Hippodrome of Olympia Hippodrome of Olympia The Hippodrome of Olympia housed the equestrian contests (horse racing and chariot racing) of the Ancient Olympic Games. According to Pausanias, it was situated to the south of the Stadium and covered a large area about 600 meters long and 200 meters wide. The hippodrome was a wide, flat, open space where the starting point and the finish line were designated with a pole and a second smaller pole called nyssa designated the turning point. Horse and chariot races were one of the most popular and spectacular sports of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece. The equestrian
Ancient Greek coinage in order to discourage avarice and the hoarding of wealth. In addition to its original meaning (which also gave the diminutive ""obelisk"", "little spit"), the word "obol" (ὀβολός, "obolós", or ὀβελός, "obelós") was retained as a Greek word for coins of small value, still used as such in Modern Greek slang (όβολα, "óvola", "monies"). The obol was further subdivided into "tetartemorioi" (singular "tetartemorion") which represented 1/4 of an obol, or 1/24 of a drachm. This coin (which was known to have been struck in Athens, Colophon, and several other cities) is mentioned by Aristotle as the smallest silver coin. Various