The stage is almost set for the 2008 Olympic Games. The proud host city of Beijing basks in limelight and certainly enjoys being the cynosure of all eyes!

Even as the Olympic torch was lit the other day from the sacred flame at the original site of the Games in ancient Olympia before beginning its marathon journey across the globe, my mind raced back to the brief but memorable visit we made very recently to this famous archaeological site. Not merely suffused with myth, legend, history, religion and philosophy, it also epitomises the ancient Greek ideal of a “sane mind in a sound body”. More importantly, this ancient world in times past celebrated a way of life that the present-day world would do well to emulate.

Our Greek Odyssey included places that were our dream destinations for decades. One such was the 5000-year-old city of Delphi, once considered as the “Navel of the Earth” from where we drove down to Olympia. We set out on a guided tour of the historic site from our hotel in the morning. A pleasant and exhilarating walk brought us to the sprawling area where, even in their mutilated form, ancient relics recount wondrous tales of a by-gone age. Just as we paused to take in an eyeful of all that lay before us, our guide pointed out to us the spot where the flame used to be lit in olden times to symbolize the start of the Games — a practice which has been kept up even today, beginning with the 1936 Olympic Games of Berlin.

We were told that right behind the fire-place used to stand a temple, the oldest there, dedicated to Goddess Hera, the consort of God Zeus. It is said that once in four years during spring, women used to assemble in Olympia to worship the Goddess.

Remains of a Roman fountain; of basins to hold water; of huge pedestals on which statues used to stand, not to speak of Hera’s altar itself where offerings were made to serve as a facade to the temple. If all the statues were discovered, our guide exclaimed, it would take us more than a day to walk past them! Nearby, we also saw a pit belonging to pre-historic times whose size and shape suggested the existence of a house where pottery and things of everyday use were found during excavations.

Right opposite, facing the East, stands the temple of Zeus, the most important God in Greek mythology, though now in ruins. The massive platform with giant-sized pillars lying helter-skelter in overwhelming profusion makes a heart-rending scene. However, superhuman efforts are being made to re-assemble all the broken fragments and install the columns in their original places. One such Ionic column which is now complete rises majestically to an incredibly stupendous height casting a spell-binding effect on viewers. Its height, no less than its girth, is bound to make even down-to-earth onlookers dazed and dizzy!

Even more breathtaking is the knowledge that the statue of God Zeus himself was about 14 meters tall, the height of a three or four storeyed house, more or less the same height as the newly-restored column now on display — a fitting memorial indeed to the God of the bright sky! It is said people came to Olympia to worship Zeus as they believed they could not die happily without seeing him at least once in their lifetime. Small wonder then if the wooden statue of this God, all covered with gold and eyes in-laid with ivory should have been one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. But the tragic fact remains that this marvellous artifact was carried away by the early Christians who were opposed to Paganism and set on fire thus depriving the world of one of its precious heirlooms.

Viewing the colossal ruins and wreckage, we wondered what mortal hands could have caused the destruction of something as solid and impregnable as these monuments. We later learnt that the devastation was caused by two massive earthquakes of 522 and 551 AD.

As we left with a heavy heart pondering over the terrible consequences of disaster either natural or man-made, our attention was drawn to a Byzantine Church in the premises which had earlier served as a workshop to the renowned Athenian sculptor Pheidias and further away, a gymnasium where games like wrestling and discuss throw were held.

The Games themselves had an interesting origin, we learnt. It all started as a religious festival which had nothing to do with sports initially, for the Games were introduced only later to coincide with the festival held once in four years to honour the Gods. The religious character of the Games made us realise how religion had throughout been the supreme motivation behind so many spheres of human activity all over the world.

The Games, we gathered, were usually held in Spring to let people from surrounding areas come and watch. They spent their summer outdoors and those who came to watch the Games were not mere spectators, but pilgrims. Originally, only men could watch or participate since nudity which was not considered bad then was a part of the Games and women were not exposed to such sights. It was only later on after 1896 that the Games were thrown open to women as well and competitions were held for them. An invaluable piece of information we collected was that in early times it was not enough for athletes to be good in sports only, but they were expected to be well-educated too and be good at philosophy and astronomy. The classic case was that of Plato, the great philosopher who was also a good wrestler.

Lending further credence to this holistic approach was the fact that the statue of Aristotle, Alexander’s great teacher was erected there as a mark of honour.

More and more such startling facts were to follow. It was most heartening to hear that everyone was equal in ancient Olympia and all wars had to stop before the Games and could continue only after. Thus, the Games continued uninterrupted except during the First World War. No message could be of greater relevance to the brutal times we were living in, we thought.