The Temple of Zeus
In his right hand a figure of Victory made from ivory and gold.In his left hand, his scepter inlaid with all metals, and an eagle perched on the sceptre.The sandals of the god are made of gold, as is his robe. Pausanias the Greek (2nd century AD)
This is the statue of the god in whose honor the Ancient Olympic games were held.It was located on the land that gave its very name to the Olympics.At the time of the games, wars stopped, and athletes came from Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and Sicily to celebrate the Olympics and to worship their king of gods: Zeus.
Location
At the ancient town of Olympia, on the west coast of modern Greece, about 150 km west of Athens.
History
The ancient Greek calendar starts in 776 BC, for the Olympic games are believed to have started that year.The magnificent temple of Zeus was designed by the architect Libon and was built around 450 BC.Under the growing power of ancient Greece, the simple Doric-style temple seemed too mundane, and modifications were needed.The solution: A majestic statue.The Athenian sculptor Pheidias
was assigned for the "sacred" task, reminiscent of Michelangelo's
paintings at the Sistine Chapel.
For the years that followed, the temple attracted visitors and worshippers from all over the world.In the second century BC repairs were skillfully made to the aging statue.In the first century AD, the Roman emperor Caligula attempted to transport the statue to Rome.However, his attempt failed when the scaffolding built by Caligula's workmen collapsed.After the Olympic games were banned in AD 391 by the emperor Theodosius I as Pagan practices, the temple of Zeus was ordered closed.
Olympia was further struck by earthquakes, landslides and floods, and the temple was damaged by fire in the fifth century AD.Earlier, the statue had been transported by wealthy Greeks to a palace in Constantinople.There, it survived until it was destroyed by a severe fire in AD 462.Today nothing remains at the site of the old temple except rocks and debris, the foundation of the buildings, and fallen columns.
