Temple of Olympian Zeus

The Temple of Olympian Zeus also called the Olympieion or Columns of the Olympian Zeus, is a former giant temple on the center of the Greece capital Athens. It changed into dedicated to "Olympian" Zeus, a call originating from his position as head of the Olympian gods. Construction began in the 6th century BC at some stage in the rule of thumb of the Athenian tyrants, who envisaged constructing the finest temple inside the historic international, but it became now not completed until the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian inside the 2nd century AD, a few 638 years after the mission had all started.

During the Roman duration the temple -that covered 104 large columns- became renowned as the largest temple in Greece and housed certainly one of the largest cult statues in the historic world. The temple is placed about 500 m 1640 feet south-east of the Acropolis, and about 700 m 2,300 feet south of the middle of Athens, Syntagma Square. Its foundations were laid on the site of an historic outside sanctuary devoted to Zeus. An earlier temple had stood there, constructed by way of the tyrant Peisistratus around 550 BC. The constructing turned into demolished after the demise of Peisistratos and the development of a large new Temple of Olympian Zeus become began around 520 BC through his sons, Hippias and Hipparchos.