Olympian Zeus Temple

Today:

The temple of Olympian Zeus is today an outdoor archaeological site and one with the most popular in Athens, as it is very near the Acropolis rock. For the record, the area received additional global interest when in January 2007 a ​​group of Greek polytheists defended their right of religious freedom and stature to conduct ceremonies in honor of Zeus inside his temple.

History:

The temple of Olympian Zeus is one of the most important temples located in the city center and the most important temple in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. It is also known by the names Olympieio or columns of Olympian Zeus. Its construction began in the 6th century but was not completed until the 2nd AD century by the Roman Emperor Hadrian.

According to the legend, Deucalion the primogenitor of Greeks, dedicated the temple to Zeus, because he helped him to survive the cataclysm. Historical evidence, however, show that the construction started by Peisistratos in 515 BC but the work halted after the banishment of his son Hippias. The Syrian king Antiochus IV the Epiphanes with the Roman architect Cossutius continued the construction of the temple in 175 BC. With the death of Antiochus in 164 BC the construction of the temple stopped once again. The project was completed in the 2nd century AD by the emperor Hadrian, who was a great admirer of the Greeks. It is indeed known that the nave of the temple hosted two oversized gold and ivory statues of Zeus and many other statues and busts of eminent men. In fact at the back of the temple was the statue of Hadrian which the Athenians built to honor him.

From the 5th century AD, during the Byzantine period, began the decline of the temple due to human interventions and extreme weather conditions. The ruins were used as a material for construction of other buildings.

The temple consisted of 104 Corinthian columns. Only 15 stand still today. The most recent fall occurred during a severe storm in 1852.