Pedestrianism

ancient gymnastics. 1 1 ground, raiseda templededicated to Jupiter, which inclosed them within the pale of its protecting influence. " The temple,(says Strabo,lib. viii.) stands << in the Pisaean division, little less than three " hundred stadia distant from Elis .Before « it is a grove of wild olives, within which " lies the Olympic stadium.The temple was magnificent. It was built of beautiful marble, in the Doric order, and surrounded by a colonade*. It was ornamented by the finest productions of art—the genius of the sculptor andpainter having adorned the sa­ cred edificet. But the Stadium wasno more thana terrace of earth,the areaof whichwas six hundred and thirty-eight feet in length. On the one side waserected the seat of the Hellanodics , or judges ; and on the other, an altar of white marble, upon which the * Its height was ixty-eight feet;its breadth, ninety- fWe; and its length, twohundred and thirty. f Pausanias, Jib. v. b 2 priestess