Pelopion

A small sacred enclosure — a temenos — at the heart of the Altis, built around the supposed tomb of Pelops, the mythological hero who gave the Peloponnese its name. The cult of Pelops was among the oldest at Olympia, predating the great temples, and his hero shrine continued to receive offerings even as Zeus came to dominate the sanctuary.

The enclosure is marked by a pentagonal palisade wall and contains a pit used for ritual offerings. The site is modest in scale but sits at the symbolic heart of the sanctuary, between the Temple of Hera and the Temple of Zeus. Pausanias described white poplars growing inside — a sacred tree associated with the underworld.

things to do sight
A story
Pelops was said to have won his chariot race against King Oenomaus — and thereby won the hand of the king's daughter Hippodameia — by bribing the king's charioteer to replace the bronze linchpin of the royal chariot with one made of wax. The chariot collapsed mid-race and Oenomaus was dragged to death by his horses. Pelops then had the charioteer thrown into the sea to prevent him from claiming the prize he had been promised. Greeks regarded this as the foundational crime at Olympia, and Pelops' heroic cult persisted there for over a thousand years.