| Temple of Zeus | |
|---|---|
 Wilhelm Lübke's illustration of the temple as it might have looked in the fifth century BC | |
 Interactive map of Temple of Zeus | |
| General information | |
| Type | Greek temple |
| Architectural style | Ancient Greek architecture |
| Location | Olympia, Greece |
| Construction started | c. 472 BC |
| Completed | 456 BC |
| Destroyed | AD 426 (sanctuary), AD 522, AD 551 |
| Height | 68 feet (20.7 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Size | 236 by 98 ft (72 by 30 m) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Libon |
| Other designers | Paeonius,Alcamenes |
TheTemple of Zeus was an ancientGreek temple inOlympia, Greece, dedicated to the godZeus. The temple, built in the second quarter of the fifth century BC, was the very model of the fully developed classical Greek temple of theDoric order.[1]
The Temple of Zeus was built on an already ancient religious site atOlympia. TheAltis, an enclosure with asacred grove, open-air altars and thetumulus ofPelops, was first formed during the tenth and ninth centuries BC.[2][3] The temple was constructed betweenc. 472 and 456 BC.[4]: 16
_Plan.svg)
The temple was ofperipteral form with a frontalpronaos (porch), mirrored by a similar arrangement at the back of the building, theopisthodomos. The building sat on acrepidoma (platform) of three unequal steps, the exterior columns were positioned in a six by thirteen arrangement, two rows of seven columns divided thecella (inner chamber) into three aisles. An echo of the temple's original appearance can be seen in theSecond Temple of Hera at Paestum, which closely followed its form.
Pausanias visited the site in the second century AD and states that the temple's height up to the pediment was 68 feet (20.7 m), its breadth was 95 feet (29.0 m), and its length 230 feet (70.1 m).[5] It was approached by a ramp on the east side.
Because the main structure was of a localporos stone[6] that was unattractive and of poor quality, it was coated with a thin layer ofstucco to give the appearance of marble so as to match the sculptural decoration. It was roofed with tiles ofPentelic marble, cut thin enough to be translucent, so that on a summer's day, "light comparable to a conventional 20-watt bulb would have shone through each of the 1,000 tiles."[7]
From the edge of the roof projected 102 waterspouts orgargoyles in the shape of lion heads, of which 39 are extant. Incongruities in the styles of the spouts provide evidence that the roof was repaired during theRoman period.[8]
The sculptural decoration in importedParian marble[9] featured carvedmetopes andtriglyph friezes, topped bypediments filled with sculptures in theSevere style, now attributed to the "Olympia Master" and his studio.[citation needed]
The Eastern pediment depicts the chariot race betweenPelops andOenomaus, while the Western pediment features aCentauromachy withTheseus and theLapiths. The god Apollo is featured on the western pediment pointing towards the human side in the Centauromachy, indicating his favor, and towards the northern side of the temple.[10]Pausanias reports in hisDescription of Greece (5.10.8) that the Eastern pedimental sculpture was created byPaeonius and the Western sculpture was carved byAlcamenes.[11] The metopes from the temple depict thetwelve labours of Heracles.[citation needed]
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The temple housed the renownedStatue of Zeus, which was one of theSeven Wonders of the Ancient World. TheChryselephantine (gold and ivory) statue was approximately 13 m (43 ft) high, and was made by the sculptorPhidias in his workshop on the site at Olympia. The statue's completion took approximately 13 years (470–457 BC) and was one of Classical Greece's most revered artistic works.[citation needed]
The installation of the colossal statue coincided with substantial modification of the cella. The internal columns and theirstylobates were dismantled and repositioned, which likely necessitated retiling the roof. The original floor, paved with large blocks of shell stone, was covered with water-resistant lime, which may have helped protect the statue's ivory against humidity.[citation needed]
The Roman generalMummius dedicated twenty-one gilded shields after he sacked Corinth in 146 BC; they were fixed at the metopes of the eastern front side and the eastern half of the south side.[citation needed]
Archaeologists have long postulated that the Temple was destroyed by the earthquakes of AD 522 and 551, known to have caused widespread damage in the Peloponnese, although a 2014 paper hypothesizes that the columns may have been "intentionally pulled down by ropes during the early Byzantine period". Flooding of the Kladeos river (Foundoulis et al., 2008), or by tsunami (Vott et al., 2011), led to abandonment of the area in the 6th century. Eventually the site was covered by alluvial deposits of up to 8 meters deep.[12]
The site of the ancient sanctuary of Olympia, long forgotten under landslips and flood siltation, was identified in 1766 by the English antiquarianRichard Chandler. In May 1829, the French team of archaeologists of the "Scientific Expedition of Morea" (under the direction ofLéon-Jean-Joseph Dubois andAbel Blouet) identified with certainty and partially excavated the Temple of Zeus for the first time,[13][14] taking several fragments of the metopes to theMusée du Louvre (with the authorization of the Governor of Greece,Ioannis Kapodistrias).[13][15] Systematic excavation began in 1875, under the direction of theGerman Archaeological Institute, and has continued, with some interruptions, to the present time.[16]
· PausaniasDescription of Greece
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37°38′16″N21°37′48″E / 37.63778°N 21.63000°E /37.63778; 21.63000
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