The colossal Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens was once the largest temple in Greece, begun in the 6th century BC and finally completed by the Roman emperor Hadrian, with 16 of its 104 colossal columns still standing beside Hadrian’s Arch. Explore it with skip-the-line tickets and guided tours from My Greece Tours for a richer, queue-free visit.
This colossal monument is one of the great ancient sites in the Athens travel guide. The sections below cover its history, what to see and tips in full.
What is the Temple of Olympian Zeus?
The Olympieion, or Temple of Olympian Zeus, is a colossal ruined temple in central Athens dedicated to Zeus, king of the gods. Once the largest temple in Greece, with 104 giant Corinthian columns, it took some 638 years to complete, finished under the Roman emperor Hadrian during the 2nd century AD. Today 16 enormous columns still stand.
This colossal temple, known in Greek as the Olympieion, is one of the most impressive ancient monuments in Athens, a colossal temple whose surviving giant columns still awe visitors today. Dedicated to Zeus, the king of the Olympian gods, it was conceived on a staggering scale, intended to be the greatest temple in the ancient Greek world, and during the Roman period it was indeed renowned as the largest temple in Greece, with no fewer than 104 colossal Corinthian columns and one of the biggest cult statues of antiquity. Its construction is a remarkable saga: begun in the 6th century BC, it was repeatedly halted and abandoned, and was not finally completed until the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian during the 2nd century AD, roughly 638 years after work first started. Though much of the temple was later quarried and lost, 16 of its enormous original columns still stand in a grand precinct in the centre of Athens, close to the Acropolis, giving a powerful sense of its former immensity. It is a must-see ancient site, set out alongside the guide to things to do in Athens. Its long history is fascinating.
What is the history of the Temple of Olympian Zeus?
Construction of the Temple of Olympian Zeus began around 520 BC under the tyrant Peisistratos’s sons but was abandoned for centuries, as democratic Athens viewed its scale as hubris. The Seleucid king Antiochus IV revived it in 174 BC, switching to Corinthian columns, and the Roman emperor Hadrian finally completed and dedicated it in 132 AD, around 638 years after it began.
The Temple of Olympian Zeus has one of the longest and most chequered construction histories of any building in the ancient world, spanning more than six centuries. An earlier temple stood on the site, but the colossal project as we know it was begun around 520 BC by the sons of the Athenian tyrant Peisistratos, Hippias and Hipparchos, who envisioned the greatest temple in Greece. When the tyranny was overthrown in 510 BC, the work was abandoned with only the platform and parts of the columns completed, and it remained unfinished for centuries; democratic Athens largely left it alone, apparently regarding such an enormous, ostentatious temple as an act of hubris unsuited to the city’s values. The project was revived in 174 BC by the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who saw himself as the embodiment of Zeus and placed a Roman architect in charge, switching the design to the elaborate Corinthian order, but his death again halted it. Finally, the Philhellene Roman emperor Hadrian, who loved Athens, completed the temple and formally dedicated it in 132 AD. Its glory was short-lived, as it was pillaged in a Germanic invasion in 267 AD. This epic story is part of its appeal, set out alongside the guide to the Acropolis history. What survives is still magnificent.
What can you see at the Temple of Olympian Zeus?
At the Temple of Olympian Zeus you can see 16 of the original 104 colossal Corinthian columns, each around 17 metres tall, standing in a large precinct, including a group of toppled columns lying as they fell. Nearby stands the triumphal Arch of Hadrian, and the site offers fine views up to the Acropolis.
Although much of the once-vast temple is gone, what survives at the Temple of Olympian Zeus is still genuinely awe-inspiring and well worth visiting. The highlight is the surviving columns: 16 of the original 104 colossal Corinthian columns still stand, each rising around 17 metres, or 56 feet, tall and two metres in diameter, their sheer scale conveying the staggering size and ambition of the complete temple. Of these, fifteen stand together in a group, while one lies dramatically toppled on the ground, having been blown down in a storm in the 19th century, its huge drum-like segments scattered just as they fell, giving a vivid sense of how the columns were built up. The columns rise from a large, open precinct in the centre of Athens, with the Acropolis visible beyond, making for striking photographs. Just outside the site stands the Arch of Hadrian, a triumphal gateway erected to honour the emperor who completed the temple, marking the boundary between the old city and Hadrian’s new quarter. Together they form an impressive historical precinct. The colossal columns leave a lasting impression, set out alongside the guide to Greek mythology sites. The Arch of Hadrian is right beside it.
What is the Arch of Hadrian beside the temple?
The Arch of Hadrian is a monumental marble triumphal arch standing just beside the Temple of Olympian Zeus, built around 131-132 AD to honour the Roman emperor Hadrian. Its inscriptions mark the boundary between the ancient city of Theseus and the new city of Hadrian, symbolising his great building works in Athens. It is free to view from the street.
Right beside the Temple of Olympian Zeus stands another striking ancient monument, the Arch of Hadrian, which makes a natural companion to a visit. This elegant gateway of Pentelic marble was erected around 131 to 132 AD, at the time the temple was completed, to honour the Roman emperor Hadrian, a great benefactor and admirer of Athens who funded numerous buildings in the city. Rising in two tiers, with a lower archway and an upper section of slender Corinthian columns, the arch is famous for the inscriptions carved on either side: one face proclaims that here stands Athens, the ancient city of Theseus, while the other declares that it is instead Hadrian’s city rather than that of Theseus, symbolically marking the boundary between the old Greek city and the new Roman quarter that Hadrian developed around the temple. The arch thus celebrates Hadrian’s transformation of Athens and his completion of the great temple. It stands free beside the busy avenue and can be admired and photographed from the street at any time without a ticket. Together with the temple, it is a key sight, set out alongside the guide to the Ancient Agora. Visiting is easy.
How do you visit the Temple of Olympian Zeus?
The site is in central Athens, a short walk from the Acropolis and Plaka, near Syntagma and the Acropoli metro station. It has its own ticket and is included in the combined Acropolis multi-site pass. Allow around 30 to 45 minutes, visit early or late to avoid the heat, and combine it with the Acropolis and nearby sites.
Visiting the Temple of Olympian Zeus is quick and easy, and it fits naturally into a day exploring central Athens. The site is centrally located, just south-east of the Acropolis and Plaka and close to Syntagma Square, the National Garden and the Panathenaic Stadium, with the Acropoli metro station on Line 2 nearby, so it is simple to reach on foot or by metro. The temple has its own entrance ticket, but it is also covered by the combined multi-site archaeological pass that includes the Acropolis and several other sites, which is good value if you are seeing several. As the surviving temple is a single, if colossal, monument, a visit is fairly short, with around 30 to 45 minutes enough to walk the precinct, admire the towering columns and take photographs, though you can linger longer. As with all the open sites, visiting early in the morning or the late afternoon avoids the worst of the midday heat in the exposed precinct, and you should wear comfortable shoes and bring water and sun protection. The temple combines perfectly with the Acropolis, the Arch of Hadrian, the National Garden and the Panathenaic Stadium nearby. With these tips, it is an easy, rewarding stop, set out alongside the guides to getting around Athens and the best time to visit. The questions below cover the points visitors ask most.
What was the Temple of Olympian Zeus like at its peak?
At its peak, after completion by Hadrian in 132 AD, the Temple of Olympian Zeus was the largest temple in Greece, with 104 colossal Corinthian columns around 17 metres tall. It housed a giant gold-and-ivory statue of Zeus and an equally large statue of Hadrian, set in a grand walled precinct, an awe-inspiring monument to the king of the gods.
Though only sixteen columns survive today, the completed Temple of Olympian Zeus was one of the most magnificent buildings of the ancient world, and imagining it at its peak adds greatly to a visit. When the Roman emperor Hadrian finally dedicated the temple in 132 AD, after more than six centuries of stop-start construction, it stood as the largest temple in all of Greece, a colossus designed to overawe. It was surrounded by 104 gigantic Corinthian columns, each rising around 17 metres, or 56 feet, high and two metres thick, arranged in a double row along the sides and triple rows at the ends, their carved acanthus capitals among the first use of the ornate Corinthian order on such a monumental exterior. Inside the vast cella stood a huge cult statue of Zeus made of gold and ivory, one of the largest statues of antiquity, and Hadrian placed beside it an equally colossal statue of himself, linking emperor and god. The temple sat within a grand walled sacred precinct, the Temenos, entered through monumental gateways. Renowned across the Roman world, this immense temple was sadly short-lived, falling into ruin after being pillaged in a Germanic invasion in 267 AD. Picturing its former glory makes the surviving columns all the more impressive, set out alongside the guide to ancient Athens history. The questions below cover the points visitors ask most.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Temple of Olympian Zeus?
The Olympieion, or Temple of Olympian Zeus, is a colossal ruined temple in central Athens dedicated to Zeus, king of the gods. Once the largest temple in Greece, with 104 giant Corinthian columns, it took some 638 years to complete, finished under the Roman emperor Hadrian during the 2nd century AD. Today 16 enormous columns still stand.
Why did the Temple of Olympian Zeus take so long to build?
The Temple of Olympian Zeus took some 638 years to complete because it was repeatedly abandoned. Begun around 520 BC under the tyrants, it was halted when the tyranny fell, and democratic Athens left it, viewing its scale as hubris. It was revived in 174 BC and finally finished by the emperor Hadrian in 132 AD.
How many columns of the Temple of Olympian Zeus remain?
Sixteen of the original 104 colossal Corinthian columns of the Temple of Olympian Zeus still stand today, each around 17 metres tall. Fifteen stand together in a group, while one lies toppled on the ground, blown down in a 19th-century storm, with its huge segments scattered just as they fell.