The city is among the most important in Greece， and the largest in the Peloponnese.
It is also a major transportation centre， linking the country with Italy and the Peloponnese with the IonianIonian adj.爱奥尼亚的， 爱奥尼亚人的， 爱奥尼亚式的 n.爱奥尼亚人， 爱奥尼亚 islands.
The city extends from the shore up to the Castle. It is divided into two parts， the upper and the lower， whose layout， parks and piazzaspiazza n.广场， 走廊， 露天市场 give it a definite distinction.
The old city， at the foot of the castle， still has quite a number of attractive neoclassical houses， while the lower city has many mansions， such as those housing the Municipal Theatre， the Odeon， etc.
The Cathedral of St. Andrew， the city，s patronpatron n.(对某人， 某种目标， 艺术等)赞助人， 资助人， rises majestically above the lower city. To the left of it stands an older church built on the site of a Byzantine church that was destroyed by the Turks.
From here Trion Navarchon street leads to Psila Alonia - the “balcony” of Patras - a lovely spacious square with slenderslender adj.苗条的， 微薄的， 微弱的 palm trees and a sun dial.
Patras possesses a fine archaeological museum， an art gallery and a printing museum.
Dominating the city from on high looms the ruined shell of the castle， whose grounds have been transformed into a park. From here you have a view of the whole city and the sea beyond. Patras， famous Carnival - a festive sampling of its citizens imaginationimagination n.想象， 空想， 想象的事物， 想象力， 听觉， humour and high spirits - attracts thousands of visitors every year. Finally， the city，s innumerable pastry shops， its quiet little cafes， its wide range of tavernastaverna n. （希腊的）酒馆，餐馆， its lively streets bustling with locals， foreigners and transient travellers complete the picture of Patras， beautiful and celebrated throughout Greece.
Olympia神圣的奥林匹亚
在希腊伯罗奔尼撒半岛西部的克罗尼斯山旁，有一座到处都是神殿和竞技场的小城，这就是着名的奥林匹克运动会发祥地奥林匹亚。公元前15世纪，希腊人为祭祀宙斯神在奥林匹亚等地举行竞技会。竞技会第一天是祭祀宙斯神的盛典，第二天进行竞赛，最后一天是优秀选手在城内游行，参加庆功宴。优胜者的奖品是橄榄枝编成的圆环。这种竞技会每隔4年举行一次，每次举办的日期是7月或8月的满月日。第1届至第13届仅设短跑一项，以后历届项目逐渐增多。
罗马帝国统治时期，罗马皇帝曾下令禁止异教徒举行祭奠，奥林匹亚竞技会被迫停办。公元6世纪，奥林匹亚发生大地震，随后克拉的乌河又泛滥成灾，使这里变成废墟，渐渐被人们遗忘。1776年，英国学者钱德勒发现了奥林匹克竞技会遗址。然而，完整、雄伟的奥林匹克竞技场全貌只能从当地博物馆的复原图中看到了。
奥林匹亚有着名的宙斯神殿、赫拉神殿、竞技场等20余处建筑遗址。宙斯神殿建于公元前457年，由大理石座、石柱和山墙三部分组成。赫拉神殿是希腊众神殿中最古老的一座。神殿内原供奉的宙斯之妻赫拉的神像已毁坏。现代奥运会点燃圣火的仪式就在赫拉神殿前的广场上举行。竞技场至今仍保持原貌。如今，这个具有3000多年历史的地方，已成为希腊着名的旅游景区和弘扬人类体育精神的圣地。
奥林匹亚，是人类文明进程中一部辉煌的辞海，是人类和平与世界人民增进友谊的一束辉煌的花环，是奥林匹克精神的一面辉煌的旗帜。奥林匹亚，没有时髦匠人的雕琢与粉饰，没有现代化的珠光宝气。奥林匹亚，留给后人的只有它的沧桑与古朴。而这，也正是奥林匹克魅力无穷令人倾倒的辉煌所在！
Olympia is a city of ancient Greece in Elis， is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times， comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every olympiad (i.e. every four years)， the Olympic Games dating back at least as far as 776 B.C.. In 394 C.E. emperor Theodosius I abolishedabolish vt.废止， 废除(法律、制度、习俗等) them.
Olympia is also known for its giganticgigantic adj.巨人般的， 巨大的 ivory and gold statue of Zeus， made by Phidias， which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Very close to the temple of Zeus (see photo of ruins below) which housed this statue， the studio of Phidias was excavatedexcavate v.挖掘， 开凿， 挖出， 挖空 in the 1950s. Evidence found there such as sculptor，s tools， corroborates this opinion.
Excavation of the Olympia temple district and its surroundings began with a French expedition in 1829. German archaeologists continued the work in the latter part of the 19th century. The latter group uncovered， intact， the Hermes of Praxiteles statuestatue vt.以雕像装饰 n.雕像， among other artifactsartifacts n.史前古器物. In the middle of the 20th Century， the stadium where the running contests took place was excavated.
The Olympic flame of the modernday Olympic Games is lit by reflection of sunlight in a parabolic mirrorparabolic mirror 抛物柱面(反射)镜 at the restored Olympia stadium and then transported by a torch to the place where the games are held.
When the modern Olympics came to Athens in 2004， the men，s and women，s shot put competition was held at the restored stadium.
The ancient ruins sits north of the Alfeios River and lies next to Cronius or Kronios hill (the hill of Kronos， or Saturn). Kladeos， a tributarytributary adj.进贡的， 附庸的， 从属的， 辅助的， 支流的 n.进贡国， 附庸国， 支流 of Alfeios， flows around the area.
The town has a school and a square (plateia). Tourism is popular throughout the late20th century. The city has a train station and is the easternmost terminusterminus n.终点， ［建］界标， 终点站 of the line of OlympiaPyrgos (Ilia). The train station which the freightfreight n.货物， 船货， 运费， 货运 vt.装货， 使充满， 运送 yard is west of it is about 300 m east of the town centre.
It is linked by GR74 and the new road was opened in the 1980s；the next stretch N and NE of Olympia will open in around 2005. Distance from Pyrgos is 20 km E(old： 21 km)， about 50 km SW of Lampeia， W of Tripoli and Arcadia and 4 km north of Krestena and N of Kyparissia and Messenia. The highway passed north of the ancient ruins.
The sanctuary of Olympia spreads around the green wooded feet of the Kronion hill， where the rivers Alpheios and Cladeos meet. The valley amongst the two rivers was in ancient times full of wild oliveolive n.橄榄树， 橄榄叶， 橄榄枝， 橄榄色 trees， poplars， oaks， pines and plane trees and it was these trees that gave the centre of the sanctuary the name Altis， meaning alsos (grove).
The Altis is the name given to the area in Olympia that comprisescomprise v.包含， 由……组成 the main religious buildings， temples and votive offerings of the sanctuary. Out of the enclosure were the auxiliaryauxiliary adj.辅助的，补充的；备用的 buildings， priests， houses， baths， the areas for the preparation of the athletes， guest houses along with other buildings.
The beginning of worship， as well as the mythical confrontationsconfrontation n.面对， 面对面， 对质 that took place in Olympia， are lost in the depth of the centuries. At the end of the Mycenaean era there was already an installation in the area， and in the Geometric and early Archaic periods， the first simple buildings of the sanctuary were founded.