Temple of Olympian Zeus (Olympieion)
Ναός Ολυμπίου Διός · Olympieion · Columns of the Olympian Zeus · Naos Olympiou Dios
Archaic to Roman Imperial (638-year build)·Athenian tyranny, Hellenistic Seleucid, Roman Imperial·🇬🇷 Attica, Athens, southeast of Acropolis, Ilissos plain, Greece
About
About Temple of Olympian Zeus (Olympieion)
7331). Pisistratid tyrants (522 BCE) laid poros foundations for 8×20 Doric; Antiochus IV Epiphanes resumed 174 BCE with Roman Cossutius in Corinthian; Hadrian completed and dedicated 131 CE with 17-m Corinthian columns (tallest extant). 35 m stylobate, 104 Pentelic marble columns planned (Cossutius 104, Hadrian 104 count), double colonnade. Hadrian placed colossal chryselephantine Zeus and colossal Hadrian himself inside; temenos became Hadrianoupolis.
, 12 columns felled 1852 storm (one with capital on ground). Arch of Hadrian (Syngrou) marks temenos gate. Pleiades 659771158.
Why it mattersLongest construction history in Greek architecture (638 yr), documenting tyranny→Hellenistic→Roman imperial patronage in one plan. Pleiades 659771158.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why Pisistratid orientation 12° off cardinal
- 02Number of columns Hadrian actually completed (48 vs 104)
Theories
- 01Olympieion as Hadrian's Panhellenion federal cult center, not Athenian demos temple
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.522 BCE foundations (Pisistratus), 174 BCE–164 BCE Cossutius phase, completed 124–132 CE Hadrian
- Period
- Archaic to Roman Imperial (638-year build)
- Culture
- Athenian tyranny, Hellenistic Seleucid, Roman Imperial
- Builders
- Peisistratids (Antistates), Antiochus IV via Cossutius, Hadrian (Herodes Atticus financing)
- Purpose
- Demonstrate Panhellenic Zeus vs. Acropolis Athena; Hadrian's Panhellenion federal sanctuary
- Abandoned
- 4th c. CE pagan closure; quarried for Athens walls (meanwhile Prokopios church)
- Rediscovered
- 1675 Spon & Wheler; 1885 Penrose survey
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
522 BCE
Pisistratus lays poros crepidoma
174 BCE
Antiochus IV hires Cossutius Corinthian
132 CE
Hadrian dedicates with 104 columns, Zeus giganteum
On the ground
Structures & features
37.9693° N · 23.7331° E · 87 m · 2 mapped features
Olympieion — Colossal Corinthian Columns (SE row)
colonnade15 standing Corinthian columns 17.25 m high ×2.14 m diameter, tallest in Greece, with triple row 8×20 dipteral (104 columns planned, 48 standing in 132 CE)
37.9694° N · 23.7332° EOlympieion — Hadrianic Temenos and Hadrian's Arch
temenosTemenos 206×130 m enclosure with Hadrian's Arch 131 CE gate dividing Athens and Hadrianoupolis, chryselephantine Zeus 1st CE
37.9701° N · 23.7327° E