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Sanctuary in the province of Elis in eastern Peloponnese (area 3).
Olympia was not a city proper, but rather a huge sanctuary where the Olympic games were held and that was open only for the duration of these games. The origin of these games was ascribed to Pelops, the son of Tantalus, whose grave could be seen in the sacred precinct of Olympia, the Altis, but, after the arrival of the Dorians, it was reassigned to their favorite hero, Heracles (Pindar's Xth Olympian Ode, str.2, sq.). The first Olympic games of historical times took place in 776 B. C. This date marks the starting point of the common frame of reference used by ancient Greeks to date events based on Olympiads (periods of four years between two consecutive games). The games continued to be held on a regular basis until 393 A. D., when all pagan festivals were banned by a decree of emperor Theodosius.

The Olympic games were held in honor of Zeus every four years in the summer, between July and September depending on the year, under the leadership of the people of the nearby city of Elis. They were the most famous of the four periodic panhellenic festivals with contests held in ancient Greece. The other three panhellenic games were :

• the Pythian games, held also in the summer every four years (the third year of each Olympiad) in Delphi in honor of Apollo Pythian ;
• the Isthmian games, held in the spring every two years (the second and fourth year of each Olympiad) near the Isthmus of Corinth in honor of Poseidon ;
• the Nemean games, held also in July every two years (the second and fourth year of each Olympiad) in honor of Zeus in the plain of Nemea in Argolis.

The Olympic festival lasted 7 days and could be attended by whomever wished to come, including slaves and "barbarians", with the exception of wedded women. The first and last days were dedicated to religious rites and, in between, the sports events lasted five days. There were initialy six of them : sprint track race (stadion, run on a track that was one stadium long, that is about 600 feet, or 180 meters), wrestling (palè) ; boxing (pugmè) ; four-horsed chariot race ; javelin throwing ; discus throwing (see Pindar's Xth Olympian Ode, strophe & antistrophe 4). Later, other events were added : the double-stadium race (diaulè) ; long race ; hoplitic race, in which the runner bore his whole soldier's gear (later limited to the shield) ; pancratium, a mix of boxing and wrestling ; pentathlon, which included jump, discus throwing, javelin throwing, sprint race and wrestling ; single horse racing. Also, special events were included for youngsters : sprint race, wrestling and boxing. The games started with the stadium race, and the name of the winner of that race was used to designate the olympiad. But the most sought-after victory was that in the four-horsed chariot race, the most spectacular event, that ended the games. It is in that event that Alcibiades entered no less than seven teams of horses in 416, winning 1st, 2nd and 3rd place (Plutarch's Life of Alcibiades, 11).
The Olympic games played a key role in giving the Hellenes, split in so many "city-states", a sense of unity and afforded much more than the official religious ceremonies and sports events. In parallel, all sorts of activities were taking place on the site. In the time of Socrates, it provided the Sophists with an opportunity to display their "tricks" or read their latest works in front of huge crowds (see for instance Hippias Minor, 363c-364a and 368b-e, where Hippias, who is a citizen of the host city of Elis, brags about his successes during the games).