East of the Heraion, directly in front of the temple, are the foundations of the altar of Hera. This small oblong structure of poros, 5.80 metres long and 3.50 metres wide, was probably built like the temple in the sixth century BC to replace an earlier altar formed by the ashes of the sacrificed animals.

The Olympic flame of the modern Olympic games is lit on this very altar. The ceremony was first held for the 1936 Berlin Olympic games and has been repeated ever since for each Olympiad.