Six centuries of stop and start
The sons of Peisistratos began it around 520 BC and abandoned it when their rule fell. The Seleucid king Antiochus IV restarted it in 174 BC, and Hadrian finally completed it in the 2nd century AD.
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Temple of Olympian Zeus: the history, and the column that fell
Started by Athens' tyrants around 520 BC and finished by the Roman emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD, the Olympieion became the largest temple in Greece. Here's what you're looking at, and what to listen for among its columns.
Begun≈ 520 BC
Finished byHadrian
Columns104 (15 standing)
Column height≈ 17 m
Hear the Temple of Olympian Zeus story, in the app's voice
A short preview. The full story plays on its own when you walk up to it with Urban Tales.
Three stories most visitors miss
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2
The column on the ground
Fifteen columns still stand. A sixteenth lies in pieces where a storm blew it down in 1852, and you can see how its drums were stacked.
3
Built for a giant statue
Hadrian placed a huge gold-and-ivory statue of Zeus inside, and set up a statue of himself beside it.
TipGo in to see the fallen column up close and the view of the Acropolis behind the temple; from outside the fence you only see it from a distance. With Urban Tales running, the temple's story plays as you reach it.
Nearby landmarks
Temple of Olympian Zeus: common questions
How long did the Temple of Olympian Zeus take to build?
About 638 years: it was begun around 520 BC and completed under Hadrian in the 2nd century AD.
How many columns are left?
Fifteen are standing, and a sixteenth, blown down in 1852, lies on the ground. The temple originally had 104.
Who was the temple dedicated to?
Zeus, king of the Olympian gods.