
