Polarized single-crystal absorption and reflection spectra of fundamental modes in both the mid- and far-infrared are presented for microscopic crystals of forsterite and fayalite. All modes predicted by symmetry were observed for forsterite, but two B3u modes were not observed for fayalite. Consideration of previously determined frequency shifts for isotopically and chemically substituted olivines, along with symmetry analysis, produced a complete set of band assignments satisfying all constraints for forsterite. A plausible assingment was derived for fayalite by analogy. The frequency shifts from forsterite to fayalite are consistently small for bands assigned to SiO4 stretching and bending, moderate for rotations, and large for translations of M-site ions, suggesting that in olivine, SiO4 groups vibrate separately from the lattice. Allocating the bending and external modes among multiple continua in Kieffer's (1979c) model considerably improves prediction of quasiharmonic heat capacityCv and entropy for forsterite (∼1% discrepancy from 200–1000 K). The experimental entropy of fayalite is closely accounted for (1.8 to 0.1%) by summing lattice, electronic (from Burns' (1985) optical band assignment), and constant magnetic contributions above 200 K.Smagnetic determined from the difference of the experimental and model lattice entropies shows inflection points at the two magnetic transition temperatures (23 and 66 K) and indicates that complete spin disorder is not achieved below 680 K.