Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens
Temple of Olympian Zeus | |
---|---|
Ναός του Ολυμπίου Διός | |
General information | |
Type | Temple |
Architectural style | Classical |
Location | Athens, Greece |
Construction started | 561–527 BC |
Completed | 131 AD |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Antistatis, Kallaischros, Antimachides and Phormos |
The Temple of Olympian Zeus (Greek: Ναός του Ολυμπίου Διός, Naós tou Olympíou Diós), also known as the Olympieion or Columns of the Olympian Zeus, is a former colossal temple at the centre of the Greek capital, Athens. It was dedicated to "Olympian" Zeus, a name originating from his position as head of the Olympian gods. Construction began in the 6th century BC during the rule of the Athenian tyrants, who envisaged building the greatest temple in the ancient world, but it was not completed until the reign of Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD, some 638 years after the project had begun. During the Roman period, the temple, which included 104 colossal columns, was renowned as the largest temple in Greece and housed one of the largest cult statues in the ancient world.
The temple's glory was short-lived, as it fell into disuse after being pillaged during a
History
Classical and Hellenistic periods
The temple is about 500 m (0.3 mi) south-east of the
The work was abandoned when the tyranny was overthrown and Hippias was expelled in 510 BC. Only the platform and some elements of the columns had been completed by that point, and the temple remained in that state for 336 years. The temple was left unfinished during the years of Athenian democracy, apparently because the Greeks thought it was hubris to build on such a scale. In his treatise Politics, Aristotle cited the temple as an example of how tyrannies engaged the populace in great works for the state (like a white elephant) and left them no time, energy or means to rebel.[1]
It was not until 174 BC that the
Serious damage was inflicted on the partly built temple by
Roman era
In 124–125 AD, when the
Pausanias describes the temple as it was in the 2nd century:
- Before the entrance to the sanctuary of Zeus Olympios [in Athens] – Hadrian the Roman emperor dedicated the temple and the statue, one worth seeing, which in size exceeds all other statues save the colossi at Rhodes and Rome, and is made of ivory and gold with an artistic skill which is remarkable when the size is taken into account – before the entrance, I say, stand statues of Hadrian, two of Thasian stone, two of Egyptian. Before the pillars stand bronze statues which the Athenians call ‘colonies.’ The whole circumference of the precincts is about four states, and they are full of statues; for every city has dedicated a likeness of the emperor Hadrian, and the Athenians have surpassed them in dedicating, behind the temple, the remarkable colossus. Within the precincts are antiquities: a bronze Zeus, a temple of Isokrates . . . There are also statues in Phrygian marble of Persians supporting a bronze tripod; both the figures and the tripod are worth seeing. The ancient sanctuary of Zeus Olympios the Athenians say was built by Deukalion, and they cite as evidence that Deukalion lived at Athens a grave which is not far from the present temple. Hadrian constructed other buildings also for the Athenians: a temple of Hera and Zeus Panellenios (Common to all Greeks).[4]
The Temple of Olympian Zeus was badly damaged during the sack of Athens by the Heruli in 267 AD. It is unlikely to have been repaired, given the extent of the damage to the rest of the city. Being completely destroyed by an earthquake in the 5th century. Material from the (presumably now ruined) building was incorporated into a basilica constructed nearby during the 5th or 6th century.[5]
Medieval and modern periods
Over the following centuries, the temple was systematically quarried to provide building materials and material for the houses and churches of medieval Athens. By the end of the
The fate of one of the columns is recorded by a Greek inscription on one of the surviving columns, which states that "on 27 April 1759 he pulled down the column". This refers to the Turkish governor of Athens, Mustapha Agha Tzistarakis, who is recorded by a chronicler as having "destroyed one of Hadrian's columns with gunpowder" in order to re-use the marble to make plaster for the Tzistarakis Mosque that he was building in the Monastiraki district of the city. During the Ottoman period the temple was known to the Greeks as the Palace of Hadrian, while the Turks called it the Palace of Belkis, from a Turkish legend that the temple had been the residence of Solomon's wife.[6]
Fifteen columns remain standing today and a sixteenth column lies on the ground where it fell during a storm in 1852. Nothing remains of the cella or the great statue that it once housed.
Excavation
The temple was excavated in 1889–1896 by Francis Penrose of the British School in Athens (who also played a leading role in the restoration of the Parthenon), in 1922 by the German archaeologist Gabriel Welter and in the 1960s by Greek archaeologists led by Ioannes Travlos. The temple, along with the surrounding ruins of other ancient structures, is a historical precinct administered by Ephorate of Antiquities of the Greek Interior Ministry.
Present
Today, the temple is an open-air museum, part of the unification of the archaeological sites of Athens. As a historical site it is protected and supervised by the Ephorate of Antiquities.
Mythodea 2001
On June 28, 2001,
Ellinais 2007
On 21 January 2007, a group of
See also
- List of Ancient Greek temples
- Architecture of Ancient Greece
Notes
- ^ Aristotle, Politics, Book V, chapter 11
- ISBN 978-0-4152-4370-4.
- ISBN 978-0-5216-0418-5
- ^ Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 18. 6 – 9
- ^ "Athens." The Oxford Encyclopedia of Classical Art and Architecture. Ed. John B. Hattendorf. Oxford University Press, 2007.
- ISBN 978-1-8504-3595-2.
- ^ "Συναυλία Β. Παπαθανασίου στο Ολυμπιείο" [Concert of B. Papathanasiou at Olympia]. Naftemporiki. Piraeus. 27 June 2001. Archived from the original on 2006-11-03. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
- ^ "Αντίστροφη μέτρηση για τη Μυθωδία του Β. Παπαθανασίου" [Magical sounds at Olympia]. in.gr. 27 June 2001. Archived from the original on 2005-02-08. Retrieved 2016-06-10.
- ^ "Zeus worshippers want to head for Acropolis". Kathimerini. Piraeus. 17 July 2006. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
- ^ Ayiomamatis, Paris (17 February 2007). "Modern Pagans Honor Zeus in Athens". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2007-02-18. Retrieved 2016-06-10.
Bibliography
- Darling, Janina K. Architecture of Greece. pp. 201–203. Greenwood Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0-3133-2152-8.
- Tölle-Kastenbein, R. (1994). Das Olympieion in Athen. Köln-Böhlau.
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External links
- Hellenic Ministry of Culture: Temple of Olympian Zeus website
- Temple of Zeus: photo album and description
- Temple of Zeus photos
- NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: The Analemma and the Temple of Olympian Zeus (23 December 2006)
- Temple of Olympian Zeus: Description in English, Photos, Opening Hours, Ticket prices