Altis was a location in what is today Peloponnese

Peloponnese

The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, on a little plain in the Elis Prefecture

Elis Prefecture

Elis or Ilia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Greece. It is situated in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its capital is Pyrgos.-Geography:...

, on the right shore of the Alfeios River near the city of Pyrgos

Pyrgos, Elis

Pyrgos is the capital of the Elis peripheral unit in Greece. It is named after a local tower. The city is located in the western part of the Peloponnese, in the middle of a plain near the Ionian Sea. It is 96 km away from Patras via Greek National Road 9, 320 km from Athens, and...

, around 18 kilometers away from the Ionian Sea

Ionian Sea

The Ionian Sea , is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern Albania to the north, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and...

 and at the foot of Mount Cronion.

At first, it was a sacred of people where magnificent trees grew and within which, hidden in the center, was the Sanctuary of Zeus. Olympia

Olympia, Greece

Olympia , a sanctuary 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 , the Olympic Games dating back possibly further than 776 BC...

was built on this site.

External links

• Page on Olympia, with a small section on Altis
• Page on Altis, in French