The Temple Of Zeus remains |
The Temple of Olympian
Zeus is ruined temple in the middle of the city of Athens, Greece. Construction
began during the Athenians in the 6th Century and ended during the
rule of the roman emperor Hadrian, in the 2nd Century. It house many
cult statues that were know in the ancient world.
Architects
Antimachides, Callaeschrus, and Porinus design the temple and wanted it to be
built with limestone in the Corinthian Style and on a platform that was around
135 ft. X 355 ft. The foundation was on top of an ancient outdoor sanctuary
dedicated to Zeus himself. Another building stood there before during the rule
of Tyrant Peisistratus 550 BC but was later destroy and his sons Hippias and
Hipparchos constructed the New Temple in 520 BC. Both wanted the new temple to
surpass existing temples Heraion and Artemis, but the project was stop when
Hippias was overthrown in 510 BC. Only the platform and a few columns were
completed. During the Athenians Democracy the temple was left like that for 336
years because they thought it was…
Than in 174 BC
King Antiochus revived the project and hired Decimus Cossusutius, a roman
architect to continue the construction. He decides to change the design and
choose a different material for the building.
The total number of columns was now 104 and the materials were now high-
quality pentelic marble. However the project was stopped half way, yes again in
116 BC after the death of Antiochus. After that in 86 BC the building took on
serious damage when Lucius Sulla raided the temple and took some of the
incompleted columns and re-used them for the temple of Jupiter, located in
Rome.
Floor Plan |
This temple had a
hard time to be completed but it was final completed when Hadrain finally took
the throne as the Rome Emperor. It was finished because of a massive building
program that help the city construct many new buildings including the temple. A
wall marvel precinct was constructed around the temple to make it a main focus
of the city.
[1] http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/greece/hetairai/zeus.html
[2] Project MUSE - The Temple of Zeus at Olympia, Heroes, and Athletes." Project MUSE - The Temple of Zeus at Olympia, Heroes, and Athletes. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.
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