Need some inspiration to tackle that long overdue pandemic project? Look no further than the Temple of Olympian Zeus!

It may have taken over 600 years to build, but the legacy of this massive monument has lasted millennia. Learn why in this #THREAD

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#Greece #Athens

2/12 Located just outside the limits of the ancient city, Pausanias (1.18.8) tells us that Deucalion established this cult to Olympian Zeus deep in the mythological past!

By the 6th. c., it had become one of the most important centers of religion in Athens.

: Rubens, 1636

3/12 After 530 BCE, the tyrant Peisistratos hatched a plan to build a temple to Zeus that would rival the largest monuments in the Mediterranean.

The existing temple (black) was demolished and construction began on these absolutely massive 108m long foundations (gray)

4/12 Aristotle (Pol. 5.9.4) tells us that this first attempt–a limestone temple in the doric order–was undertaken by a team of four architects: Antistates, Callaeschrus, Antimachides & Phormos.

However, the tyranny was overthrown in 510 BCE & work halted without much progress!

5/12 After this rocky start, construction of the Olympieion remained dormant for over three centuries–perhaps due to unsavory associations with an unpopular tyranny.

When the Persians invaded Athens, these incomplete column drums were reused in the city’s new fortification walls

6/12 To complete such a massive undertaking, we’ll need a figure with an ego to match. Enter Antiochus IV Epiphanes!

Vitruvius (7.15) tells us that the Seleucid king–and serious Zeus enthusiast–employed a Roman architect named Decimus Cossutius to resume construction in 174 BCE.

7/12 Construction once again halted with the death of Antiochus in 164, but some major progress had been made!

Building directly on the Peisistratid foundations, Cossutius redesigned the building in the Corinthian order using marble, & he managed to erect the temple’s east end! – bei Ναός Ολυμπίου Διός (Temple Of Olympian Zeus)

8/12 Despite being unfinished, several features of Cossutius’ redesign made the Olympieion a popular topic for ancient architects!

The center of the building was intentionally left open to the sky & Vitruvius (3.18.8) uses it as the prime example of this hypaethral building type

9/12 The Olympieion would have to wait another three centuries before Cossutius’ vision could be completed.

After his visit to Athens in 124 CE, the Roman Emperor #Hadrian, a serious Philhellene, undertook the completion of this 600 year construction project...& pulled it off!

10/12 By 131, construction finished & Hadrian dedicated the temple in a lavish ceremony.

Following 600-year-old foundations, the largest temple in Greece–40m longer than the Parthenon–was finally complete, even if it took a few detours along the way!

: Tsalkanis et al. 2019

11/12 Hadrian’s program didn’t stop at the temple, he also built a monumental walled precinct filled with expensive dedications.

Pausanias (1.18) visited soon after, describing many statues of Hadrian & a colossal ivory-&-gold Zeus inside the temple!

: Tsalkanis et al. 2019

12/12 After 600+ years of construction, how did we end up with this familiar ruin? Believe it or not, the story only gets more interesting from here!

Stay tuned for pt. 2 on the afterlife of the Olympieion. Until then, I’ll try to make some progress on my own overdue projects... – bei Ναός Ολυμπίου Διός (Temple Of Olympian Zeus)