The Bouleuterion (Council House) of Ancient Olympia was a building inside the archaeological site of

Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

. A

bouleuterion A bouleuterion ( grc-gre, βουλευτήριον, ''bouleutērion''), also translated as and was a building in ancient Greece which housed the council of citizens (, ''boulē'') of a democratic city state. These representatives assembled a ...

was an assembly house for local legislatures and other meetings. Building complex comprising two main buildings, a square room, and a stoa. The edifices were erected south of the Temple of Zeus and date back to the 6th - 4th Century BC.

Description

The Bouleuterion is situated inside the sacred enclosure of the Altis, south of the temple of Zeus. The Bouleuterion consisted of two apsidal buildings on its west side, which were connected to a square hall and an Ionic

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

on the east side. Construction began in the sixth century BC and was completed in the fourth century BC. However, minor additions and changes were made during the

Roman period The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

. The Bouleuterion was the seat of the

Elean Elis () or Eleia ( el, Ήλιδα, Ilida, grc-att, Ἦλις, Ēlis ; Elean: , ethnonym: ) is an ancient district in Greece that corresponds to the modern regional unit of Elis. Elis is in southern Greece on the Peloponnese, bounded on ...

Senate. Since the Elean Senate was responsible for the organization of the

ancient Olympic Games The ancient Olympic Games (Ὀλυμπιακοὶ ἀγῶνες; la, Olympia, neuter plural: "the Olympics") were a series of athletic competitions among representatives of city-states and were one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. ...

, the site of the Bouleuterion played a major role in their administration. This is where the participation of an athlete was decided, the athletes registered and drew lots, penalties for offenses were given, etc. Inside the Bouleuterion were the altar and the statue of Zeus Horkeios, where athletes gave their oath before the start of the Olympic Games.ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ: Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού και Αθλητισμού.

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Bouleuterion in Olympia Ancient Olympia Ancient Olympic Games