Sports tourism in Ancient Greece

The great sanctuaries (especially Olympia) where the ancient sports agones were held became very important 'tourist' centres in Ancient Greece. There were three main reasons that motivated people to travel to Olympia and other sanctuaries. First, there was a religious motive as they were very important centres for pilgrimage or 'religious tourism'. Second, Olympia, Delphi, Isthmia and Nemea were also main centres of 'sports tourism' in Ancient Greece. And third, those sanctuaries became main destinations for 'cultural tourism'. In fact, visitors went there in archaic and classical times in order to see buildings, sculptures and paintings, and afterwards Olympia and the other sports centres became an obligatory stop in the 'Grand Tour' of the Greek and Roman elites during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Olympia was also the most important meeting point for literary and intellectual activities in Ancient Greece, because authors and thinkers gave publicity to their works and ideas there, exploiting the fact that the Olympic Games gathered together the greatest crowd of Greeks. We also study the transport and difficulties of travel to Olympia, lodging conditions and the stay in Olympia that became a crowded 'campsite' during the Games, under the stifling heat of the Greek summer.