ABSTRACT
This chapter describes certain aspects of the political dimensions of archaeology involved in the Olympia excavations during the 1870s. In doing so, it makes use of the main suggestions that Thanassis Kalpaxis has made regarding the study of the political dimensions of archaeology. In the case of the excavations at Olympia, which were carried out by foreign archaeological institutions on Greek soil, the point here is not to offer a judgement on moral and political grounds driven by nationalist motives. The study of this aspect offers basic information and, in particular, sheds new light on the genesis and development of German philhellenism. This approach allows for an analysis that departs both from the perspective of the relationship between Prussian/German politics and archaeology and from the perspective of the archaeologists and politicians of a country that was a natural bearer of Greek antiquities.
