Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Temple of Olympian Zeus |
|
|---|---|
|
Ναός του Ολυμπίου Διός
|
|
_(30776483926).jpg)
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 | |
| Architect | Antistatis, Kallaischros, Antimachides and Phormos |
The Temple of Olympian Zeus (Greek: Ναός του Ολυμπίου Διός), also called the Olympieion, is a giant ancient temple in Athens, the capital of Greece. It was built to honor "Olympian" Zeus, who was the most important god in ancient Greek religion. He was the leader of the Olympian gods.
Building this huge temple started in the 6th century BC. This was when Athens was ruled by "tyrants," who were powerful leaders. They wanted to build the biggest temple in the ancient world. But it took a very long time to finish. The temple was finally completed in the 2nd century AD by the Roman Emperor Hadrian. This was about 638 years after it began!
During the time of the Roman Empire, the temple was famous. It had 104 enormous columns. It was known as the largest temple in Greece. Inside, it held one of the biggest statues of a god in the ancient world.
However, the temple's fame did not last long. It was badly damaged during an invasion by barbarians in 267 AD. This was only about 100 years after it was finished. The temple was likely never repaired after that. It slowly turned into ruins.
For centuries, people took stones from the temple. They used these materials to build other things in the city. Even so, a large part of the temple still stands today. You can still see 16 of its original giant columns. It remains a very important historical site in Greece.
Contents
History of the Temple of Zeus
Building the Temple: Early Attempts
The Temple of Olympian Zeus is located about 500 meters (0.3 miles) southeast of the Acropolis. It is also about 700 meters (0.4 miles) south of Syntagma Square in central Athens. The temple was built on the site of an older outdoor place of worship for Zeus.
An earlier temple was built here around 550 BC by a leader named Peisistratus. After he died, his sons, Hippias and Hipparchos, tore down that building. Around 520 BC, they started building a massive new Temple of Olympian Zeus. They wanted it to be even grander than other famous temples of their time.
The first architects were Antistates, Callaeschrus, Antimachides, and Phormos. They planned to build the temple from local limestone. It was designed in the Doric style, which is a simple, strong type of Greek architecture. The platform for the temple was huge, measuring 41 meters (135 feet) by 108 meters (354 feet). It was meant to have a double row of columns. There would be eight columns at the front and back, and twenty-one on the sides. These columns would surround the main room, called the cella.
Work on the temple stopped in 510 BC. This happened when the tyrants were overthrown and Hippias was sent away. Only the platform and some parts of the columns were finished. The temple stayed unfinished for 336 years. During the time of Athenian democracy, the temple was left incomplete. Many Greeks believed it was too proud or "hubris" to build something so enormous. The philosopher Aristotle even used the temple as an example. He said that tyrants would start huge projects to keep people busy. This way, citizens would not have time or energy to rebel.
Completing the Temple: Roman Era
The project was restarted in 174 BC by the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes. He saw himself as a living form of Zeus. He put the Roman architect Decimus Cossutius in charge. The design was changed to be even grander. It would have three rows of eight columns at the front and back. There would be a double row of twenty columns on the sides. This would make a total of 104 columns.
These columns would be 17 meters (56 feet) tall and 2 meters (6.6 feet) wide. The building material was changed to expensive, high-quality Pentelic marble. The architectural style also changed from Doric to Corinthian. This was the first time the Corinthian style was used on the outside of a major temple. But the project stopped again in 164 BC when Antiochus died. The temple was still only half-finished.
The partly built temple was badly damaged in 86 BC. This happened when Lucius Cornelius Sulla attacked Athens. Sulla took some of the unfinished columns. He moved them to Rome to use in the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill. There was a small effort to finish the temple during the rule of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. But it was not until Emperor Hadrian came to power in the 2nd century AD that the temple was finally completed. This was about 638 years after it first began.
The Temple in Roman Times
In 124–125 AD, Emperor Hadrian visited Athens. He loved Greek culture. He started a huge building program, which included finishing the Temple of Olympian Zeus. A walled area with marble paving was built around the temple. This made it a central part of the ancient city.
Hadrian used Cossutius's design with only a few changes. He officially dedicated the temple in 132 AD. Hadrian even took the title "Panhellenios," meaning "common to all Greeks," to mark the event. The temple and its surrounding area were decorated with many statues. These showed Hadrian, the gods, and symbols of Roman provinces. The people of Athens put up a giant statue of Hadrian behind the temple. This was to thank him for his generosity.
Inside the main room of the temple, there was an equally huge statue of Zeus. It was made of chryselephantine, which means gold and ivory. This way of making statues was very old-fashioned by then. Hadrian might have been trying to copy Phidias's famous statue of Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon. He wanted to draw attention to the temple and himself.
The writer Pausanias described the temple 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 Kronos and Rhea and an enclosure of Gaia (Earth) surnamed Olympias. Here the floor opens to the width of a cubit, and they say that along this bed flowed off the water after the deluge that occurred in the time of [the mythical king] Deukalion, and into it, they cast every year wheat meal mixed with honey. On a pillar is a statue 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)."
The Temple of Olympian Zeus was badly damaged during the attack on Athens by the Heruli in 267 AD. It was probably never repaired because the rest of the city was also heavily damaged. It was completely destroyed by an earthquake in the 5th century. Stones from the ruined temple were used to build a church nearby in the 5th or 6th century.
The Temple Through the Ages
Over many centuries, people regularly took stones from the temple. They used these materials to build houses and churches in medieval Athens. By the end of the Byzantine period, the temple was almost completely gone. When Ciriaco de' Pizzicolli visited Athens in 1436, he found only 21 of the original 104 columns still standing.
We know what happened to one of the columns. A Greek writing on a surviving column says that "on 27 April 1759 he pulled down the column." This refers to Mustapha Agha Tzistarakis, the Turkish governor of Athens. A writer at the time said he "destroyed one of Hadrian's columns with gunpowder." He used the marble to make plaster for the Tzistarakis Mosque he was building.
During the Ottoman period, Greeks called the temple the Palace of Hadrian. The Turks called it the Palace of Belkis. This came from a Turkish legend that the temple was the home of Solomon's wife.
Today, fifteen columns are still standing. A sixteenth column lies on the ground. It fell during a storm in 1852. Nothing remains of the main room (cella) or the huge statue of Zeus that was once inside.
Exploring the Temple: Excavations
Archaeologists have studied the temple over the years. Francis Penrose of the British School in Athens excavated it from 1889 to 1896. He also helped restore the Parthenon. The German archaeologist Gabriel Welter worked there in 1922. In the 1960s, Greek archaeologists led by Ioannes Travlos continued the work.
The temple and other ancient ruins around it are now a historical area. It is managed by the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Greek Interior Ministry.
The Temple Today
Today, the Temple of Olympian Zeus is an open-air museum. It is part of a plan to connect Athens' archaeological sites. As a historical site, it is protected and watched over by the Ephorate of Antiquities.
Mythodea 2001 Concert
On June 28, 2001, the famous composer Vangelis held a concert called Mythodea at the Temple of Olympian Zeus. This event was part of NASA's Mars mission. Two famous singers, Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle, performed. The concert was shown on 20 TV networks around the world.
The London Metropolitan Orchestra and the Greek National Opera also performed. Over a hundred people dressed in ancient Greek clothing. A large screen showed images of ancient Greek art, like vases and statues. These images were combined with music and pictures of the planet Mars.
Ellinais 2007 Ceremony
On January 21, 2007, a group of Greek pagans held a ceremony honoring Zeus at the temple. This event was organized by Ellinais. This group had won a court case in 2006 to have ancient Greek religious practices recognized.
See also
- List of Ancient Greek temples
- Architecture of Ancient Greece
Images for kids
-
Temple of Olympian Zeus
-
Likely appearance of the temple during antiquity
-
Corinthian columns detail
-
The temple in 1787, painted by Louis-François Cassas
-
Ruins and a column that collapsed in 1852 from a fierce wind, in the foreground
-
This photograph of 1865 by Constantinou Dimitrios shows above the last two columns of the main group, a small stone structure in which had lived an ascetic or Stylite
-
The temple amidst the modern city of Athens
