The Temple off the Olympian Zeus by Dennis Wierenga

About "The Temple off the Olympian Zeus"

by Dennis Wierenga

About the artwork

Fifteen, seventeen meter high Corinthian Columns are still erect at the Temple of the Olympian Zeus or the Olympeion. The sixteenth collapsed during a geat storm in 1852. The construction lasted for centuries and was finished in the second century when Emperor Hadrian reigned over the Roman empire. In those days this was the largest temple in . In the Background he Parthenon at the Acropolis is visible.
The Temple of Olympian Zeus (Greek: ???? ??? ???????? ????, Naos tou Olympiou Dios), also known as the Olympieion or Columns of the Olympian Zeus, is a colossal ruined temple in the center of the Greek capital Athens that was dedicated to Zeus, king of the Olympian gods. Construction began in the 6th century BC during the rule of the Athenian tyrants, who envisaged building the greatest temple in the ancient world, but it was not completed until the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD some 638 years after the project had begun. During the Roman periods it was renowned as the largest temple in Greece and housed one of the largest cult statues in the ancient world.

The temple's glory was short-lived, as it fell into disuse after being pillaged in a barbarian invasion in the 3rd century AD. It was probably never repaired and was reduced to ruins thereafter. In the centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire, it was extensively quarried for building materials to supply building projects elsewhere in the city. Despite this, a substantial part of the temple