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The Archaeological Museum of Olympia (Greek: Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Ολυμπίας) is one of the principal museums of Greece, located in Olympia. It is overseen by the Ministry of Culture and Sports, and, as of 2009, is directed by Georgia Xatzi. When the original building was completed and opened in 1882, it was the first museum in Greece outside of Athens.

The museum houses discoveries from the surrounding area, including the site of the Ancient Olympic Games. The collection includes objects produced and used in the area from prehistory to its time under Roman rule. The principal pieces in the museum are Hermes and the Infant Dionysus (attributed to Praxiteles), some objects from the Temple of Zeus, the Nike of Paionios, as well as an oenochoe that belonged to Phidias. The extent of its bronze collection makes it one of the most important in the world.

Today, the museum is housed in two buildings: the principal building with twelve rooms for exhibitions, organized both around themes and ages of the objects. The other building is dedicated to the museum store, and is separate from the main structure, located on the path to the archaeological site.

History
Excavation work at Altis in the 19th century quickly necessitated the construction of a building to display uncovered objects and works of art. The banker Andreas Syngros paid 220,000 drachmas to fund the construction and entrusted the design and building of the museum to two German architects and archaeologists. Wilhelm Dorpfeld and Friedrich Adler, the architects, oversaw the construction of a neo-classical building which was erected on the hill of Drouva near the way out of Olympie toward the sanctuary. Finished in 1888, it was the first Greek museum built outside of Athens. It was damaged in 1954 by an earthquake, and later proved ultimately too small to house and display the museum’s expanding collections. Plans to build a new museum were approved in the 1970s. Although it was unused for some time, the original building was re-purposed and since 2004 has been a museum about the history of the original Olympic games.

Museum itself? Actual museum?
After the limitations of the first museum became apparent, the construction of a new museum designed by Patroklos Karantinos was approved. Begun in 1966 [??? Approved in 1970s?], the “new museum” building was finished in 1975. However, moving the objects took some time, and the inaugural exhibition in the new space did not take place until 1982, coordinated by then minister of culture, Melina Mercouri. The museography was written by Nikolaos Gialouris, then Ephor of Antiquities, though Ismini Trianti and the sculptor S. Trianitis were commissioned to install the “Victory of Paionios” on its own pedestal. This sculpture was only visible to the public after 1994.

In preparation for the Olympics of 2004, the exterior/frame of the museum was renovated in preparation. It was closed from September of 2003 to the 24th of March, 2004. The collections were reorganized to conserve the spirit of the original collection. Changes included the enlarging of existing rooms, an overhaul of the lighting and climate control systems, and the moving of the museum store. Additionally, the Hermes Praxiteles was installed in a dedicated room on a pedestal designed to prevent damage from earthquakes. New rooms were also built [l'atelier de Phidias et les dernières années du sanctuaire, à la place de l'exposition sur les jeux olympiques antiques, déplacée dans un musée spécifique].

Today, the museum is spread across two buildings. The collections are in the dozen exhibition halls in the main building. A wing of this one is dedicated to visitor services—a cafeteria and restrooms—and the basement has conservation labs for items made from terra cotta and stone, the bronzes, and mosaics. The gift shop, which has both books and objects, is in a different building, between the museum and the archaeological site.

Collections
Le musée est précédé d'une grande cour carrée à péristyle. Various architectural elements and statues, including the torso of a statue of Augustus from the Metronon, are on display [in this location]. The building serves as a model [or serves to illustrate?] of [the site] at its peak, under Roman rule, with all the buildings that were on the site. This helps better illustrate [the two visits, to the museum and to the site itself].

Prehistorical collections
The first exhibition room, to the left of the main hall, is dedicated to prehistorical items, both from the local area and the region of Olympia. Sherds displayed here are from up to the end of the Neolithic and were discovered [dans le remblai] north of the Olympic stadium. They indicate that the site has been continuously inhabited for [très ancienne]. The oldest materials, handmade pottery and tools made of stone, date from the ['Helladique Ancien II et III (2700 - 2000 av. J.-C.).] Some come from the "tumulus of Pelops" from between the respective temples of Hera and Zeus, of which a reconstruction has been proposed [of temples???]. Others were discovered in vaulted buildings, the oldest buildings on the site. The vases exhbited are characteristic of this era; these include containers for sauces, [prochous jugs], vases similar in shape to amphora, phials with one handle, and canthares and askoi (known as "duck vases"). The prochous jugs and phials have decorations cut or stamped into their lids or bases that indicate diplomatic or trade relations between the proto-Hellenic culture and the culture of what is now Croatia. The links with now-Croatia persisted for some time, per the archaeologic record of the [Middle Helenic].

The Mycenaean Period is represented with items made of bronze, baked clay, and stone from beehive tombs near the museum, mostly on the [Zouni and Kalosaka] hills. Mycenaean vases in the collection, decorated with simple linear designs, include amphora (both for storing cooking oil and mixing aromatic oils), ovoid and cylindrical alabaster vases to store ointments, and kylix. There are also female psi and phi figurines made of clay, jewelry made from glass, razors, spearheads, and a boar's tusk helmet.

The room ends with three Assyrian plaques made of bronze from [neo hittite], providing evidence of a relationship between Greece and.

La salle se termine avec trois plaques de bronze provenant d'Assyrie et datant de l'époque néo-hittite (viiie siècle av. J.-C.). Elles témoignent des relations entre les deux régions. Leurs décors évoquent une procession avec des prêtres menant des animaux au sacrifice et un défilé de guerriers (cavaliers et fantassins avec des cuirasses). Elles ont été réutilisées pour recouvrir des objets en bois, aujourd'hui disparus9.

La période mycénienne (1600 - 1100 av. J.-C.) est représentée par des objets (en terre cuite, pierre ou bronze) trouvés dans diverses tombes à tholos de la région, principalement sur les collines de Zouni et Kalosaka près du musée. Les vases mycéniens, à décor linéaire simple, présentés ici sont principalement des amphores qui conservaient de l'huile, des amphores à étrier pour les huiles aromatiques, des alabastres, ovoïdes ou cylindriques, pour les onguents et des kylix (vases à boire). On peut aussi voir des idoles féminines en terre cuite dites en ψ, des bijoux (colliers en pâte de verre), des ustensiles de toilette (rasoirs), des intailles, des armes (pointes de lance) et un casque en défenses de sanglier7,9,10.