Ilia (Ellia)Prefecture birthplace of the Olympic Games

"We may sing of no contest greater than Olympia"- Pindar

"There are 10,000 evils in Greece but nothing is worse than the race of athletes"- Euripides

Elia or Ilia Prefecture comprises some 2,617 sq. km and is primarily fine fertile farm country mostly in the plain of Elia where the Alpheios river, the largest of the Peloponnese flows into the Ionian sea.

It's among the nicer prefectures in my opinion. The vibes are good here!

Below from left: Loutra, Lake Kaiafa, Killini.

Elia also has some of the longest and sandiest beaches of all Greece. There are an estimated 160,000 local inhabitants whose occupations range from tourism to the farming of watermelons, pistachios, grapes, citrus fruits, and potato's. There are 3 small lakes at Agoulinitsa, Mouria and Kaiafa and 2 larger artificial lakes at Ladonas and Pineos. Winters in Elia are mild, the summers hot and dry.

In Homeric times the locals were thought to have been called Epeioi and Pylioi and to have been a mixture of Phoenicians, Thessalian Aeolians, Leleges, Pelasgians and Caucones. The arrival of the Dorians caused them to form an alliance with Sparta. Eleia ceased to be an area of importance when the Byzantine Emperor Theodosios banned the Olympic Games in 393 AD.

Although no one seems to know exactly when or by whom, the Olympic Games are said to have been founded by the demigod Hercules. Records survive from 776 BC as the date of the first recorded competition. The games were so important that the ancients began their system of dating chronology from the date of the 1st games. It is more than likely that the games preceded this date.

They were reorganized in the 8th century BC by Iphitus who instituted for the 1st time the concept of an Olympic Truce. While the games were under way, and for a period both before and after, all military actions were suspended and in this manner 'Olympism' came to be associated with peace. During the more than 1,000 years of the games, the territory of Elis was recognized as 'sacred' and 'inviolable' by the whole of Greece.

The games lasted 5 days and only men and boys were allowed to participate. Girls had their own separate panhellinic games called the "Heraia" held alongside those of the males. The female games were in honor of Zeus' wife Hera and instituted by Hippodameia after her marriage with Pelops or if you prefer, and more likely, by the council of 16 venerable women of Ellis (600 BC) seeking to promote peace within war torn, over populated Greece.

The ancient Olympic games consisted of more than just sporting events. The contestants came to be purified so as to partake in a competition innocent of profit. The only tangible prize for victory was a wreath of wild olive leaves. In fact there was no great sanctuary in Greece that did not link the worshiping of gods with the holding of games and contests. The ancients were extremely competitive. However the games at Olympia preceded other pan-hellenic games by at least 200 years. Originally Olympia was both an Oracle and a center for competitions but through agreement with Delphi kept the latter as its main focus. Thus separating the physical contest of life with the spiritual mysteries.