Nemea

The Sanctuary of Zeus at Nemea is a small Panhellenic sanctuary in the northeastern Peloponnese. Nestled in a fertile upland valley, it is located near the border between the Corinthia and the Argolid. The start of the festival to Zeus with included athletic games is traditionally dated to 573 bce, but the site preserves evidence of occupation spanning from the Neolithic to the end of the Bronze Age, some of it associated with the prehistoric settlement on the Tsoungiza hill, to the west of the sanctuary. Within the sanctuary, historical period artifacts date from the Geometric to medieval periods, demonstrating a wide range of activities within the valley over a large chronological span. In the sixth century bce, the sanctuary was equipped with a temple, altar, oikoi, running track, and heroön. The excavations under the heroön have found evidence of prehistoric activity below the early Archaic feature, which suggests the importance and continuity of the location. Toward the end of the fifth century bce (c. 410s), the Panhellenic festival was transferred from Nemea to Argos after the destruction of the temple. The games returned to Nemea in the late fourth century bce (c. 330s) when a new temple and stadium were constructed, along with the xenon, bath house, and an updated heroön. By the late third century bce (c. 270s), the games were returned again to Argos, where they remained through Antiquity, with one exception in 235 bce. The sanctuary had fallen mostly into ruin by Pausanias’s visit to the site (mid-second century ce). In the Late Roman period, a farming community arose in the valley. At that time, the temple to Zeus was dismantled, leaving three columns standing, and a basilica was built from spolia over the xenon (late fifth century ce). The valley was mostly abandoned by the mid-seventh century ce only to be reoccupied in the medieval period primarily for farming (c. twelfth-thirteen centuries ce).