When you will visit the Acropolis of Athens from its eastern side you will notice the spectacular ruins. It’s ruins of the biggest temple of ancient Greece – the Temple of Zeus which is also called as the Temple of Olympian Zeus.
Since the Temple of Zeus is the biggest ancient temple you would not be surprised to know that it was the longest construction of antiquity.
The building of temple lasted 650 years. It was started in the middle of the 6-th century BC when in Athens ruled Pisistratus and was finished in Roman era, when the city was visited by the Hadrian.
Hadrian loved the Athens. When he visited the city he not only finished the temple (and devoted it to the Zeus) but also built a new quarters and Triumph Arch to separate the old city from the new. Of course, now it’s all old. The word “new” only emphasizes how old the Athens was that even 2000 years ago there was the old and new parts.
The area around the temple always was sacred. Ancient Athenians believed that at the south from the temple was the crack to where seeped the last water after the Flood. Also it was the place where the Codri (the last king of Athens) made his exploit in the battle between Athenians and Dorias. Also here Socratus gathered his pupils.
In the Middle Ages As other ancient buildings, temple have used as source for the constructions. Before Ottomans captured the Athens the temple was almost demolished and was lying in the ruins.
The excavations of the temple began in the 1889. They were conducted by the British School of the Archeology.
Interesting event near the Temple of Zeus happened 20 January 2007. The group of the young men decided to restore cult of Zeus in Greece and conducted worship dedicated to Zeus.
The Temple of Zeus in ancient times
Initially the temple was built from the tufa and limestone. The temple was surrounded by the portico with the big columns with 2 meters diameter. But this version of the temple was not finished.
In the 175 BC Antiochus Fourth has tried to finish the project but his attempt also was not successful. Of course he contributed some new features into the view of temple.
And as I already told the construction has been finished only by Emperor Hadrian. Hadrian was not a modest person and put own statue near the statue of Zeus inside the temple. The statue of Zeus was made from the gold and the ivory.
According to the Roman historian Titus Libyan The Temple of Zeus in Athens was only one place on Earth which worth to be the Zeus’s residence.
After the temple has been finished around it emerged the little Roman settlement ruins of which you can see today.
Also near the Temple of Zeus was located the Panathenaic Stadium which was constructed at the 4-th century BC. The stadium has been destroyed during the Turkish era and refurbished before the Olympic Games in 1896.
