Katákolon on Sunday

Katákolon, on the Ionian Sea, is tiny- especially by Greek standards- and is a pleasant town. It’s most interesting sights revolve around the ancient town of Olympia where the Olympics began in 776BC. The ruins, about 30 minutes away, are expansive- you might even believe the gods themselves participated in the various sporting contests. The remains of the Temple of Zeus, one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World- are there. This temple was believed to have been constructed in 47

2BC and a gold and ivory

statue of Zeus was inside.

These games were begun to honor the Greek god, Zeus. According to the record, a 200- meter inter-city competition was held at the stadium which was constructed for 40,000 spectators. After the beginning of the games, contests were held every four years, attracting athletes from all Greek city-states. During each game, an “Olympic Truce,” an official hiatus on hostilities between the various city-states, was declared.

The original Olympic games consisted of a footrace, wrestling, the pankration ( “no holds” martial art-the game ended in submission, knockout, or death), the pentathlon (discus, javelin, jumping, running, wrestling), chariot-racing and horse-racing. Wonder what those long-ago athletes would think of beach volleyball and the

other newer additions to modern day Olympic Games.

The ancient winners were awarded a crown fashioned from wild olive branches. The braches were always cut from the same sacred tree, the Kallistefano.

The ritual ended in 393AD, when Theodosios I set a moratorium. The games were revived 15 centuries later in 1896 by the French historian Pier de Coubertin. A torch-bearer, like the ancient heralds, sets out from Olympia every four years to bear a flame to the games. Athletes competed nude to be certain all were male. Do think it is good that that custom has not continued.

Our Superior Veranda Suite is 398 sq.ft. in size and has a queen sized bed, two desk areas, a sofa bed, two, three chairs, and a vanity stool. The bathroom has double sinks, a Jacuzzi tub and a separate shower. The balcony is a nice size with 2 chairs with footstools, two other chairs, a large table and a small cocktail table. We have lots of storage space in the closets and drawers in the cabin

and in the bathroom medicine cabinets and shelves. There is a TV, a DVD player and a mini-bar with a refrigerator. To be a free upgrade we think we did OK. We are really enjoying sitting on the balcony and reading boks on our Kindles.