| Temple of Olympian Zeus | |
|---|---|
Ναός του Ολυμπίου Διός | |
_(30776483926).jpg) Temple of Olympian Zeus | |
 Interactive map of Temple of Olympian Zeus | |
| General information | |
| Type | Temple |
| Architectural style | Classical |
| Location | Athens, Greece |
| Construction started | 561–527 BC |
| Completed | 131 AD |
| Design and construction | |
| Architects | Antistatis, Kallaischros, Antimachides and Phormos |
TheTemple of Olympian Zeus (Ancient Greek:Ναὸς τοῦ Ὀλυμπίου Διός,Naós tou Olympíou Diós), also known as theOlympieion orColumns of the Olympian Zeus, is a colossal temple in the centre ofAthens, now in ruins. It was dedicated to "Olympian"Zeus, a name originating from his position as head of theOlympian gods. Construction began in the 6th century BC during the rule of the Atheniantyrants, who envisioned building the greatest temple in the ancient world, but it was not completed until the reign of Roman EmperorHadrian 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 largestcult statues in the ancient world.
The temple's glory was short-lived, as it fell into disuse after being pillaged during aGermanic invasion in 267 AD, just about a century after its completion. It was probably never repaired, and was reduced to ruins thereafter. In the centuries after thefall of the Roman Empire, it was extensively quarried for building materials to supply building projects elsewhere in the city. Today, a substantial part of the temple remains intact, notably 16 of the original gigantic columns, and it is now the center of a historical precinct.
The temple is about 500 m (0.3 mi) south-east of theAcropolis (in the middle between Acropolis andArdittos hill), and about 700 m (0.4 mi) south of the center of Athens,Syntagma Square. Its foundations were laid on the site of an ancient outdoor sanctuary dedicated to Zeus. An earlier temple had stood there, constructed by the tyrantPeisistratus around 550 BC. The building was demolished after the death of Peisistratus and the construction of a colossal new Temple of Olympian Zeus was begun around 520 BC by his sons,Hippias andHipparchos. They sought to surpass two famous contemporary temples, theHeraion of Samos and the secondTemple of Artemis atEphesus. Designed by the architectsAntistates,Callaeschrus,Antimachides andPhormos, the Temple of Olympian Zeus was intended to be built of locallimestone in theDoric style on a colossal platform measuring 41 m (135 ft) by 108 m (354 ft). It was to be flanked by a doublecolonnade of eight columns across the front and back and twenty-one on the flanks, surrounding thecella.
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 ofAthenian democracy, apparently because the Greeks thought it washubris to build on such a scale. In his treatisePolitics,Aristotle cited the temple as an example of how tyrannies engaged the populace in great works for the state (like awhite elephant) and left them no time, energy or means to rebel.[1]
It was not until 174 BC that theSeleucid kingAntiochus IV Epiphanes, who presented himself as the earthly embodiment of Zeus, revived the project and placed theRoman architectDecimus Cossutius in charge. The design was changed to have three rows of eight columns across the front and back of the temple and a double row of twenty on the flanks, for a total of 104 columns. The columns would stand 17 m (56 ft) high and 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in diameter. The building material was changed to the expensive but high-qualityPentelic marble and theorder was changed from Doric toCorinthian, marking the first time that this order had been used on the exterior of a major temple. However, the project ground to a halt again in 164 BC with the death of Antiochus. The temple was still only half-finished by that stage.
Serious damage was inflicted on the partly built temple byLucius Cornelius Sulla's sack of Athens in 86 BC. While looting the city, Sulla seized some of the incomplete columns and transported them to Rome, where they were re-used in theTemple of Jupiter on theCapitoline Hill. A half-hearted attempt was made to complete the temple duringAugustus' reign as the firstRoman emperor, but it was not until the accession of Hadrian in the 2nd century AD that the project was finally completed, around 638 years after it had begun.
In 124–125 AD, when thePhilhellene Hadrian visited Athens, a massive building programme was begun that included the completion of the Temple of Olympian Zeus. A walled marble-paved precinct was constructed around the temple, making it a central focus of the ancient city. Cossutius' design was used with few changes and the temple was formally dedicated by Hadrian in 132, who took the title of "Panhellenios" in commemoration of the occasion.[2] The temple and the surrounding precinct were adorned with numerous statues depicting Hadrian, the gods, and personifications of the Roman provinces. A colossal statue of Hadrian was raised behind the building by the people of Athens in honor of the emperor's generosity. An equally colossalchryselephantine statue of Zeus occupied the cella of the temple. The statue's form of construction was unusual, as the use of chryselephantine was by this time regarded as archaic. Hadrian may have been imitatingPhidias' famous statue ofAthena Parthenos in theParthenon, seeking to draw attention to the temple and himself by doing so.[3]
Pausanias describes the temple as it was in the 2nd century:
The temple was badly damaged during thesack 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 and was completely destroyed by an earthquake in the 5th century. Material from the ruined building was incorporated into a basilica constructed nearby during the 5th or 6th century.[5]
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 theByzantine period, it had been almost totally destroyed; whenCiriaco de' Pizzicolli (Cyriacus of Ancona) visited Athens in 1436 he found only 21 of the original 104 columns still standing.
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 theTurkish 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 theTzistarakis Mosque that he was building in theMonastiraki district of the city. During theOttoman period the temple was known to the Greeks as the Palace of Hadrian, while the Turks called it the Palace ofBelkis, from a Turkish legend that the temple had been the residence ofSolomon'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 thecella or the great statue that it once housed.
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(April 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The temple was excavated in 1889–1896 byFrancis Penrose of the British School in Athens (who also played a leading role in the restoration of theParthenon), in 1922 by the German archaeologistGabriel Welter and in the 1960s by Greek archaeologists led byIoannes 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.
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.
On 28 June 2001,Vangelis organized theMythodea Chorus at the Temple of Olympian Zeus in the context ofNASA's Mars mission. SopranosJessye Norman andKathleen Battle participated in the concert which was covered by 20 television networks from America, Australia, Canada, Japan and European countries, under the direction of Irish filmmakerDeclan Lowney. The chorus arrangement brought thousands of people inside the Olympic venues, and outside the temple, into the empty streets of Athens. Joining Norman and Battle were theLondon Metropolitan Orchestra and theGreek National Opera, as well as over a hundred people dressed in ancient Greek clothing. The screen mounted at the Olympia connected visual images of ancient Greek performances — vases, frescoes and statues — that invested music with images of the planet Mars.[7][8]
On 21 January 2007, a group ofGreek pagans held a ceremony honoring Zeus on the grounds of the temple. The event was organized byEllinais, an organization which won a court battle to obtain recognition for Ancient Greek religious practices in the fall of 2006.[9][10]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
| International | |
|---|---|
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
37°58′9.74″N23°43′59.08″E / 37.9693722°N 23.7330778°E /37.9693722; 23.7330778
