Temple of Olympian Zeus

The Olympieion (Temple of Olympian Zeus) was the largest temple in Greece and took over 600 years to complete (from the 6th century BC with some breaks until the 2nd century AD). It must have been majestic, but fell to a barbarian invasion in the 3rd century AD and was then used as a quarry.

The tall Ionic columns look fragile ... however, they supported a huge roof! (In the background, you can see the Acropolis again. It's all very close together.)

Actually, the columns are really thick as you can see in the foreground, but their elegant design makes them look far from plump ... well done, craftsmen of Athens!

We were taking a group photo in front of the temple and some of us were jumping for the photo, but some lady told us not to jump or to pose. Whether this was for security reasons (not to make the temple collapse) or out of respect for the site, I don't really know, though I would say the second one.

Close to the temple is a small archeological area with cisterns or wells in the ground. Not bad, but the temple was certainly the main attraction!

An inscription near the site contained a dedication ... if you have questions on reading the Greek, just ask me ;)

Photo gallery