On Old Olympus Towering Tops

Anyone with a healthcare background recognizes the pneumonic "On old Olympus' Towering Tops, a French and German viewed some hops" as a way to remember the 12 cranial nerves. Those nerves are, in order, olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial, auditory, glossopharyngeal, vagus, sensory (accessory), and hypoglossal.

Our blog isn't meant to be an anatomy lesson but I couldn't help but think of this when we traversed to Olympia, the ruined ancient sanctuary, home of the ancient Olympic games, and former site of a massive Statue of Zeus which had been ranked as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.  

Coming off the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, it was a wonderful glimpse into their origin.  The first Olympic festival was organized on the site in the 8th century BC – with tradition dating the first games at 776 BC.  Gradually, the site increased in size with a wide collection of religious buildings (e.g., the Temple of Zeus) fitting in among the athletic facilities.  Eventually destroyed by Roman Christians 400 AD, the site succumbed to fires and earthquakes with excavation and preservation efforts begun by the Germans in the 1870s.

Standing on a centuries old starting
line in the original Olympic stadium
The idea behind the Games was to bring together a pretty disparate collection of City-States who acted independent of each other for their athletes to compete, in the absence of war against each other, in events like wrestling, boxing, and running.  Women were largely excluded.  A story was told about the pride of Sparta who received, for winning the Games, the opportunity to stand next to the King of Sparta in battle and be the first to die.  No gold, silver, or bronze - just a chance to glorify the gods through athletic competition.

Let no one tell you that it is cool weather-wise in Greece in September.  Today was in the low 90s and the sun was hot.  It became fairly grueling to get through the tour, but visiting the stadium where 45,000 watched running events, triggered at a marble starting line and a track about 90 feet long, was a highlight for me.  Had to pose as a runner at that starting line just like those famed athletes from centuries ago.

We're sailing again as I type this edition and headed for Corfu, our last stop in Greece before moving on to eastern Europe. Corfu is an island in northern Greece on its border with Albania.  And, rather than walking in heat, we'll be jetting around by boat getting a view from the water.  Until then, "avrio" (tomorrow).

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