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Olympiaion, stylobate of a semicircular portico of a Roman building Archaeological Society at Athens © Η εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία -
View of the Acropolis, the Parthenon and the Temple of Olympian Zeus from the Ilissus William Haygarth Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation © Ίδρυμα Αικατερίνης Λασκαρίδη -
Hypothetical depiction of Athens in the years of Hadrian, view from the east. Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation © Ίδρυμα Αικατερίνης Λασκαρίδη -
The Temple of Olympian Zeus Etienne Rey Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation © Ίδρυμα Αικατερίνης Λασκαρίδη -
The Temple of Olympian Zeus Otto Magnus von Stackelberg Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation © Ίδρυμα Αικατερίνης Λασκαρίδη -
Hadrian's Gate and the Temple of Olympian Zeus from Philopappos Hill, with the Acropolis on the left William Haygarth Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation © Ίδρυμα Αικατερίνης Λασκαρίδη -
The Temple of Olympian Zeus and on the left an Ottoman cemetery next to a Muslim mosque. In the background the Acropolis, the Parthenon and Hadrian's Gate. Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation © Ίδρυμα Αικατερίνης Λασκαρίδη -
View of the temple of Olympian Zeus and Ilissus river Edward Dodwell Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation © Ίδρυμα Αικατερίνης Λασκαρίδη -
Athens, view from Ilissos Ferdinand Stademann -
Temple of Zeus Olypmpios Dimitrios Constantin The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles © J. Paul Getty Trust. Public Domain CC0 -
Temple of Olympian Zeus Sir William Gell The British Museum © The Trustees of the British Museum -
The Temple of Olympian Zeus Edward Finden after Clarkson Stanfield, from a sketch by William Page The British Museum © The Trustees of the British Museum -
The Temple of Olympian Zeus Edward Finden after Clarkson Stanfield, from a sketch by William Page The British Museum © The Trustees of the British Museum -
Marble votive relief with eyes. It was dedicated to Zeus, and placed in the shrine by Philimatin, either in the hope of preventing eye disease or a thank-offering for a cure. The British Museum © The Trustees of the British Museum
To the southeast of the Acropolis, near the Ilissos River, fifteen towering Corinthian columns that belonged to a temple dedicated to the father of the gods, Olympian Zeus, stand today. The colossal edifice, built during the reign of Emperor Hadrian, had a total of 104 such columns and was one of the largest and most famous temples of the ancient world.
At this location, the Athenians believed that Deucalion, the first mythical ancestor of the Greeks, had dedicated a temple to Zeus to express gratitude for his salvation after the flood. However, the earliest architectural remains that have come to light attest to the foundation of a large peripteral temple after the middle of the 6th century BCE, during the years of Peisistratus. The reasons why the temple was not completed remain unknown. Around 515 BC, Peisistratus the Younger, grandson of the tyrant, initiated the construction of a large limestone temple, modelled after the colossal temples of Ionia, which is restored today as a pseudodipteral with eight Doric columns on the narrow sides.
Works on the temple were interrupted following the overthrow of the tyranny in 510 BCE. The pharaonic structures, mirroring the arrogance of the tyrants, were deemed incompatible with the democratic state and ran counter to the value of moderation ingrained in all facets of classical Athens. Parts of this late Archaic temple were used for the construction of the Themistoclean wall in 479/8 BCE.
The next attempt to complete the building took place in the last decades of the 4th century BCE, during the years of archon Lycurgus. According to the new plan, the temple would be marble and dipteros, with Corinthian capitals. However, neither in this case did the construction progress. Thus, the task was undertaken again around 175 BCE by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Hellenistic King of the Seleucid Empire. For this project, Antiochus chose the Roman architect Cossutius. The king’s death in 164 BCE led once again to the suspension of the works.
Efforts to complete the construction of the unfinished temple were also made during the time of Augustus (late 1st century BCE – early 1st century CE). However, its completion was finally achieved by the philhellenic Emperor Hadrian. During his reign, a broad building program was carried out and the city entered a new phase of prosperity. Thus, the temple of Olympian Zeus was completed in 131/2 CE with Emperor Hadrian attending its inauguration.
The monumental temple of Hadrian (110.35 by 43.68 metres) was of Corinthian style with two rows of twenty columns on the long sides and three rows of eight columns on the narrow ones, a pronaos, a cella and opisthonaos. The whole area of the sanctuary was embellished with the addition of a rectangular peribolos with a monumental propylon. The triumphal arch built by the Athenians to express gratitude to their benefactor, the so-called Hadrian’s Gate, located to the north-west of the enclosure, led to the sanctuary of Zeus and it is believed that the emperor himself passed through it during the inauguration of the temple.
Hadrian was honoured with the title “Olympios” and in the cella of the temple, alongside the colossal chryselephantine (made of gold and ivory) statue of Zeus, a statue of Hadrian was erected, as he was venerated at the same altar.
During late antiquity the temple was looted, possibly during the raid of the Heruli in 267 CE, and by the 5th century it had been abandoned. According to the usual practice of the time, its building material was deconstructed for reuse in other buildings. In the years of the Ottoman occupation, the inhabitants of the city converted its marble parts into lime for building purposes. Until 1852 there were sixteen columns standing in place, when a strong storm caused one of them to collapse.
