Temple of Zeus

Construction of the Temple of Zeus Olympios started in the 6th century BC during the Archaic era and the temple was finally completed in the 2nd century AD, during the Roman era.

Begun in 515 BC by order of the tyrant Peisistratos, work on the temple ceased just five years later when the tyrant's son was overthrown. During the democratic period that followed, the temple was seen as a symbol of oppression, and work was aborted.

However, work on the temple recommenced in 175 BC, when king Antiochus IV Epiphanes reigned. He hired Roman architect Cossutius to create a design for the largest temple in the world. Unfortunately, Antiochus died in 164 BC and work ceased once more.

In 132, on his second visit to Athens, the Philhellenic emperor Hadrian decided to complete the temple and dedicate it to Zeus Olympios. The temple was meant as the center of a new district named Hadrianopolis.

The completed Temple of Olympian Zeus was the largest in Ancient Greece, even larger than the Parthenon. It was originally conceived as a temple of Doric Order, with a planned two rows of 8 columns wide and two rows with 21 colums in the length.
Cossutius significantly altered the original design. He added Corinthian capitals and planned three rows of 8 columns at the fronts of the temple and two rows of 21 columns in the length. Hadrian mostly followed this design.

Today only 15 of the 104 massive, 17.25 meters high columns (57 ft), remain standing. A 16th was blown over by a fierce windstorm in 1852 and was left where it fell. The columns, of Pentelic marble, have a diameter of 2 meters.
The columns surrounded a cella (inner chamber) in which two large statues were placed: one chryselephantine (ivory and gold) statue of Zeus - a replica of the statue of Zeus that the famous Greek sculptor Pheidias created at Olympia - and a statue of Emperor Hadrian. Both statues no longer remain.

In 131 AD the Athenians erected a gated archway to honor emperor Hadrian. The arch, 18 meters high, sits just northwest of the temple and is inscribed with two sentences.
The side facing the Acropolis says "This is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus." The other side, facing the temple and the extension of the city by Hadrian, reads "This is the city of Hadrian and not of Theseus."
The inscription refers to the founders of the new and the old city: the gate separated the old city (founded by the mythical hero Theseus) from the new city, Hadrianopolis, founded by the Roman emperor Hadrian.

Several more buildings have been discovered during the excavations around the Olympieion, including a Roman bath from around 130 AD and several temples from the same period.