About this place

The Temple of Olympian Zeus is also known as Olympieion. This colossal temple is dedicated to the king og the Olympian gods, Zeus. Its construction was started by the Peisistratos the Younger in the 6th century BC. The temple was finally completed in the 2nd century AD by Hadrian, the Roman Emperor.

During its short-lived period of glory the temple was home to one of the largest statues in the ancient world.
In the 3rd century AD the temple lost its fame and fell in disuse after it was ransacked by the barbarian invasion. After this event, parts of the temple were taken and used to build other buildings throughout the city. Fortunately, enough remained in order to become one of the famous tourist attractions.

Today, people can see only fifteen columns out of original 104 Corinthian columns ad unfortunately nothing remained of the magnificent monument of Zeus.